Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the first question, there are two tranches of legislation Deputy Boyd Barrett may be interested in. The first is the legislation the Deputy mentioned, the offshore gas storage Bill. The second is the maritime area development and foreshore (amendment) Bill. Both will be introduced before the end of the year, probably early in the autumn.

On the second issue, I am unsure what legislation Deputy Boyd Barrett is referring to. A series of actions are taking place with regard to a consistent approach to the Lough Erne declaration on tax yesterday. Ireland is at the forefront of that response and is part of the OECD response in terms of examining this issue, which it has been doing for some time. Ireland is involved in the forums that have been set up to propose international solutions within the OECD. Ireland is also involved at a European level through the leadership the Irish Presidency has given on taxation issues. We have made significant progress in several areas that are actually ahead of this declaration from a European point of view. We in this country have no issue with openness and transparency in terms of how our tax system works. We have been to the forefront in sharing tax information with the United States and other countries and therefore we are comfortable with the declaration that was made yesterday.

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