Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It would be helpful at this stage if the Minister of State put on the record the number of people who have availed of SARP and the amount of tax forgone. The Minister of State might dispute the use of the word "forgone", but rather the tax that has not been collected. The issue of jobs and job creation underpins all these measures and is only justifiable if there is a clear and tangible link between the executive coming to Ireland and job creation. This was the original intention of SARP. It is not a measure with which anyone is terribly comfortable but if it provides a greater economic gain for the country, then it can be justified. Our competitors for foreign direct investment have similar schemes in operation. How does Ireland's SARP scheme compare against our main competitors?