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

The Government notes the announcement made by Commissioner Vestager this morning. It is a decision with which we disagree. We believe it is wholly unnecessary and very much unwarranted at this time. We profoundly disagree with the European Commission's interpretation of state aid rules. It is our view that tax is a matter of national competence. It is a matter for this Parliament, not the European Commission. It is already on appeal to the European Court of Justice. Even so, in the meantime, we are making arrangements to collect the €13 billion from Apple. The NTMA is managing this process and has tendered for fund managers to set up an escrow account and someone to manage the money until the European Court of Justice decides to whom it belongs. I am aware that the budget will be announced next week and it is very important to say this is not money that could be spent this year or next year to solve any of our problems or do anything. It is money that must be held in a ring-fenced escrow account until the European Court of Justice decides to whom it rightfully belongs - Apple, Ireland or other countries.

On the ongoing Brexit negotiations, it is our preference and negotiating position that we maintain free trade in merchandise and services between Great Britain and Ireland. I know that the issues of Northern Ireland and the Border are extremely important, but from the point of view of Irish business and agriculture, the level of trade between Ireland and Great Britain is much greater than that between Ireland and Northern Ireland. As this is particularly the case for the agrifood sector, we are determined to secure a customs union partnership and a free trade agreement or area between Great Britain and Ireland in the post-Brexit scenario. We do not want to sacrifice or give up our free trade with Great Britain. That is very much our position. Of course, we will have fall-back positions if things do not work out. I do not think it would be in the interests of Ireland or the people for us to outline our fall-back or negotiating positions in a Chamber such as this for the obvious reason that they would all be transmitted to the people with whom we are negotiating. That would not be in our interests. There is a facility for party leaders to be briefed directly by my Department on the negotiations. We certainly do not rule out seeking special arrangements for Ireland and Northern Ireland, but that is not by any means our negotiating position or preference.

On the two videos referred by Deputy Micheál Martin, one from Baldonnel and the other from the Irish Embassy in Tallinn, I checked both yesterday and neither of them contains any political content. The content is entirely about the business and work of the day - my work as Taoiseach. There is nothing party political in them whatsoever, but in order to allay the Deputy's concerns, in the future I will post them on merrionstreet.iebefore they are posted on any other account. I am not sure that will make any difference in practice, but if it will help to allay the Deputy's concerns, I am happy to make the change.

In response to Deputy Séan Haughey, I will speak to President Macron about the role of nation states and the important role of small nation states. It is important that we have a European Union in which small members states will be respected and included and in which their full contribution to European Union integration will be harnessed. I do not like to see the big member states - France, Germany, Italy and Spain - meeting together to the exclusion of small member states. I will certainly have no difficulty in making that statement.

On the situation in Catalonia, I have not had any direct contact with other European leaders about the issue. There has, of course, been contact at official level in the past couple of days. My main business has been conducting business in this House and dealing with domestic matters. However, I am sure the issue will be discussed at the European Council the week after next. It is important to point out that while Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett is correct that 90% voted for independence in the referendum, only 42% of the people participated. This was, in part, due to the fact that the referendum was not lawful and was boycotted by millions of Catalans who wanted devolution, not separation. The contrast is with the referendum held in Quebec which happened under Canadian law and in which there was a massive turnout and the referendum held in Scotland which happened under UK law and in which there was a massive turnout. The fact that most people did not turn out to vote in a referendum on whether the country in which they lived should be a state really strikes at the legitimacy of the referendum. We must bear that in mind.

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