Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am glad the Taoiseach had the opportunity to meet so many investors into Ireland. The country is not a tax haven. The jobs, especially with the company in question on the north side of Cork city, are important to the thousands of people working in these companies and the families who depend on those jobs. It is correct to be balanced. Ireland is entitled to have foreign direct investment and be competitive in that respect.

When does the Taoiseach expect the full decision and detailed elements of it on Apple to be published by the European Commissioner? Will he update us on the work being done on this case by the Revenue Commissioners and their legal advisers? I understand there are extensive teams of legal advisers working on this tax case.

I also want to raise an issue in the context of the report from the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, in respect of ECOFIN in November.

The Taoiseach objected to my suggestion that the European People's Party, EPP - the Taoiseach's own party in the European Union - was not really helping Europe to recover. What does the Taoiseach think the EPP is likely to do in regard to the development of the consolidated tax base? Does he agree with prominent Irish economist, Seamus Coffey, who said yesterday that the development of the common consolidated tax base, as proposed by the European Union, constitutes a very significant threat to the Irish corporate tax base?

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