Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Did some give a reasonable explanation as they saw fit? I missed out on the Kerry Group. The Chairman might come back. I am just making my point and I will not take up too much time. Could the Chairman tell me what the Kerry Group said? Again, it has been put in perspective. This arose from the Comptroller and Auditor General's report regarding corporation tax and what appeared to be a huge variation in the level of tax collected. Arising from that variation, we were looking to engage with multinationals. A thumbs up to a committee is not a good way to deal with a public accounts committee. It is literally a thumbs up. If companies are proudly paying their taxes, as we all must, they should have no fear of coming before us. Some of them might have written very positive letters and told us that but it would be nice to hear that and engage with them. GlaxoSmithKline is one exception and has been rightly praised. I visited Cardiff with a member of the committee and we know well that they appeared before the committees in England. I cannot remember whether it was England or Wales. Perhaps they did not like the experience there.

What I was told there was that what had come out with regard to Ireland was seriously questionable. I do not want to repeat that as gospel. That was what was said to us, so serious questions must be asked. I would have thought that at the very least, those companies associated with Ireland, although they are much bigger, like Cement Roadstone, would proudly come before us. Mr. Ryanair has an opinion on me as a cyclist and on lots of things and I would have thought he would have jumped, or maybe flown, at the opportunity to speak to us here about tax matters. The way the Chairman phrased it was very general. We were not going into specifics so I must say that I am really disappointed. I suppose it is pointless to ask them to reflect - multinationals do not seem to reflect - and come back to us but for the record, this is a golden opportunity to come before us.