Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

While I would like to believe the nausea I am feeling was caused by the early start this morning and a lack of food, it has been caused by the level of debate in this Chamber, particularly on the part of the leaders of Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party. I find it nauseating to be in this Chamber, having been elected in an election at which people asked for something else and wisely refused to give an overall majority to any party in the Dáil. Here we are in an empty Chamber, having been called back to debate an issue on which, as Deputy Pringle pointed out this morning, a decision has already been made. Deputies do not have the benefit of the text of the judgment as it will not be published for another two months and not one member of the Government has clarified when an appeal must be made. A timeframe applies but nobody has indicated how long we have to make an appeal or whether Members will get the full judgment, with appropriate redactions, beforehand to allow them to read it, be treated as adults and have a proper input into the process. Instead, we have heard spin, downright untruths and misinformation.

I have before me a press release from the European Commission and one from the relevant Commissioner. The national Parliament is discussing press releases on an issue of such substance. This morning, we were finally given some information when the Government provided a briefing document which had been in its possession for a considerable period. I have not read the document, although I have briefly examined it. I presume Fianna Fáil, the Government's partner in government which is not really in government, also had access to this document. We received it this morning. Does the Leas-Cheann Comhairle stand over this type of new politics in the Dáil?

Every speaker from the Labour Party and the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil parties has ignored the real issue. I read paragraph 70 of the briefing document which states the Government is appealing the Commission's ruling to protect the integrity of our tax system, provide tax certainty and challenge the encroachment into a sovereign state's power on tax matters. None of these statements is accurate and none of these factors appears in the press release issued by the European Commission. It may be the case that when we receive the 150-page judgment it will address these issues but none of them is challenged in the press statements, the only information I have on the issue. On the contrary, the press releases confirm that no questions arise in respect of Ireland's tax system and that our sovereignty has not been encroached. They point out that the little arrangement Apple made with Revenue through the then Government meant that the tax treatment in Ireland enabled Apple to avoid taxation on profits generated in Europe. The Commission did not even find fault with this arrangement, which is a separate issue, but found fault with the fact that two companies, both subsidiaries of Apple, were allowed to use an arrangement whereby all of the profits generated in Europe and some of the profits of the two companies in question went into a head office in Dublin with no premises, activities or employees. I have not heard one speaker from the established parties ask whether this is a sustainable way to develop industrial policy or one on which our industrial policy should be based. In a mature Dáil, one would at least expect a debate to feature facts, figures and reasoned arguments, rather than the spin and counter-spin we have heard today.

Paragraph 70 of the Government's briefing document alludes to a threat to foreign direct investment. No lesser a person than Apple's Tim Cook has repeatedly reassured us that his company is expanding its operations in Ireland. Apple's chief financial officer has done likewise. In a somewhat confused message which, if delivered by a woman might have been described as bordering on the hysterical, Mr. Martin Shanahan from IDA Ireland stated that none of the investors to whom he had spoken in the previous week had expressed any concerns about Ireland and its future direction.

The Apple judgment relates to a specific issue. While Revenue did everything in accordance with the law, surely it or the Government had a duty to alert the Dáil to the fact that Apple was not paying any tax on vast sums of money. Contrary to the point made by Deputies from the Labour Party, the position worsened over time. In 2003, for example, Apple paid 1% tax on its profits, whereas it paid 0.5% in 2012 and 0.005% in 2014. For the benefit of people listening to this debate - some people listen to Dáil debates - for every €1 million in profit Apple made, the company paid €500 in tax in 2011. In 2014, the figure had declined to €50 per €1 million in profit. As my time has concluded, I will leave it to my colleagues to elaborate.

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