Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is worthwhile to begin the answer to that question by acknowledging what we have already done. That is why the change in the value added tax, VAT, rate for the hospitality sector was so important. That kind of base-broadening, which never happened in the past, is part of what we need to do to reduce our future reliance on the corporate tax stream. Moreover, for the first time our budgetary figures for this year are built on the assumption of collecting less corporation tax this year than we collected last year. The value of that will depend on our ability to keep expenditure in a better place than it was last year.

Regarding what we are going to do in the future, next week I will outline two things. The first of these is a process by which we aim to gain a better view of the sustainability of our corporation tax receipts. Second, if we stick to the current fiscal rules, the current health of our economy might lead to future expenditure decisions that might create the risk to which the Deputy refers. In my paper next week, I will outline different options for the management of that risk. I hope we can debate them in the House during the coming months, with a view to making a decision on them in budget 2020.

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