Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Donnelly for raising this issue. The position is that every year, in the Finance Bill, we review tax avoidance. As long as I have been here - which has been a long time - we have seen loopholes being closed each year when they are being abused or exploited in a way that was never intended. In all cases, initiatives in the tax code - which I have seen over many years - are designed by politicians with the best of intentions. Others employ armies of accountants to find ways of using them for other purposes and, every year, one has to deal with that. We have given the Revenue very strong powers not only to pursue abuses, but to put those who are designing schemes that might be anticipating abuses under threat as well. We have a very strong code in this respect.

On our international position, we are taking a leading role in the base avoidance and profit-shifting initiative of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD. We have moved ahead of the posse to deal with issues in our tax code that could be construed as being abuses in the international arena. We have moved very rapidly to do that and that is absolutely right. We need to ensure that this process is done properly and that we do not have unintentional avoidance or abuse of provisions where companies play one country off against another. We are very committed to that process. The ISIF has a dual-role. One is to earn money and the second is a developmental role. It does not have a responsibility for revenue issues. I assure the Deputy that I will ask the Minister for Finance to examine the issues that he raises and if they are areas where there is a need for initiative, I have absolute confidence that he will take those initiatives in the appropriate manner.

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