Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

For decades we have been known as a low-tax economy. Our 12.5% corporate tax rate has been the most identifiable thing about our industrial policy, the one constant that multinationals could rely on and a rate that was retained when the country went bust and had to be bailed out. However, the OECD will turn our 12.5% north star into a supernova.

We all know change is coming with the global minimum corporate tax rate. There is an inevitability about this. The evolving language of the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance on the issue suggests they accept change is coming. What will that change look like? What will our unique selling point be then? Some countries attract foreign direct investment, FDI, not only through a skilled workforce, but through excellent public services and an affordable cost of living. Ireland will not attract companies on that basis. Our dysfunctional housing market means housing costs are the most expensive in the EU. According to a EUROSTAT survey, housing costs in Ireland are a whopping 78% above the EU average. Are wages 78% above the EU average? They are not. We have the third highest proportion of low-paid workers in the EU.

When it comes to healthcare costs, Ireland is the only country in western Europe that does not have free universal coverage for primary care, which makes the Government failure to implement Sláintecare all the more deplorable. Our roads are clogged with traffic and our public transport is at capacity and will soon be oversubscribed, with vital infrastructural projects such as MetroLink and DART+ seemingly delayed to 2034.

Our energy costs are the fourth highest in the EU, and that was before the current explosion in prices, which will put huge strain on families and households this winter. The energy crisis goes deeper than this. The Business Post reported an €80 billion investment by Intel is in jeopardy because of antiquated energy and water infrastructure, while the IDA has warned serious reputational damage could be done if these issues are not addressed urgently.

We have a highly educated workforce but when the corporate tax is changed and the global playing field is levelled, the cost-of-living crisis in this country will factor much higher in the calculations of companies considering setting up or investing here. Why would they go to a country where workers cannot afford a home and it is not guaranteed that the lights will stay on, when they can go elsewhere and not suffer a tax penalty for doing so?

What will our industrial policy look like when the 12.5% tax rate is gone? From this side of the House, it does not look like there is much of a plan or policy in place. Will the Government announce new measures in the national development plan, NDP, to address the serious infrastructural deficits in the context of that new industrial environment?

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