Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is at it again saying how terrible things would be under Sinn Féin. Many of the companies Deputy Ring mentioned were here since long before the SARP, including Coca-Cola, Allergan's predecessor and Apple. Is he really suggesting that if we get rid of SARP, they will pack up and go? That is nonsense. The taxation proposals we have on individual incomes above €140,000 leaves the effective rate still below what it was in 2014, when many of these companies were here in the first place. The Minister can outline the bogeyman stuff all he wants but he can also have a proper and sensible conversation about the real needs in society, whether it is children waiting for scoliosis operations, parents suffering as a result of the high costs of childcare or the fact that people cannot get a bed in many of our hospitals. Therefore, he needs to examine how he will resource them and have a proper conversation instead of this bogeyman thing.

Can he imagine if I stood up and said we should increase corporation tax by 2.5% on the wealthiest corporations? I could write his script: "Terrible Sinn Féin wanting to create jobs." He negotiated that. He is the first Minister for Finance in more than two decades to negotiate an increase in corporation tax. He is the fella who slaughtered the sacred cow. I do not criticise him for that but let him not come in here with this scaremongering stuff. I am looking for a proper, sensible discussion and a recognition that the change at OECD level on taxation has eroded our competitiveness. We can still maintain that but the biggest issue that faces us in attracting new investment is housing. Do not listen to Sinn Féin. You will have this "Sinn Féin, this that and the other". Listen to what business is saying. Housing is one of our biggest problems in attracting new investment and retaining investment in the country. Infrastructure and education are other issues. These are the areas we need to focus on. We have ridden this horse and ridden it well for a long time and we need to make sure it is maintained. That means investing in the other areas.

See this speech in context