Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raised the issue of the variation in the income tax returns in my initial contribution. I also raised an equally important question about how we compare in the pecking order with our EU colleagues. We tend to get the odd lecture from some quarters as to the benefits we accrue from FDI, for instance, which implies an unfairness, etc. I have a different view on that because we are on the periphery of Europe and while we do not want that to dictate the conditions governing the future economic performance of the Union, we need it to be kept in mind.