Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I suppose there is an additional element to this. I am not convinced by the Tánaiste's response that, simply because of the political composition of government reflecting the political composition in this country, it will somehow miraculously turn out to be a better arrangement for us given the commitments that were made clearly by the previous German Government and the contradictory statements which have been repeatedly made by the SPD.

Since I put down this parliamentary question, there has been a further development. Last week the Government deliberately put out the line that the SPD was demanding a hike in corporate tax in exchange for a precautionary credit line and this has fed into the narrative over the past number of days as to why the Government did not seek a precautionary credit line. Mr. Derek Scally, in The Irish Times last week, put paid to that notion and made it clear that such is not the case. No approach was made to the future German Government on the question of a credit line and no negotiations were opened. It would be helpful if the Tánaiste could clarify to the House that there was no risk to our corporate tax rate on the basis of a credit line. In fact, Mr. Scally, in his article last week, quoted senior sources in government and senior sources in the socialist party in Germany stating that they were quite concerned that we had not sought a precautionary credit line.

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