Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am going to ask a few questions if the Deputy does not mind.

Following up on that last point, we should certainly be prudent in how we project future rises. We should be prudent in how we make expenditure commitment. I was in business for 20 years before my election to this House. Everybody knows that companies make profits in some years and do not in others. We cannot rely on the guaranteed nature of taxation yield from companies' profits. The same applies to almost every other tax head. Our concern seems to be disproportionately focused on this particular tax head. I do not see the potential for the types of leaps in growth we have had since 2015. Like Mr. Coffey, I do not see anything to indicate a catastrophic fall-off in the foreseeable future.

Mr. Coffey has referred to this 2015 leap and keeps being polite about it. There is almost an inference that it is not due to real profits. I ask him to outline why we had that leap? Is it the tax situation coming to benefit us? Is there an element of international economic growth? There was obviously a reason for it on which most people can speculate. At the heart of it I would like to get Mr. Coffey's breakdown of it. Based on his answer, where is the vulnerability for it to fall away? Is it economic downturn, tax change or what is it?

I have a real problem at times with the discussion on this matter. Mr. Coffey can tell me if I am wrong on this. Ireland is a very small country with a tiny population. We have very few large Irish companies. If we had Irish companies of sufficient scale and nature to generate the types of profits to yield substantial corporation tax, they would have to be multinational and would operate almost entirely outside their home base. There would be very little difference between the behaviour of an Irish company in that bracket and a multinational - as we call them - operating here. There is one very large aviation company. There is one very long-standing Irish multinational in various strands of construction, business and whatever. If we changed regime in the morning, they would be as likely to move as any foreign direct investment company. Do we focus too much on whether it comes from outside or whether it is Irish? The reality is there is continuity because of - Mr. Coffey alluded to it - a very stable and simple corporation tax policy that encourages these companies to stay here. We also have by and large a very stable political system that enables them to stay here. That is the key driver. I do not think this emphasis on inward investment versus Irish makes a lot of sense to me.

I return to a comment from another Deputy. Surely it would cause more reputational damage to Ireland in the tax area if we were to abolish the long-standing practice of dealing with a company's losses just because we did not like the sectoral area in which that company operated and had a chip on our shoulder about it. For many SMEs, carrying forward losses is a well-known principle. There would be grave reputational damage if we changed that.