Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)

As this is my first time speaking in the House, I want to start by thanking the Minister of State and the many Members of the House from all parties and none who have been so welcoming to me since the start of the Dáil term. While friendships may be tested through the course of political life, I hope I can earn and keep the respect of my colleagues, as I promise respect for them and for the mandate entrusted to me by the Irish people and by Bunreacht na hÉireann. It would be remiss of me not to thank also the more than 100 ardent campaigners and supporters who helped to get me elected, many of whom are here today. In particular I thank my campaign manager Kieran Clarke, and the two campaigners, constituents and members of my party, Amy and Paul, who have joined my staff. I was and am so lucky to be surrounded by such great friends and family. In particular I thank my mom and dad, Morina and Eamon, who have been the most loving and dedicated parents I could have asked for, and my partner Triona, who has been the greatest joy and most solid rock I have ever had. Lastly, but most importantly, I owe a profound gratitude to the thousands of constituents in south Dublin city who honoured me with their vote and the great privilege of representing them here. It has been deeply humbling to receive a mandate from my peers in the pursuit of a better country, guided by the principles of social justice and progressive politics. I take up the mantle with deep reverence for the trust they have placed in me and the encouragement they have given me since I have been elected.

Earlier this month, the Business Post published the work of a research team in UCD led by Professor Aidan Regan revealing what they called a $1 trillion tax mirage, which they said was a conservative estimate by the way, in the domiciling of intellectual property assets by multinationals in Ireland to seek to exploit preferential tax rates on their global profits. To put this in context, it is altogether likely that the value of this multinational intellectual property exceeds the entire net wealth of Irish households, most recently estimated at approximately €1.23 trillion, including approximately €900 billion in housing assets. The authors of the report called it a paper-based prosperity which was fundamentally distortive to the Irish economy. I do not think anyone who has looked seriously at the tax mirage identified in this investigation can feel anything other than a horrifying sense of déjà vu. It appears that the accusation of Nobel laureate Professor Paul Krugman of "leprechaun economics" with regard to Fine Gael in the 2010s still applies.

For the person sitting at home and perhaps watching these proceedings, what does this fundamental distortion mean? What is the actual danger to the Irish economy and society? The same report identified this tax mirage as the main driving force in the rise in corporate tax receipts in the post-crash period. It was a rise from approximately €4 billion in 2013 to €21.4 billion in 2022 or from 4% of the State's budget to approximately one fifth. To put that in further context, given that Revenue has estimated that half of our corporate taxes are attributable to about ten companies, at the stroke of a pen in one foreign boardroom the State's coffers could lose approximately €1 billion. Such a loss of income to the State would be serious. One billion euro is about the size of our entire climate action budget or the annual capital expenditure of the HSE. That is just one boardroom. If all the multinational companies, say at the instigation of a US Administration, were to restructure their IP holdings, the damage could be in the tens of billions of euro. To put that in context, the total reduction in real voted Government expenditure in the middle of the financial crisis from peak to trough over multiple years was €10 billion, and I have not even spoken about tariffs.

Will the Minister of State recognise this existential threat to our financial viability and economy? Will he tell the House what the Government is planning to do to mitigate or manage this incredible concentration of risk in the public finances?

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