Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In my constituency of east Cork, many families are employed by Apple. Do not get us wrong, we are delighted to have the company there. It has provided very good paying work for many local people over the years. However, the people in my constituency need more than these jobs and the income tax the workers pay. Like all other Irish people, they rely on myriad public services and infrastructure provided for them through taxation for their daily lives. We have families in my constituency who have been on boil-water notices since February. There are children with no school transport. There are hundreds of families in need of housing. Last month, 11 homeless families presented at my office. Despite all of this, one of the only groups the Government is fighting for in my area is the multi-billion euro corporate giant which thinks taxes are beneath it. The people of east Cork and everywhere else rely on public services. They pay their fair share of tax and do so knowing the collective benefits outweigh the individual costs. We have a serious problem when major corporations making billions of euro in revenue a year do not see the logic of this system and the necessity to adhere to it. Apple refuses to pay. It will use what we have built collectively, but will not contribute to the pot.

Every employer pays a wage and that wage is taxed, but it is the worker that is being taxed. It is clear from the revelations of late that Apple pays the bare minimum it can get the Government to agree to. If a worker earning €30,000 per annum was levied at the same rate as Apple, he or she would pay just €1.50 tax a year. That would be devastating to the Exchequer. Why, then, should a corporation which benefits from so much of our public investment be exempt from contributing to its costs? The Government talks today about transparency while peddling rubbish that no one believes. Apple got a sweetheart deal. It paid barely any tax as its profits soared and it fiddled its finances to ensure that it paid even less. The Government talks about international reputation. We have not done ourselves any favours. The Government has portrayed us as spineless sleeveens who will do anything to please our masters. The piper may have changed, but the tune is still the same. It is Irish people who are being sold down the river. By appealing this decision, the Government reaffirms this portrayal of the Irish people and their Government. That is why I support Sinn Féin's amendment to the motion.

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