Dáil debates

Tuesday, 21 February 2012

4:00 pm

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

One of the central reasons we are a member of the eurozone, and one of its great benefits to us, is because we are an exporting country. We depend on exporting goods and services to markets abroad. I welcome the announcements on PayPal and Allergan because they bear out what has been a very successful and effective industrial strategy for the past decade. It was not today or yesterday that companies such as these began investing in Ireland. There is a research and development dimension and it underlines the importance of us raising the issue of the low corporate tax rate at every European Council meeting we possibly can. I am disappointed the Taoiseach did not take the opportunity at recent meetings to hammer home this point, particularly to the French and German leadership. This is also the case with the common consolidated corporation tax base, CCCTB, because the Department of Finance has illustrated the impact of the CCCTB would be devastating to our foreign direct investment. We need to have a debate on this.

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