Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I agree with that. Transparency is key. We have argued that public, country-by-country tax reporting is necessary so that we see exactly what the corporations are up to. The reaction of the Government on the Apple tax does not reflect the attitudes of ordinary people. Ordinary people see that there is €13 billion available and wonder why it cannot be used in respect of the housing and health crises. We must also understand that the existence of this money points to the need for a different development model for Ireland. I would go further and suggest the timeframe for the shift in power and the share of wealth from labour to capital and in the area of corporation tax coincides with the rise of neoliberalism, globalisation and the free movement of capital. That poses very substantial challenges to any attempt to reverse the process. It means one should question the idea of saving capitalism from the capitalists. Perhaps we have to save the planet from capitalism and need a different developmental model based on public ownership, investment, global co-operation and planning. I do not believe that the French, Dutch or German Governments or the Commission are pursuing this in the interests of global justice and everyone paying tax. They have their own interests, which may partly coincide with the interests of corporations. I do not know if Mr. Tang has any more comments on the global picture. If not, I will move on to more specific questions.