Professor Niamh Moloney:

I value the opportunity to reflect on the commission and how it sees itself. There are a couple of reflections I would make. We are very conscious of working within our mandate. It is a privilege to have been set up. The commission's terms of reference guide its work, which we take with the utmost seriousness. It is a very wide terms of reference. That has great strengths in that it allows us, as a commission, to reflect widely and deeply and to challenge each other on how we think about tax and welfare from all of our different perspectives. We certainly do not see it as limiting us. It is very helpful in terms of setting our direction and framework and in ensuring we are looking in the right directions and producing something that will be of use to Governments into the future. It allow us to have very productive and engaged discussions.

I feel very lucky to be working with the group of people who are on the commission. We meet every two weeks, which is great. We are working very closely and there is a wide range of expertise and experience around the table. There is something else as well, namely, a great willingness on the part of everybody to engage regardless of the question. This is a function of the fact of our terms of reference. There is very important language therein about a fair and equitable approach, looking after the most vulnerable, supporting SMEs and bringing us back into the big framework about how tax and welfare supports economic activity, funds prosperity and ensures that we can support our public services. Whatever our experience and background - there is a great deal of experience on the commission from all different areas - there is a common, collective sense that we all have a responsibility and stake as regards those very big issues. To go to the question, that prompts wide and expansive debates. We are discussing a very wide range of issues.