Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)

A couple of questions arise from the matter. With regard to the approximately 200 people who earn in excess of €200,000 per annum but pay no income tax whatsoever, are they among those who will be closed down by this measure or do they form part of a different category covered by capital allowance?

I was told that this measure is aimed at executives of some of the big foreign companies based here which employ a lot of people, mainly in the Dublin area. Some of the chief executives of these major multinational companies earn high incomes, which are paid to them abroad. Are they among the people being referred to and, if so, will there be consequences from that? If company A plans to expand here and will need three or four more executives, is it likely that it will continue to expand or establish a new plant here or is it likely to say, "to Hell with that crowd over there", because we have caught up with it, and disappear or otherwise with possible job losses? Are those the kind of people who will mainly be involved, or will it be the companies here involved in PPPs, who have executives in Ireland on a temporary basis, perhaps building a road, and paying part of those people's salaries here and part abroad?

I would like the Taoiseach to clarify this matter. I know he does not want to name in the House the particular companies or executives being targeted, and I would not expect him to. However, the Taoiseach might give us some sort of profile of these people so we know exactly what is involved.

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