Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this important debate relating to Ireland's corporation tax policy. Some 187,000 jobs are supplied by 700 US multinational companies located in Ireland and supported by IDA Ireland. Many others are indirectly employed as a result of the presence of these multinationals as suppliers or contractors. Let us be in no doubt that this is an important sector for our economy. The multinational sector now represents nearly 10% of the country's total employment. Companies are attracted to Ireland for a number of reasons. These include the skills of our people, the flexibility of our labour market, the ease of doing business and the fact that Ireland is the only English-speaking eurozone country.

While our taxation system is important for attracting foreign direct investment, many other factors affect our ability to attract inward investment. The provision of a competitive, consistent and certain tax policy is a key feature in the attractiveness of Ireland as a leading location for foreign direct investment. Corporation tax is an important element of our tax base that allows us to provide services for our people. It is worth noting that 80% of all corporation tax paid in 2015 was paid by the multinational sector. Such tax receipts will boost the Exchequer by €6.6 billion this year alone. This amount will almost cover the expenditure of the Department of Education and Skills.

Ireland has worked hard over the last 30 years to highlight its attractiveness to multinationals. We have been hugely successful in encouraging them to set up in Ireland. This success has led other countries to copy our approach by investing in education and setting their corporation tax rates close to our 12.5% rate. I read recently that despite having just 1% of the EU population, Ireland has secured 11% of foreign investment into the EU by US companies. Great credit is due to IDA Ireland, other State agencies and successive Governments for pursuing this successful strategy. We must realise that certainty in relation to our tax policy is a key enabler for attracting multinationals. We need certainty with regard to our fiscal position, our education policy and our tax policy. This EU ruling undermines that certainty. How can a company operate in Ireland if it reaches an agreement with Revenue, which is independent of the Government, only for the EU to make a ruling a few years later that undermines the agreement in question?

The retrospective nature of the EU ruling is also unfair. In this House, we cannot make laws retrospective. Revenue is independent of political interference. It implements the law independent of the Government. It is important that this policy is not undermined. Tax policy is a competence of the Irish Government, not of the EU. My constituency, Kildare North, is home to many multinationals, including Intel, Hewlett Packard and Wyeth. We have been hugely successful. I want to acknowledge the work of Kildare County Council in proactively developing partnerships with companies of such significance. I see at first hand how these companies have strengthened the bonds with local communities in Kildare. I see how Intel has developed links with NUI Maynooth, which is now Intel's global education partner and has become a key knowledge provider for that company.

We need to ensure confidence in our tax system is restored following the EU decision in the Apple case. The level of tax paid by Apple during the period of investigation is not defendable. As this is an international issue, solutions should be arrived at through the OECD. Following recent changes in tax laws, Ireland is leading the way in the elimination of these loopholes. Ireland is the only island nation in the EU. We need to take a proactive approach to attracting inward investment. It is much easier for other countries that have land borders with their EU partners to market their goods and services. We use airports and ports when we are taking our products and services to the EU market at large. This potentially increases the cost of doing business in comparison to other countries. As a result, over the last 30 years we have successfully focused on policy initiatives to counterbalance this potential drawback. The EU should not undermine our key platform for attracting inward investment. The Government must defend our right to have our own tax policy. We have the right to protect our sovereignty on tax policy.

I would like to make two final points. It is important for the Government to be seen internationally to be at one on this matter. It is disheartening that it took some days for the Government to get its act together on this important national issue. Fine Gael and the Independent Minister, Deputy Zappone, should not have allowed this issue to fester in public for a number of critical days last week. Strategic national issues of importance, such as this decision, should not be treated so casually. Finally, if the EU is really serious about this €13 billion tax liability, why does it not indemnify Ireland from any future liability in connection with this alleged tax liability? It has not done so because it is playing politics with our tax system.

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