Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This week, the European Union's second highest court will hear the Government appeal over the €14.3 billion in Apple tax. I accept it is necessary to insert our tax sovereignty and demonstrate the impartiality of our own Revenue Commissioners. What is occurring, however, does outline that Ireland has become completely overdependent on multinationals for tax income. We are now in a position in which just 100 companies pay almost three quarters of the corporation tax collected. It is even questionable how much of this foreign direct investment actually benefits the real economy. The IMF has published some data on that. Like Fianna Fáil during the boom, the Government has used undependable corporation tax receipts to plug holes in the financial mismanagement of recent times. I refer to the over-expenditure we know about. In light of so many international economic uncertainties, does the Taoiseach agree it is now vital that we refocus our business and economic model on indigenous industries? Has the Taoiseach thoughts on this? How does he plan to ensure the indigenous economy is nurtured and grown so we can actually break away from overdependency on foreign direct investment, which represents a model that will probably not be sustained into the future?

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