Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

I am glad to speak on the motion put down by Fine Gael. As the Minister of State, Deputy Kelleher, was speaking, I thought how appropriate the motion is for the times we are living in. It is also suitable to give a clear signal that the country, the Government, no matter what its make-up, and all sides concur on this very important measure, namely, the 12.5% corporation tax rate.

It is extraordinary that, whenever things get difficult, we hear siren songs and voices, particularly from the larger countries of Europe, saying that this will have to be looked at and that Ireland will have to get its "wings clipped" or words to that effect. It is said we should not be allowed to "get away" with this corporation tax rate for much longer. What is often forgotten, and it often struck me when I used to attend the Council of Ministers, is that it is very easy for people in the countries of continental Europe, such as France and Germany, to get to Brussels, Strasbourg or Luxembourg. In geographic terms, we are an island off an island off Europe. When that is considered, if the 12.5% rate gives us some advantage, that is fine by me.

The corporation tax rate is long established and underpinned by our ratification of the Lisbon treaty. It was noted in documentation I received that we were given cast iron legal guarantees prior to the Lisbon treaty referendum that our corporation tax rate would be protected. While it took a while to do so, we passed the Lisbon treaty and we should hold fast and be quite determined in this regard.

The corporation tax rate is a major attraction. When I think of Athlone, I think of the firms located there such as Elan, Covidien, a great firm which has gone through several changes, and LM Ericsson, which has been in Athlone since the early 1970s. While I am not sure what the corporation tax rate was at that time, I am sure these companies continue to avail of it. These are three of the major firms and other new firms are coming in. For example, Georgia Tech, which is small but will grow, involves the concept of industry on a university campus and does fine work. All of these companies are benefiting from our corporation tax rate.

The companies are not just coming for tax reasons but for the quality of people in Ireland. One cannot separate a firm or business from the people who run it and who come to work there with their qualifications, whether they are graduates, at technical level or otherwise. This is another good reason we should continue our rate of investment in education and in research and development in particular. If a company keeps on making and sending out the one product, it will never succeed. Companies must always look around the corner and over the next hill so they know what is coming.

I was invited to Covidien to see what it is producing and supplying. I was fascinated by a statistic I was given, namely, at any minute of any of the 24 hours, somebody in the world is using a Covidien product, which surely says something. The companies are nestled in well, and this is one of the benefits of having built the main roads. When people say "You squandered the money. What did you spend the money on?", I ask how long it took them to come from Dublin, and the answer is one hour and five minutes.

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