Dr. Mark Cassidy:

I will address each of the four parts to the Deputy's question in turn. Regarding over-reliance on corporation tax, it is clear that there has been an unprecedented surge in corporation tax revenues since 2014-2015. The increase has been in the order of 125%, such that revenues are now approximately €10 billion. This accounts for around 19% of overall tax revenues and is extremely high by historical and international standards. On one hand, the increase in corporation tax receipts we have seen is very welcome. On the other, corporation tax, particularly for Ireland, given that 40% of corporation tax is paid by the top ten multinational firms, is an inherently volatile source of taxation revenue. We do not predict that there will be any decline in the revenue from the tax, but the volatility inherent in this source of revenue is such that we just do not know what the future is for corporation tax revenues. There must be some risk that the share of revenues will decline in the future.