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

I thank the Deputy for his questions. We have not done any further analysis. The reason for this is that the outcome of the OECD process is not clear at the moment. That is why I cannot sign up to it. What I mean by that is, if the Deputy looks at the figures he has used at the moment, very respectfully, it is not saying an agreement of 15% is on offer It is not saying, for example, that what is on offer is a precise agreement regarding what base of taxing activity will happen here in Ireland. It is saying with regard to these things that it is at least. It is saying, therefore, it could be these figures or it could be higher. That lack of certainty means I am convinced Ireland cannot be part of this agreement. I am equally clear, however, that we want to remain within the process and see if we can influence it. We must do that in good faith, however. We have to do that cognisant, for example, that we are engaging with the United States of America, which is a very good friend, ally and partner of Ireland. Because of that lack of certainty, however, we cannot update our revenue forecasts because we do not have enough information available with which to forecast the revenue impact. It is for that reason there is not an update.

The Deputy asked a question about the terms of reference. I am actually signing them off in the next day or so. They will not come as a surprise to the Deputy. It is about asking the business, political and NGO communities here in Ireland to give us an assessment of these different strands of what we know at the moment. We look at the two strands individually and then we look at them collectively. There will not be too much in the terms of reference that will come as a surprise to the Deputy. We are seeking to garner a response on what clarity is available to us at the moment, however.