Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

As I said before the adjournment of the debate last night, despite repeated claims by the Government of its success in inducing economic growth and restoring the fortunes of the economy, the truth is the budget did not allocate enough money to solve the housing and homelessness emergencies. It did not allocate enough money to deal with the shambles and crisis in the public health service. It has not ensured restoration, even now, of the pay slashed from public servants during the period of austerity. It has failed to allocate sufficient investment in key infrastructure in areas like the arts and the development of renewable energy. Indeed, it has come up short in all the urgent investment and public spending requirements. In respect of practically every inequality and injustice facing this country, the budget failed to deal with the problems, crises and injustices.

The key question is why that is the case. Is it because there is simply not enough money? Is it because this Government's priority, as becomes clear when we look at this Finance Bill, is to ensure that the people who actually have money are not taxed? Yet, they could be taxed to boost our tax revenues to allow us provide the resources that could solve the housing and health crises. That would allow us to restore pay equality for nurses and teachers and invest in our infrastructure. The Government refuses to tax those who have the money.

This is summed up by the issue that has surfaced again in recent days relating to Apple and the €13 billion. It is really rather extraordinary. It is not simply that the Government does not want to collect the €13 billion, or €19 billion including interest, that could transform the situation in this country for ordinary people. In fact, the Government is now facing fines and notice of legal action from the European Commission because of its refusal to collect that money and put it in an escrow account pending the outcome of the appeal. Incredibly, the Government is spending millions on the appeal to ensure that the people do not get the €13 billion. The Government is spending taxpayers' money defending Apple's tax evasion.

That begs the following question. Why, even under instruction from the European Commission, has the Government not put the €13 billion in the escrow account? We are told it is because of commercial sensitivities and difficulties in getting an investment manager for the escrow fund. I thought that was what the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, was for. The NTMA is well capable of managing bonds and reserves of funds. Why, in the case of Apple, has it taken a year? Why are we now risking fines to find an investment manager? I will explain the reason - it was indicated by Bloomberg in recent weeks. It is because the Government is treating Apple with kid gloves. I suspect the Government may be even negotiating with Apple as to who the investment manager should be. Incredibly, the Government put in a condition that whoever gets the contract for managing the escrow account must be managing at least €500 billion worth of assets. What companies manage €500 billion worth of assets? Only American companies do. What are the difficulties in sorting out this problem? It has to be that the Government is dancing to the tune of Apple. That sums up what is going on in this country.

Whereas the profits of these corporations have jumped by an absolutely extraordinary amount, they pay pitifully low levels of tax because the Government is ensuring that they do not pay the tax. There are massive loopholes designed specifically to ensure that they do not pay tax. That is not speculation, given the treatment of Apple.

I have heard on the grapevine that a further four or five Apple-type cases are coming down the line from the European Commission involving some of the other big US multinationals in respect of which the Government has given the same favourable treatment and designed specific tax breaks to ensure they do not pay taxes. We can see this when we look at the tax expenditures outlined by Revenue. They are absolutely extraordinary. Between 2015 and 2016, the figure for tax breaks under the heading of intra-group transactions jumped from €2.9 billion to €9 billion in one year. Who is benefitting from that increase of €7 billion in the tax loophole? This is in addition to the research and development tax credits, which amount to €700 million, and €2.7 billion for losses brought forward. The losses-brought-forward heading was mostly to benefit the banks. They pay no tax even while they are ripping off those with tracker mortgages and other mortgage holders on a range of fronts. They are paying no tax. Yet, the Government will not tax these companies. That money could provide the billions we need to transform our economy.

None of that is in the Finance Bill. Instead, there is a little tinkering and some tokens. There is nothing serious to give us the revenues we need to solve the problems. All of this is summed up in the treatment of Apple. Apple is only the tip of a big and rotten iceberg, reflecting how this Government, of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, protects the biggest and most profitable corporations in the world from paying any taxes and robs the people of the resources they need to solve the urgent social crises our society faces.

See this speech in context