Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

Yes, it is a sovereign matter, as has been confirmed by a number of EU treaties which have been formally ratified by Irish people. Once such an agreement is made, our EU partners are duty-bound to respect it, not only because it has the imprimatur of the House but also because it has the sovereign imprimatur of the Irish people.

Businesses do not choose to invest in Ireland solely and exclusively for the purpose of availing of the 12.5% tax rate. They come here because of the skills of the population, the proximity of our market to the European mainland, the fact that we speak English and because it is a good place to base their business.

Our future strategy is not only about creating new jobs as these must come about as a result of some spark in the economy. We must have a dual strategy of protecting every single job in this country.

Ireland is not Greece. We have 1.8 million people at work in this economy and despite the enormous increase in unemployment, we still have a much lower rate of unemployment than Spain, Portugal and Greece. We need to adopt a twin-track approach in that while building new jobs and creating the environment to get new industries working, we also must protect every single existing job both in this sector and elsewhere in the economy.

Each action we take must have this as a sharp focus. Any proposal on tax, on red tape or which could clog up the planning system, could all be to the detriment of the 1.8 million people who currently are at work. We face a huge task in trying to create an environment for new jobs, while also trying to protect those people who remain at work at present. I believe the consensus position arrived at last night and this evening on this matter will send out that strong signal.

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