Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to speak on this important issue. I only have a few minutes and I am not going to repeat what others have said, but I want to make three important points. First, I strongly support the Government's decision to appeal the Commission's ruling. The decision of the European Commission essentially asks us to become a global tax collector for the entire European Union, collecting tax on profits made on products that were not made, sold, marketed or developed in Ireland. If that ruling were to stand, it would surely make companies think twice about basing their operations in Ireland.

It is also important that we stand over the integrity of our tax system and the opinions issued by the Revenue Commissioners. Business and investors need certainty, not uncertainty and retrospectivity. The case in the European courts will provide clarity in respect of other cases, which is very important, establishing how much Apple owes and to which jurisdictions. It will also give other countries the opportunity to make their case for claims. I also want to reject the dishonest and cynical accusations that have been made by some of the speakers on the political left, suggesting that this money should be collected and used almost immediately to solve problems, such as providing a house for everyone who needs one, motorways, metros, transforming our economy and so on. It is an argument that is blatantly bogus. Even if we did not appeal, others would, and Apple has already done so. The money will be collected and the Revenue Commissioners are obliged to collect it now. However, it cannot be spent and must be held in an escrow account until such time as all litigation is complete. In some ways, those on the political left are acting like serpents in the Garden of Eden, tempting Eve with a promise they know they cannot keep and the fruit of a poisoned tree.

My final point relates to our industrial policy. Ireland's industrial policy over the past 30 years has been an enormous success story. We have gone from being a poor, largely agrarian country that missed out on the Industrial Revolution to a modern, high-tech, wealthy country, with the number of people at work increasing from 1 million to 2 million. That was achieved through two major policy decisions. We ensured Ireland was attractive to investment through IDA Ireland, low corporation profit tax, good administration, accessible government and a skilled workforce, and we showed our commitment to the European Union, making sure we were very clear that our place is at the heart of Europe - we are in the euro and we are in the European Single Market - and that we have no ambiguity about that. We are attractive to investment and fully part of the European Union. They are the key tenets of our industrial policy.

In the past couple of weeks, the shock of the Apple decision gave rise to understandable anger in this country, but we need to be careful in the weeks and months ahead about the language we use. In the immediate aftermath of the announcement, it was inevitable that harsh words would be spoken on both sides. I reject the use of terms like "tax haven" for our country, but I also reject the characterisation of the European Union as a conspiracy of large states against small countries such as Ireland. Europe has been very good for Ireland and, as a small country, on the western edge of the Continent, the European Union gives us access to the largest market in the world and the ability to ensure that large corporations have to act in a way that is to some degree fair and appropriate, because only entities like the European Union have the scale to take on big trading issues like this, and large corporations where necessary. The European Union has also given us harmonised standards, for example, in terms of labour laws, health and safety, and the environment, to prevent a race to the bottom and unfair competition.

In recent years in the neighbouring jurisdiction, we have seen where anti-European rhetoric and nationalist rhetoric can ultimately lead. We need to be balanced in our assessment of the European Union. Of course the Union and its institutions make mistakes, but so do we. We forget a little too easily how Irish Governments thumbed their nose at the European Union during the Celtic tiger period, when Governments at best ignored, and sometimes ridiculed, warnings about our pro-cyclical fiscal policy and over-dependence on the property sector. In families and among friends there are always disagreements, but we should not allow these rows to degenerate into a serious rift. We should disagree with European institutions when they are wrong, and we should do so loudly and vigorously, but we do not need to attack those institutions. A robust engagement with our European partners and European institutions is what we need in future, but we should not slip into the language of "them and us" - plucky Ireland against conspiring foreigners. It is not in our long-term interests as a country or as an economy.

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