Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There will be many citizens looking at this debate who are paying tax rates of 20% and 40%. Many businesses will be paying their full rate of tax also. What is blowing the minds of these people right across the State is that the political establishment says on one level that it is on their side but on the next level tells them they should pay a tax rate 8,0000 times greater than the richest company in the world. One cannot have it both ways on this. The Labour Party was here a few minutes ago and said that Revenue was just fulfilling the tax code and that there was no departure from it. However, the Labour Party is missing the point. It is the Labour Party that is in part responsible for that tax code and it has a good part of the responsibility for this issue also.

The Government talks about sovereignty. It is very important that we do not mix up this issue. This is an issue of state aid. It is about unfairly giving one company a special deal. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, said himself that no other company got this deal. If no other company got this deal, it is a preferential deal by definition. Therefore, it is state aid. Appealing a payment of back tax owed to the tune of €13 billion for tax evasion just after the Government facilitated the fiscal assault on this country by the European Union is the polar opposite of what sovereignty is about. Sinn Féin has struggled for sovereignty for over 100 years and would never use it to charge the richest company in the world 0.005% tax. The major tragedy here is the issue of opportunity cost. Where Apple did not pay its taxes and where the Government appeals the Commission decision, the Government is, in effect, stealing from the people of Ireland. It is stealing from hospital budgets and the budgets of people with disabilities, from the roads and from the capacity to develop broadband and the infrastructure necessary to attract businesses to come here other than by way of a bargain-basement corporation tax rate. I appeal to the Government to step back and look to its true responsibility to the citizens of the country. It should make sure the citizens get what they are entitled to.

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