Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I always have to fundamentally disagree with this label "the establishment". Every Deputy in this House is elected at every general election. I have equal respect for all Deputies by dint of the fact that they have been elected. It is too easy a label to throw out there and it is deliberately done to undermine people, when we have a strong, functioning democracy in Ireland compared to other countries. We also continue to reform our Parliament and we facilitate a whole range of groups in society to access parliamentarians, to influence policy formulation and to advocate for their interests. There are aspects of our system that continually need reform but we should always affirm the strengths of Irish democracy as the world becomes more authoritarian.

Regarding taxation, I do not know whether the Deputy is saying that 12.5% for multinationals is too low or is wrong as part of a wider model. When he speaks about those who lost their lives or fought in the War of Independence, I often think of Seán Lemass who was 16 years of age when he was in the General Post Office, GPO, in 1916. He is a person worth studying in terms of how his life evolved. He was an internationalist, he believed in joining international rules-based organisations and he was way ahead of his time in supporting access to the Common Market. In the early 1960s he could see what was coming downstream and he wanted to prepare Ireland for it. He did much work to get Ireland ready to join the EU, which is probably one of the best things this country ever did. I am particularly proud of Fianna Fáil's role in leading Ireland into the EU because it turned us from being an inward, insular island into a far more outward economy. We have benefited significantly because of our membership of the EU on so many fronts.

On the foreign direct investment model, over the past 50 years, since we decided to look outwards, we have attracted some of the best manufacturing facilities to Ireland, whether it is the Intels, Hewlett Packards or Apples of this world or the pharmaceuticals. Only this week, Pfizer announced that mRNA vaccine technology will come to Ireland to be manufactured in Grange Castle. That places Ireland at the centre of the manufacturing of vaccine substances which can be used in Europe and all over the world because it the fastest way to get vaccines out across the world. That model will change over time and the OECD is looking at the broader framework governing corporate taxation. However, it has worked for Ireland as a small island, which has to compete with other big players in the economic field. We have attracted thousands of good-quality jobs in the farming and technology industries as well as the digital sector.

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