Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

The Minister of State could also deal with a point raised by my colleague, Deputy Varadkar, as regards section 2. I have some concern about having an open house in relation to institutions from other parts of the world that might, perhaps, not be as welcome as the institutions, hopefully, coming from the United States.

The last issue I want to raise is, perhaps, of main concern. We want to have foreign institutions locating here and we want to encourage them in every way that is reasonably possible. On the other hand we do not want to assume any of the undesirable characteristics of an offshore location that is regarded as a tax haven. That is where we would be worried. Again, we have to take some assurances in this regard from the Minister of State. What is the attitude of the European Commission to this Bill and what is the attitude of the US Administration towards it, and indeed, other EU member states? Is the Government satisfied that we are embarking on an initiative that we can, in essence, stand over and be proud of? If it is a matter of giving the IDA and other agencies another instrument in the battle for foreign direct investment, that is fine with me. If it goes over the line, however, so that we might get an undesirable reputation abroad by going too far, I should be worried. That is the main issue I want to raise.

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