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

I am just seeking clarity; that is all. The first point is that the corporation tax rate is not the unique selling point in attracting foreign direct investment into the country. One of the most important decisions made by modern Ireland was to join the EU. That has been critical to the continued economic transformation of our country. The party of which I am a member was the party that led that, with other parties that supported our entry into the Union. Others opposed it at the time. Some opposed it for approximately 30 years until they saw the light, but it was and is a very important policy in terms of our economic well-being and development and still represents that. Even earlier this week, when I was in New York talking to companies that are going to locate in Ireland, I made the point to them that if there are questions about our skills base and so on, our membership of the EU has been a huge buffer. We are the only English-speaking member state now, which is important.

Second, I point to the decision in the 1960s to bring in free second level education and to open outwards. The Lemass leadership of opening outwards was a key turning point in modern Ireland. Investment in third level education over successive generations is also a key selling point for Ireland. It is important because, repeatedly and consistently, companies that have located here, from the Intels to the Eli Lillys to companies all over the country, will say that the quality of the workforce here is second to none and very strong. That is a tribute to the education system right throughout. More latterly, our recent investment in research from the late 1990s onwards is paying dividends in the form of a higher quality of research and development investment that comes in, but we have to do more there into the future.

The tax system has been important; I do not understate that at all. That is why we have entered reservations in the OECD's position. We have not signed up to the OECD consensus, and the reason we have not done so is the lack of certainty in what has been proposed so far. The key issue for those who invest in Ireland is that they want certainty over the overall industrial policy framework, including tax. They do not want a situation in which the base rate will change every two to three years. There is also far more detail in this consensus on which companies will be covered and the threshold around turnover. Certain sectors such as financial services have been carved out. The negotiations are not complete at all, and we have made it clear that certainty and continuity, which have always been the hallmark-----

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