Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I accept that the challenges are huge, but the clear commitment of Government to introduce something in the first 100 days shows a serious sense of urgency in this regard. Equally the Deputy will be aware that we need to design workable proposals and time needs to be taken to ensure these are effective.

The notion that we ought to harmonise our tax regime with Northern Ireland, the UK or other countries raises many issues. Ministers for Finance need to cater to the needs of the day and need to strike a balance. Those who seek to make similar decisions have other considerations. Preserving independence in setting tax policy is an important element of the way in which we manage our affairs and I do not believe harmonisation would be on the cards, but there certainly would be consciousness of the impact on Border regions.

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