Mr. Derek Moran:

I do not know yet. I am being honest. At this stage, the guys are sitting down to start to develop the framework of what might be in the questions. We deliver the information in July. The issue of equalisation and its implications will be there or thereabouts.

In terms of corporation tax, the group will examine how the world has changed since last year in policy terms and what that might mean. At European level, the CCCTB proposal is one of those proposals that has been around in various iterative forms for a very long time. Both Houses of the Oireachtas took a view that it stood outside subsidiarty and sent a view back to the Commission in that regard. The Oireachtas was not alone because seven or eight other Parliaments did the same.

With regard to vulnerability – this will go through the normal process at a European level, which is, to say the least, slow - one of the concerns is the base, which is supposed to be easier of the two pieces. The base, as published, would significantly reduce the Irish corporate tax base. It would actually cost us money. Therefore, it is not something one would welcome in and of itself. I believe there will be a very long process of discussions.

With regard to US tax reform, we had not seen anything yet. We do not have a true sense of what that might be. If one were to have asked me six months ago, I would have said it would most likely look like a deemed repatriation of profits whereby the US would bring money back in from multinationals abroad on a one-off basis, involving a sort of amnesty bringing money in to help with the capital plans. I believed we would see some sort of rate reduction in the headline rate. To be honest, a number of months in, we do not have a clear picture of what it would be.

Major economies such as those of the United Kingdom and United States, both of which seem to be saying lower tax rates with broader bases are a good thing, seem to be pursuing a policy very much like the one we pursued for a very long time. That is not necessarily a bad thing, in itself. We will watch both very closely. As of yet, it is unclear where that will land.