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

In his initial reply, the Taoiseach indicated that he had met a litany of CEOs of large corporations in New York. He referred on two occasions to what he calls the roadmap to tax competitiveness in Ireland and stated that he had encouraged the corporations in question to invest here as a result of that competitiveness. There have been widespread reports of the Government conferring with multinationals in order to reassure them that the changes to the double Irish tax arrangement will not impact on the amount of tax they pay. Is evidence not piling up to the effect that the policy of this and previous Governments has been to act - to some degree and in a pretty shameful way - as the corporate tax prostitute of Europe, particularly when it comes to attracting investment from the United States? A report in the business section of today's edition of The Irish Timesindicates that the high-powered barrister the Government has hired to defend Ireland in the context of the European Commission's investigation into Apple's tax affairs and the possible state aid extended to or special arrangements made for it by the Government has gone on record in the past month implying that the new knowledge box arrangement with which the double Irish will be replaced may be found to be very problematic. The individual in question apparently indicated that the knowledge box may constitute further state aid and may not involve a proper imposition of tax on the corporate sector. Even people the Government is hiring have stated that something about the Irish corporate tax regime stinks. That regime allows multinationals to literally get away with murder when it comes to corporate tax.

Does the Taoiseach communicate with the American Administration in respect of the fact that it is considering pouring fuel on the fire of the dire conflict in Ukraine by discussing the possibility of providing arms to one side, thereby inflaming an absolutely disastrous situation? What does the Taoiseach think of the proposal to supply arms? Would he join some of us in stating that it would be a disastrous move - and would make the situation even worse - for the United States to pour arms into what is an already dire conflict?

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