Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, Ireland was also fined €2 million for the Government's failure to transpose an anti-money laundering directive on the preferential ownership of shares, which I raised with the Minister a number of years ago. However, that is not the key issue here and there are much more serious ones at play. One of the policies mooted by the Commissioner and the Commission is the triggering of Article 116 for tax policy purposes. That article allows the Commission to move against member states that distort market competition. The clear aim of this proposal is to circumvent the principle of unanimity to effect and determine tax policy through qualified majority voting. This has the potential to seriously impact smaller nations, undermining the principle of sovereignty. What is the Minister going to do to ensure Article 116 does not affect our right as a sovereign nation to set our own tax policies? Does he proposes to use his position as chair of the Eurogroup to ensure the Commission does not encroach on national sovereign competitiveness?

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