Mr. Sorley McCaughey:

There were a couple of questions addressed to me on the Sierra Leone report. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan wanted to know whether the review of all contracts was an internal Sierre Leonean matter, and the answer is "Yes". This report focuses exclusively on Sierre Leonean civil society, the role of the parliament and the role of the Government there. That is not to say that we do not have a position that the review and greater transparency around the negotiations of all mining contracts and all multinational contracts between governments and companies should be more transparent and possibly reviewed as well, but in this instance it is specifically in the Sierre Leonean context.

On the question of tax dodging and Ireland's role, this is a specific area of our work around the issue of greater tax justice in tax incentives. Our position on this is that the issue of tax incentives needs to be examined through cost-benefit analysis. This report makes that point clearly, that it needs to be assessed through a cost-benefit analysis. As for what Ireland can do on that, I made reference to it here. As one of the key donors in Sierre Leone, Ireland is in a privileged position to be able to make recommendations or work together with the Sierre Leonean Government around its partnership agreement as to what the next four or five years will look like. We have been recommending that Ireland use that position to advocate or negotiate the inclusion of an indicator or recommendation that would highlight the amount of money that is being spent on tax incentives by the Sierre Leonean Government every year which would provide for greater transparency and accountability of that Government to Sierre Leonean citizens.

On the broader level internationally, for example, on the OECD level, we have been clear in our position. It is that the OECD base erosion and profit shifting, BEPS, process, which is the main international process examining the issue of taxing multinationals, has been more or less exclusive or has operated without the input of developing countries. We perceive this to be one of its major flaws. This process is being driven by the OECD that will create rules, regulations and systems to which developing countries will be obliged to adhere but yet they are not having any input into their development. We have been very clear that the OECD process must take cognisance of and must take the input of developing countries to ensure the process and the systems on which they agree. This is a short window because the OECD BEPS process will finish within a year or perhaps two years. It is a very small window during which developing countries must get their position heard but at present, this is not happening to the degree we would like. This is something on which we have made our position clear to all the departmental officials who represent Ireland in the various OECD processes.

I wish I had something more positive to say to Deputy Mitchell about the women who have been kidnapped. Other than urging the Irish Government to use its influence at European level to put pressure on the Nigerian Government, we have not been able to articulate anything clearer than that. The role we have taken on in the gender-based violence consortium probably will need to take a clear position on where we stand in this regard and this is something on which Christian Aid, as chair, must be more proactive. The point to which Ms Karol Balfe has alluded in our recommendations to the Angolan Government about generating better desegregated data about women and men and how poverty has a different impact on them is very important. It is not something that all development agencies have taken on and we badly need good, clear data that show and illustrate the particular role and degree of marginalisation that women are experiencing. This is the bigger background context in which this is happening and where, at some level, it is considered almost acceptable or perhaps not as condemnable as other scandals of which we have heard. I wish I had something more.