Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am the last man standing. I congratulate the Minister of State on his recent appointment. I very much look forward to working closely and constructively with him over the next couple of years. I also wish to compliment the Minister of State's staff. The format of his opening statement is excellent. It is the first time I have seen formatting like that. Whoever is involved, I hope we see more of it and that their lead will be followed across other Government Departments.

I welcome the Bill. It is long overdue and I look forward to supporting its passage through the Oireachtas. The Minister of State was 100% correct in referencing how important FDI is to this country. We have all lived through the 1980s and remember the mass unemployment, mass emigration and mass depression. The multinational sector was one of the factors - just one of them - that dragged us out of that dark period in Irish history. All we have to do is look at the corporation tax receipts. We have €6 billion of a surplus for the first time in 15 years. That is going to have a massive impact on the budget next Tuesday. However, it is not all just about corporation tax and the tax haul. Significant skills are passed on by the FDI sector as well. A lot of Irish people who work for those companies eventually go on to establish their own SMEs and contribute to the indigenous Irish economy. It is right that we should maintain an accommodating and supportive environment for multinationals in Ireland, within reason.

We should be able to provide a screening system so that the companies that are here or companies even considering coming here are aware that at least we have some basic screening tools to protect them from cyber, industrial and commercial espionage.

Second, I think most people in the country are very happy with how Ireland conducts its business internationally. We are an honest broker. We engage in good faith with other countries. To be fair, the vast majority of countries reciprocate and engage in good faith with us. However, it would be very naïve to think that every country does and will. The Irish public, over the past 12 months, got a sample of what other malign actors are out there geopolitically when they saw some of the behaviour and conduct of a very small number of embassies here in Dublin. It is very important that we are aware there is a threat and risk and that we have the appropriate structures and mechanisms in place.

Ireland is a great place to live; I would not want to live anywhere else. We do a lot of things very well and we do a lot of things very poorly. Of all the things we do very poorly, security is what we do most poorly of all. Whether it is energy, cyber or national security, we just do not seem to do security at all. This legislation will certainly help in that regard. At least it is a half step in the right direction.

Turning to the technical aspects of the Bill, it strikes the appropriate balance, and "balance" is the key word. It provides us with the opportunity at least to screen, to deter, to mitigate and to prohibit, if necessary, but it also allows for an accommodative posture as well.

I like a number of things in the Bill. I particularly like the appeals mechanism. I like that companies have recourse in the courts if necessary. What I like most about the Bill is the multidisciplinary aspect of the advisory panel. We talk about diversity a lot in boardrooms and organisations and that is generally interpreted as gender balance or age balance between the young and the old, which are import things for sure, but we rarely recognise the importance for skills diversity. To have input from defence, justice, foreign affairs, finance, transport and communications is a very good panel if it is implemented properly.

In summary, I am happy this Bill is before the House and I am happy to support it. I have one lasting thought. Most of the law that comes from the EU is good. Not all of it, but most of it is good. This is an example of good law that we need to transpose now into domestic law. The point I would like to leave the Minister of State with is that if it was not for the EU nudging and prodding us along this direction, I very much doubt we would be having this conversation today and that this Bill would be before the House. I am grateful in this instance that we are in the European Union. I look forward to supporting the passage of this Bill through the Oireachtas.

See this speech in context