Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It does not happen in the run-up to budgetary decisions, but it does happen on budgetary policy. For example, in the aftermath of the budget I said I would not implement the sugar tax if we were disadvantaged. We had a lot of contact with the authorities in Northern Ireland to ensure that in introducing the tax, we would not disadvantage Irish businesses and consumers. On whether there is a lot of contact between the Department of Finance and the UK revenue authorities, there is significant contact, particularly on illegal trade and counterfeit goods. I recently attended an event at which a significant cigarette factory was shut down. It was a gigantic operation involving UK and Irish police forces and the revenue authorities.