Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response, which was virtually identical to a reply to a parliamentary question I asked in June. The only difference I discerned was that the 1% transaction tax in share trading had raised €260 million by the end of August this year.

The gist of the Minister's argument appears to be that the regime in place in Ireland is much more onerous than the current proposal for a financial transactions tax. In his response in June, the Minister indicated the proposed financial transactions tax would raise an estimated €360 million, which is a much lower figure than the figures he cited today. If that is the case, why is he not encouraging the ten countries proposing a financial transactions tax to introduce a system based on our regime, given that it is effective and works well?

The Minister cited figures on the revenue generated this year from our financial transactions tax. Does he have figures for the amounts generated in previous years? There appears to be a lack of understanding regarding the way in which this revenue is raised.

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