Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)

I was privileged to be on a delegation of the Technical Group to the troika this week and I have absolutely no doubt that they will give a very good report to the Government today. The question is whether the Government should be looking for, or welcoming, such a good report from the troika. We do not seem to get any payback from this extraordinarily good behaviour on behalf of the Government. The news that broke this morning, that Sarkozy and Merkel are once again seeking to launch an attack on our corporate tax rate - admittedly in a concealed way - is alarming. This time they have presented it in the guise of talking about tax co-ordination, but it is basically the same thing. As the Taoiseach said, a hurrying up of the corporate tax base rate changes, which they are looking for, is in fact a back-door to changing the corporate tax rate.

I would like to ask the Tánaiste about a more alarming and immediate problem. It is a serious matter and I would like a serious answer and not necessarily a political one. There is a serious proposal for a financial transactions tax which is coming down the line on Monday week. Ireland's reaction to that is important. The Tánaiste will be aware that it poses a real threat, again from Sarkozy and Merkel, to the IFSC which employs 30,000 people. The financial services sector, which accounts for about 20% of the corporate tax gathered in this country, is an absolutely vital part of the economy. If the British stand away from the fiscal treaty which is being negotiated, as they have done, and we go in, which it looks like we are intent on doing, the threat to the IFSC is serious and should not be underestimated. The threat to those jobs is there. Is the financial transaction tax a deal breaker? The Taoiseach has said it would not be welcome, but is it a deal breaker? Will we stand aside from the proposed fiscal treaty if a financial transaction tax is imposed?

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