Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach said in his earlier reply that a process of assessment was ongoing and a subgroup had been established to do that. He further said there had been two meetings. It is clear from the May meeting of the Clearing House Group that the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach was critical not just of the direction but of the structures of the group. From Sinn Féin's point of view and from the point of view of anybody who watches the way politics works and the relationships between power groups in this State, the minutes can only deepen concern because the big players in the financial and legal worlds have access to the highest echelons of the Government and the most senior civil servants. I cannot imagine an anti-poverty group or a group campaigning and lobbying for hospital facilities having the same consistent access.

The minutes indicate that the industry lobbied successfully for a series of taxation and legal incentives and exemptions to be included in the Finance Act 2013, including incentives for research and development, changing the tax treatment of investment funds, exemptions to capital acquisitions tax for foreign firms and changes to the taxation of foreign dividends for firms with branches abroad. In some cases, legislation was drafted by representatives of multinational companies and then put to the Department of Finance for consideration. It has been estimated that 21 separate measures contained in the Finance Act 2012 had been sought by the Clearing House Group or its subgroups. This should be compared to the propositions put forward by people who depend on public services. I am sure the Taoiseach is inundated by groups putting forward worthy pre-budget submissions. One of the Clearing House Group submissions included a tax break for multinational executives. This was put forward by multinational companies. The Government may or may not restructure or change the programme, although the Taoiseach said at this point he would not. However, he has to take on board concerns because, on the one hand, the Government is imposing austerity on ordinary working families while, at the same time, giving tax exemptions to big earners. Who is dictating policy? What has changed from the time Fianna Fáil was in government regarding these well connected vested interests? Will the Taoiseach assure the Dáil that the same mistakes are not being repeated by his Government? When can we expect to see the outcome of the process of assessment being undertaken by the subgroup? It was agreed this would proceed in May but it is now October. When can we see what it proposes?

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