Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

On the issue of corporate taxation and our reputation, I honestly do not believe the Taoiseach is facing up to the serious questions that are being asked. Yesterday, I noted on the Internet that a company called Dema Partners, an international tax solution consultant, offers corporations 80 “tax havens” around the world where they can avoid tax. Ireland is included as one. The US Senate committee, including both Republicans and Democrats, states Ireland is a tax haven, and experts such as Mr. Richard Murphy in the United Kingdom say Ireland is a tax haven. Members of the British Parliament state Ireland is a tax haven but the Taoiseach says it is not and that everything is fine. How does the Taoiseach explain this? If it walks and talks like a duck, it probably is a duck. Despite this, the Taoiseach's account conflicts with everybody else's account of what is occurring in terms of corporate tax avoidance by multinationals in Ireland. If the Taoiseach is so concerned about Ireland's international reputation, particularly in the United States, why can we, in our Parliament, not do the same as was done in the US Senate and the British Parliament, that is, bring the representatives of Google, Facebook, Apple and other corporations at the centre of the allegations before our committees to answer questions instead of shooting down proposals to do so, as happened last week at a meeting of the finance committee?

See this speech in context