Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I would like to be associated with the Tánaiste's remarks in regard to the late Tom Burke. "Legend" is a much-overused word but it is one that we can appropriately apply to Tom. Our sympathies go to his family and media comrades.

Back in June, I told the Financial Timesthat Ireland could live with a small increase in our corporation tax rate. The Tánaiste accused me then of walking into a trap with those comments. He went on to accuse me and the Labour Party of damaging the national interest. It was clear then that the writing was on the wall, when nearly every country in the world was signing up to this process. Four months on, it now seems the Government is going to follow my advice and that of the Labour Party and sign up to the 15% rate. Will the Tánaiste accept that he was wrong in June and will he have the good sense - and, indeed, the good grace - to withdraw his patronising charge? It is good leadership to be able to admit when one is wrong and to acknowledge that fact publicly.

We know there are two pillars to the OECD process. Projections we have seen from the Department of Finance suggest the cost of pillar 1 will mean a €1 billion impact in 2023, rising to €2 billion in 2025. Ireland has already signed up to pillar 1 but there has been a change in scope under that pillar and significant movement on pillar 2 since those figures entered the public domain. We are all working off old figures. Does the Tánaiste accept that what Ireland may lose on the pillar 1 swings, we could gain on the 15% roundabout? Corporation tax is expected to come in at €12 billion this year. A simple straight-line increase to take it up to 15% would potentially bring in an extra €2.5 billion. This would clearly cancel out any losses under pillar 1. However, we have not been able to get access to any costings on this. There is a huge information vacuum for those of us trying responsibly to interpret the Government position. Will the Tánaiste confirm that updated figures will be published today? Will he further confirm that when the Cabinet meets today, the financial impact of these proposals will be presented to Ministers to help them to make an informed decision on this extremely momentous shift? Will he also confirm that the 12.5% rate will continue to apply to indigenous firms?

In summation, does the Tánaiste still believe that I and the Labour Party are damaging the national interest? Is it not the case that we could gain revenue and be quids in here because we will regain on the swings what we lose on the roundabouts? Will the 12.5% corporation rate still apply to indigenous firms operating here and, indeed, to smaller multinational corporations located here, because pillar 2 applies only to firms with a global turnover in excess of €750 million?

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