Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentation and all the work they do. I have their other paper here as well. The piece of work we are doing in this committee is looking at the constitutional future. We are not looking at patching one area onto another or whatever; we are looking at something new. What has come across really strongly from some of the contributors we have had to date is how from the foundation of the State we have never underpinned our systems with the values we have as an island and as a people. We have a real opportunity now to do that.

I am trying to remember the name of the two professors we had at one of the sessions, though the Cathaoirleach may put me right on them. What they were saying about taxation related to the link between taxation and welfare. Dr. McDonnell is rightly saying we cannot take taxation on its own or welfare on its own; they must be linked. The report done by the Fiscal Commission NI, which the witnesses were involved in, was really good. It recommended that "the UK Government instigates a review to consider developing and implementing a shared institutional framework for fiscal devolution across the UK". It is very important as a context. That might include income and corporation tax, but all that must be looked at in the round because everything knits together. I ask the witnesses to comment on that. I ask them to also comment on the economic model they are working on right now for a policy framework for both economies on the island. How does that fit into the macroeconomic model developed by the ESRI and IBEC as well? From doing my research, I am conscious the data gaps, especially in the North, are crazy. It is crazy for us trying to do the work we do. The difficulties with data with integrity are such an impediment to the work the witnesses do. Will that help the work they are doing? The other macroeconomic model that has been done will help that. That is one aspect.

Have the witnesses any measurement of political stability in the North? I could not find one. I can find the UK one and the Irish one, but I cannot find one for the North, so it is just about that as a feeder of FDI. FDI will change and it is as Dr. McDonnell said regarding the high-value jobs that are needed in the North. In particular with Joe Kennedy, there is an opportunity to do that, with the US being the largest country of origin. If we do not use the unique position the North is in at the moment with its access to GB and the EU for goods, we will fail there. I would not like to see FDI pushed down but the drivers of FDI are the real factors we have to examine such as the needs the witnesses were talking about and examining that. There is that whole link into DEIS and how we capture that and work on it as well.

Have the witnesses an effective tax rate for the North as it is at the minute? I am also interested in what Mr. Mac Flynn said about management practices and how they feed into FDI. There is a lot there, but I am really keen to hear about their model and where it is going in all this.