Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Will Mr. Keegan comment on the issue of profit shifting that Mr. Clarken raised in his opening statement? Mr. Keegan is the expert on tax law. When I examine how profits move from one jurisdiction to another, it always seems to involve transfer pricing and royalty payments for intellectual property, with the profits ending up in countries where there is practically no tax to be paid. According to Mr. Clarken, Ireland has only had transfer pricing-specific legislation since 2010 and there is still no law in Ireland to authorise Revenue officials to investigate incidents in which profit shifting may be used as a tax avoidance strategy. He stated that this was remiss of the Government, given its support of the arm's length principle, and that Ireland's transfer pricing regime should be made two-way, giving Revenue officials the power to investigate where they believe transfer prices to be overstated in Ireland's favour rather than only where they may be understated. This goes to the heart of the issue of profits being moved from one jurisdiction to another and how Ireland can be a link in that chain. Will Mr. Keegan address this point? Are our laws on transfer pricing and what we have signed up to weak or strong enough?