Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I believe I have got the balance right. The Deputy made a point about the level of loyalty payments that exist within our national income. I do not accept that this is a feature of aggressive tax planning. Instead, it demonstrates that we have a highly open economy which is deeply integrated into global supply chains. As the Deputy is aware, this country has had an ongoing focus on attracting foreign direct investment. The Deputy has said that loyalty payments account for a high share of our national income, but the other side of the coin is that the economic policies which have been pursued by me and my predecessor have contributed to the fact that in the coming weeks and months, we expect to have more people at work in this country than we have ever had before. As a feature of our open economy, we collect approximately €8 billion in corporation tax. In the coming weeks, I intend to outline the roadmap for ensuring our corporate tax code moves in a way that continues to meet the requirements laid down for us by the OECD.

I do not differ from the Deputy on one point. I am aware of the issue of childcare costs, which absorb a high share of the after-tax income of many citizens of our State, particularly families in which just one partner is working. I understand the pressure that places on many of our citizens. For that reason, we began the steady implementation of an affordable childcare scheme in October 2016. The objective of that scheme is to provide targeted subsidies to families that need support in getting childcare and to ensure that childcare is of the quality that Deputy Doherty and I would want.