Mr. Sebastian Barnes:

I think that is possible. The two-tier economy is a simplification, but it captures something very important, which is that we know the digital sector, the pharma sector and some others have been powering ahead in recent years. Some work by Mr. Timoney in recent months has been very interesting in terms of looking at incomes, for example.

The rate of creation of high-paid jobs and the rate of pay increase in these sectors are phenomenal. That has created a benefit and is one of the reasons income tax receipts are so strong in recent times. There is a benefit to the economy that speaks to the wider point in that, when you add up the economy, having those sectors that are doing well means the aggregate number is fairly resilient. There is also a feedback between that as well, whereby people who are earning good money in digital and pharmaceutical sectors are also spending it. They are paying taxes that are used to fund public services. That adds to the overall resilience of the economy, but it also increases the exposure on the corporation tax side because, obviously, those activities are undertaken by multinationals. It does partly add to those risks as well.

The rate of creation of high-paid jobs and the rate of pay increase in these sectors are phenomenal. That has created a benefit and is one of the reasons income tax receipts are so strong in recent times. There is a benefit to the economy that speaks to the wider point in that, when you add up the economy, having those sectors that are doing well means the aggregate number is fairly resilient. There is also a feedback between that as well, whereby people who are earning good money in digital and pharmaceutical sectors are also spending it. They are paying taxes that are used to fund public services. That adds to the overall resilience of the economy, but it also increases the exposure on the corporation tax side because, obviously, those activities are undertaken by multinationals. It does partly add to those risks as well.