Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Tá sin ceart go leor. Sa trí noiméid fágtha, déanfaidh mé iarracht déileáil le cúpla ceist eile. Bhí mé ag labhairt faoi the mutual defence clause. It creates obligations incompatible with any internationally-recognised definition of neutrality. Anyone in any doubt about the implications of the Lisbon treaty for Irish neutrality should read the exchange of views in the opinion section of The Irish Times sparked by the Dublin City University academic, Dr. Karen Devine. It was an interesting debate which went back and forth from November to December last year

On taxation, the Council decision tells us nothing new. Under the Lisbon treaty any move to a common corporation tax system across Europe would require a unanimous vote at the Council of Ministers. Anyone who read the treaty could tell one this. Sinn Féin's concerns on taxation rest with Article 48 of the treaty. It allows the Council of Ministers, by unanimous decision, to alter the text of existing EU treaties. Despite the Minister, Deputy Martin's protestations, he has not adequately addressed in this House or in the public domain the issues surrounding Article 48. I will spell it out for him in the very short period I have left.

If the EU wanted to agree a common corporation tax system, it would have to do so as part of a broader treaty revision process. This would require unanimity at Council level and ratification by each member state, including a referendum in this State. However, Article 48 allows the Council of Ministers to make significant changes to the treaties by unanimity, but without recourse to what some in Europe and in this House see as the cumbersome process of negotiation, ratification and, in Ireland, a democratic referendum.

The Lisbon treaty does not affect our tax sovereignty but makes it easier for the Council of Ministers to make changes in the future without the inconvenience of a referendum. Fine Gael and the Labour Party are already on record as supporting some form of corporate tax harmonisation, while Fianna Fáil, despite its-----

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