Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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It is obviously a matter for the Department. The core point is that the double Irish is something that has been pushed in the past. I acknowledge there have been different opinions from the Opposition, but Sinn Féin and some Independents have been raising the issue in the context of the reputational damage the double Irish has caused. The Minister did not respond to international tax practice. On the double Irish he said: "while it exists, it cannot be remediated by changes in Irish tax law." This has nothing to do with BEPS. He said categorically in the Dáil that Irish tax law could not end the double Irish.

Let me give another example. In January 2013, he said: "The problem with the so-called 'double Irish' from Ireland's point of view is that it has that name." Consistently, the basic argument from the Department has been that we could do nothing to end the double Irish. Now it is being ended and I welcome that, although I am not completely happy with the phase-in dates. However, the fundamental point is that the Minister has been feeding the public and the Opposition untruths that the legislation could not end the double Irish. That is disrespectful to Parliament and to his colleagues.

In the face of legislation presented that would end the double Irish, the Minister said categorically - doing so from the seal of office of the Minister - that legislation could not end the double Irish. I believe it is important it is stated here - I know that as a member of Fine Gael and Minister of State in the Department the Minister of State will not do it - that the Minister was wrong when he stated that Irish legislation could not end the double Irish, both in October 2012 and in January 2013. He said the same outside of the House as well.

The core point is that the Minister and the Government want to create the impression that it had nothing to do with us, and that it should have been called something else rather than double Irish. The suggestion is, "why the hell did it end up being called double Irish and with us poor creatures over here getting all this flak from our European masters, from America and all of that and sure we cannot do anything about it, because it is a mismatch". There are two sides involved in any mismatch.

However, one side can move to eradicate the mismatch. That is what happened here and that is what is happening in terms of the tax code. I am sure that the type of bluff that the Minister came out with on the floor of the Dáil - or in October 2012 or January 2013 - does not wash with any of the people who are challenging the rate or some of the advantages we confer on certain multinational companies, when we know now that was not the case. It certainly does not wash with me. It is disrespectful and it should be acknowledged that the Minister was wrong. I believe he did it intentionally and deliberately. Either that or the Minister is a fool and did not know that Irish legislation could end the double Irish. I would rather believe the Minister for Finance is not a fool. I would rather believe he did it intentionally because he did not want to create the impression that we can stop this and go against those who, for their own selfish reasons, want to put pressure on Ireland's taxation regime. However, the Minister has heightened that pressure by not dealing with this properly, trying to obfuscate and trying to say it had nothing to do with us and that it is just the name. People who understand this know well that the Minister is talking nonsense and the legislation before us proves that to be the case.