Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and officials for their attendance. I will start where the Minister left off, namely, on regulatory alignment and specifically on the need for some form of fiscal alignment, particularly from a cross-Border perspective. To what degree are the Minister or his officials speaking to the Chancellor of the Exchequer or the person responsible, David Sterling? For example, the Minister has flagged well his intention to introduce some form of carbon tax this year. The detrimental effect of what is mooted would probably equate to approximately €2 or €3 on a full tank of petrol or diesel. Another more recent example is the commitment to reintroduce duty free shopping. While everyone along the Border will welcome the opportunity to go on booze cruises, the much lauded and appreciated Carlingford Lough ferry will become a booze cruise because of the differential rates in VAT and taxes. Ultimately, such differences in respect of commodities will drive people to both buy fuel and to do their weekly shopping across the Border. I think I am expressing the view of most Border Deputies that some sort of fiscal alignment needs to be guaranteed. I suspect that was happening in recent years, as the differential in price between those commodities were very small.

Earlier this year, the Minister indicated to this committee that there would be contingencies on a sector-by-sector basis for supports that were needed, particularly from the EU. He gave a commitment that those packages would be in place. Will he reiterate that assurance? As I stated then, one only needs to look at the current beef crisis, where we had an allocation of €100 million earlier in the year, but it took so long to trickle through. The sectors must be supported and guaranteed the necessary finance, not in three or six months', but almost immediately.

The Parliamentary Budget Office has clearly flagged the Minister's remarks about the sustainability of corporation tax, which rose from €2.3 billion in 2015 to around €4.2 billion in 2018. We all know it is not sustainable but I was alarmed by the figures provided to us. Some 77% of all corporation tax receipts come from the multinational sector, as do 22% of employment, 25% of income tax and USC and 39% of gross value added. We have been given figures to the effect that were one of these multinational companies to exit, it would amount to a loss to the economy equivalent to €430 million. That is equivalent to the carbon tax figures referred to by the Minister. We all know this cannot be sustained. What are the Minister's plans to correct this? Were we to lose one or two, and it is all possible in a downturn, we would be in serious difficulty.