Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The companies to which the Deputy refers, Google and Apple, between them employ more than 6,000 people in Ireland. These are real substantive companies providing significant employment and they are very competitive players.

I repeat what the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance said: there are no special deals under our tax code with any company. This is categorically the truth. As the Deputy knows, our tax code is statute based. All the measures are enshrined in statute in the Finance Bill and are fully transparent. There are no special negotiated rates. I will not speculate as to the situation in the past but I suspect that in 1980, under export sales relief, there was a special sectoral scheme in the sense that exports did not attract tax at that stage. This may be what is being referred to.

I dispute absolutely the Deputy's suggestion that we are seeking to build companies that do not have sustainable competitive advantage in Ireland. Companies are in Ireland because of the talent, technology and track record. Indeed, the special assignee relief programme, SARP, is used in many countries to bring in strategic people who can build short-term projects which will result in long-term job creation. It is a completely acceptable approach.

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