Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Before I address the motion specifically, I thank the House for spending some time installing a sound system in the Dáil. As someone with profound hearing loss and as a user of hearing aids, I can now hear due to the fact that we have a loop system. I have been at an extreme disadvantage over the last number of months, but today I can hear and am grateful for that.

I welcome today's Dáil debate as an important opportunity to bring clarity to the events of last week and to put the facts and the truth before the Irish people. In particular, we must today clear up some of the misinformation about the €13 billion pot of gold. After consulting independent experts from the worlds of academia and economics and, indeed, those who campaign on the issue of tax justice, I assure the House that such a windfall does not exist. As the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, I wish it did. There are plenty of areas where I would love to invest to secure the future of our children, young people and nation. However, the €13 billion does not belong to Ireland. The European Commission, the Attorney General and independent experts all agree that this money is from avoidance of tax in multiple jurisdictions, each one of which should be entitled to a slice. In addition, as Apple is appealing, no moneys will be available until the conclusion of the action. I am also assured by those who know the law that any attempt to access such cash now would be open to legal challenge. As a Government and as public representatives, we owe it to the people to be honest and factual in what we say and not mislead them with false hope of a sudden windfall.

The House will be aware through media reports over the past week that the decision to support the appeal of the European Commission's finding was a difficult one for me. I have made it clear that I agree with much of what the European Commission says and am of the firm view that while the dealings with Apple may be legal, they are certainly not ethical. My support is based on reasons that are different from those of some of my Cabinet colleagues and, I suggest, some of those in opposition. Our response to the European Commission decision and its fallout must have a strong tax justice foundation. Many Members will be aware that the concept of tax justice is centred on fairness, equality and transparency. It has many other aspects, but my time is limited today. By proceeding with the appeal we are acting fairly, but we are also acting in the interests of equality, as the process will allow those countries that feel robbed or cheated by the past actions of Ireland and Apple to make their cases, including developing countries. I hope they can get the taxes they lost out on. We are also ensuring transparency, as the appeal will be an open process whereby we can publicly examine whether the European Commission in fact acted beyond its powers, look in detail at Apple's actions, lift the lid on its tax affairs in an open and transparent setting and consider also the actions undertaken by the authorities here in the past. We must also act about the future, which is why I am glad to confirm to the House that the Government has accepted a number of my proposals that bring a tax justice focus to Ireland's future policy. We have agreed a review of our corporation tax code by an independent expert. We have also agreed to transpose EU directives by the end of the year, which is very significant, to ensure the exchange of information on taxation and greater co-operation between countries. We will take a lead on tax justice by hosting a high-level meeting before the end of the year to include international speakers, multinational corporations, civil society and governments. We will have greater openness on tax rulings, with time limits of five years and greater oversight for the Committee of Public Accounts.

Earlier this week, Sean O'Rourke on RTE asked me about donning the green jersey in terms of getting multinationals into Ireland. Let us be clear that to end Ireland's reputation for being a place of stateless, unethical tax deals is to don the green jersey. Those firms that do business fairly and above board agree. The view that firms queue up to come here to avoid tax has little basis and that fact is supported by research. If we want to continue to attract business and jobs, we should focus on priorities other than the taxation system per se. As the research identifies, we provide an access point to Europe with an English-speaking population as well as a corporation tax rate of 12.5%.

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