Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her compliments in relation to Ireland's election to the UN Human Rights Council. When I attended yesterday's meeting of the Joint Committee on EU Affairs, I acknowledged the work of that committee, under the chairmanship of Deputy Hannigan, and the work of Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, under the chairmanship of Deputy Breen. The members of both committees lobbied in support of Ireland's candidacy for membership of the UN Human Rights Council.

Ireland has a strong record on the promotion of good governance in tax principles. We are fully compliant with the EU code of conduct on harmful tax competition and the OECD standards on exchange of information. Ireland's network of more than 60 double taxation treaties compares favourably with the records of larger OECD countries. We have also signed tax information exchange agreements with 17 jurisdictions that were not previously co-operative. Ireland is on the OECD G20 white list of countries that are fully compliant with the OECD standards on exchange of information. Ireland also participates in the global forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes. A favourable peer review of Ireland was undertaken last year. I am aware of some reports of tax avoidance and tax evasion in Africa. I want to affirm this Government's commitment to the fight against poverty in developing countries, with a particular emphasis on Africa. I assure the Deputy that we will continue to work at EU level, with the OECD and with the United Nations to ensure there is transparency in tax matters and to make certain that the problems associated with tax evasion and tax avoidance are addressed.

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