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

I notice an increasing tendency in the Labour Party to deny or share any of the experience it had in government. The Deputy was a member of a Government, a very fine member at that, who gave great leadership in the State at a very difficult time, during which she well understood the pressure the corporate tax regime was under. She understands and understood then the sensitivity of the matter of rates and all of the challenges surrounding it. What we have is an issue with the measurement of national income. That is the key issue. The Deputy is wrong to say, using this measurement of national income, that we should make a set of changes, one of which, in particular, could be very damaging. We have a corporate tax regime that levies tax on a very wide range of economic activity at a rate over which we are standing. It is not the case that I have refused to address the issue of the tax contribution made by the banks in Ireland. I have debated the issue with the Deputy on many occasions, but it is my view that changing the regime in the way the Deputy wants would have very serious consequences for other interests of the Irish taxpayer.

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