Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 11 May 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and Covid-19 Vaccines: Discussion

Photo of Marie SherlockMarie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

On the corporation tax rate, the IPHA statement firmly supports the continuation of the 12.5% rate. I am open to correction but I feel sure that the Department of Finance has received letters that highlight the fears of the IPHA member companies unless the 12.5% rate exists.

The submission mentions six ways to achieve the goal global vaccine equity. It reads that there should be more charity from developed countries and more vaccine sharing. Is that really the IPHA vision for developing countries? What message is sent by saying that we are prepared to deprive developing countries the capacity to build up their own resilience? I expect that the industry will say that one must protect one's own interests. As the industry has benefited greatly from public finance in developing these vaccines then the pharmaceutical industry must step up to the mark, make a very significant contribution and ensure that capacity and resilience is built up in developing countries to withstand the current pandemic.

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