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

I thank the Deputy. I am not in a position to accept the amendment. We already have, through, for example, our corporate tax structure, a way in which we are collecting large amounts of tax revenue from larger companies that are located here. I believe the way in which large companies are taxed is going to change but I also believe that, if and when it does change, it is best done in a co-ordinated way across the world, particularly in different countries with which Ireland is in competition. The perspective that is missing from the point the Deputy is putting forward is that we live in a competitive world and are working hard to keep jobs in Ireland that are created by the large companies to which the Deputy is referring. The kind of measure he is suggesting behind the report would be damaging for our ability to keep the kinds of companies that we need here and that have played such an important role in generating the tax revenue that we need in 2020 to pay for our response to Covid. The bit that is missing from the point the Deputy made is how competitive it is to keep the jobs that are provided by many of these companies. I am of the view that a competitive tax structure matters for a country of our size and, therefore, I do not accept the amendment.