Mr. Jim Clarken:

Ireland is a very credible international player in international development, human rights and social justice. Its voice is heard way above its scale and its size. The events of the last year or two have had a hugely detrimental impact on Ireland's reputation. It is important for corporations to remember that the tax euros they pay are needed not just for social services like health and the education of the kind of workforce they require, but also for public investment in infrastructure like water and quality broadband. If they do not pay their taxes, they will not have the capacity to do what they need to do here. It is very short-sighted for corporations to be unwilling to pay their fair share. If the US is not willing to engage with companies that have public country-by-country reporting, we need to challenge it about that because the Inland Revenue Service in the US is also losing out. We mentioned in a report we produced for Davos less than a month ago that the eight wealthiest people in the world own the same amount of wealth as 3.6 billion people. The IMF, the World Economic Forum and numerous other agencies that would ordinarily have nothing to do with our arguments have identified this as a global crisis that will have significant implications for economic growth across the world if it is not addressed. This problem must be addressed for the benefit of economies and multinational companies. If developing countries are not given an opportunity to move beyond their current stage of development, they will not be able to create markets for the kinds of products and services these companies want to sell. This needs to be considered by such companies from a self-interest point of view. If this is managed properly, it will result in a win for companies. Things cannot continue as they are at present.