Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I believe I am entitled to make a short statement. The background to this is that it has been brought to my attention by a company which employs more than 500 staff, that unwittingly the Tánaiste has caught up bona fide arrangements to the effect that Irish-owned private concerns will be disadvantaged in providing opportunities to attract the best staff to do important work at the leading edge of the development of their companies. There are genuine bona fide cases where these arrangements of conversion rights are organised — as they are in many other countries — and by moving to close a loophole, which has been abused, the Minister is unwittingly ruling out bona fide arrangements which have been used by private Irish companies. It is worth being aware that the restriction to apply here does not extend to multinational companies, so it will only adversely affect private Irish companies. As my amendment suggests, it is quite open to restrict the impact of this anti-avoidance measure to genuine abuses and to provide, as I have indicated, to allow bona fide cases, approved on an individual basis by the Revenue Commissioners, which would deal with the genuine instances where this method of payment is used, as in other countries, to incentivise highly qualified and very able managers.

The downside of going ahead with this, according to the representation I have received, is that many companies will be forced to employ non-Irish people from outside the jurisdiction to do this type of work on behalf of developing companies and Ireland will unwittingly have shot itself in the foot.

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