Ms Mairead McGuinness:

On the question around taxation, it is my colleague, Commissioner Gentiloni, who deals with that issue. On the global level, we are working with the OECD on the general issue of payment of taxes and the levels perhaps not paid by some large corporates that can operate across borders. What Commissioner Gentiloni stated and I support is that if there cannot be a global agreement, the Commission will come forward with proposals. This comes from a sense within society that very large corporates have the capacity to move in order to benefit from various tax regimes. We have to watch what happens at the global level and then see where the Commission will move.

On the issue of fiscal rules, the Deputy asked whether we will go back to where we were or back to normal. I am not sure of the exact term she used. I do not think that post Covid we will go back to the way we were. The pandemic has had significant impacts across society and not just in terms of the economy. There is no plan as to when and how this current situation will unravel towards going back to any particular rule book, but we know that something will have to be done regarding what fiscal supports are made available and how long that can continue. I do not have a blueprint or a clear answer on that issue.

When the crisis hit the Commission rightly provided as much flexibility as possible within the existing framework to allow member states to support businesses, individuals and employees so that the worst impacts would not hit. We all know that without those supports across the member states we would be in a more difficult situation. The President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, has said very clearly on several occasions that member states should not unravel the supports sharply and that it needs to be done over time and very carefully. I do not think there is a clear answer to that in terms of a timetable. I refer to my point about non-performing loans. We know that things will evolve. We are hoping to manage the most difficult aspects of this, taking into account the reason behind the current pandemic, and to do it in a way that is appropriate. We do have a framework which is more flexible now because of the pandemic but there is not a decision taken already that in six months we will go back to the way we were. It will take a longer timeframe and greater analysis as to how we do return to some form of normality. I reiterate that this pandemic has had a quite a profound affect not just on economies but on societies. There will be a requirement to understand how communities are and how people have been affected. Apart from the terrible tragedies of the numbers that have died across the European Union and in Ireland and the families that are grieving there are those other impacts we have already discussed here. There is no clear deadline as to what and when things might happen.