Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Committee on Budgetary Oversight
Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform
Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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On the investment strategy of a fund that we would set up, I do not believe it would make sense to invest it all in one economy, that would be taking on too much risk. It would need to be diversified. We will have ample opportunity to discuss the detail of that. On corporation tax, we have factored in that €2 billion hit in 2025. It remains the current estimate of the Department of Finance of the combined impact of pillar 1 and pillar 2. That estimate was calculated back in 2020 and a lot has changed since. It has not been possible to update that estimate at this point because many of the design features remain outstanding, particularly in respect of pillar 1. The hit could be significantly greater than that figure but we cannot stand over an estimate until further significant design work is done in respect of pillar 1. Ireland is very much involved in those discussions. The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, did an enormous amount of work in his previous role as Minister for Finance over recent years in securing what I believe was a very good deal for Ireland. We are seeing the benefits of that now and I believe we will into the future.
Pillar 2 will be enacted in the Finance Bill in the autumn. It will come into effect on 1 January 2024. It is going to add enormously to the body of work that we have in the consideration of the Finance Bill, at least an additional 100 pages of legal text for the transposition of pillar 2, the EU minimum tax directive. That is where we are at on that.