Seanad debates
Thursday, 10 October 2002
Address by President of the European Parliament.
I congratulate Mr. Cox on an excellent address. There is much disinformation coming from both sides in this referendum campaign, but I am confused about one matter in particular. How does the onward march of various treaties affect our ongoing relationship with the United States? As Mr. Cox will know, the boom in this economy was to a large extent US-led. Does our accession to the Nice treaty mean anything to the multinational companies because there seem to be conflicting signals coming from them as to what they would prefer Ireland to do? The only thing that matters to them – apart from the young educated workforce – is the tax code. Will this in any way affect that tax rate and are there other influences in the Nice treaty which might cause us to vote one way or the other on the issue of multinational influence in the economy?
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