Shane Ross (Independent)

I thank the Cathaoirleach. We are not in an alarming situation with multinationals but we will desperately need them. The main reason for their coming to the country, apart from the young educated labour force, is the 12.5% corporation tax. People who have ideological difficulties with that should not because the multinationals have produced employment on a scale that we could not have dreamt and the spin-off prosperity has been enormous. They are leaving because of the high cost of labour and because the eastern bloc countries they visit have cut corporation tax to a level below ours. There is no reason for us not to experiment by reducing corporation tax to 10% or 9%. There would be a loss to the Exchequer in terms of forensic accounting but there might well be a long-term gain from attracting more multinational industry into the country.

The good times began when Charlie McCreevy, the former Minister for Finance, slashed capital gains tax by 50% from 40% to 20%. That produced a great deal more revenue and activity. It was a double gain. We can learn from that. If we cannot do it by ourselves, attracting more industry from overseas will help employment and possibly the Exchequer.

Senator Regan raised the alarming prospect that the figures are wrong. He may be right. I studied them this morning too. There is some window-dressing in these figures for cuts and the Government has not cut €2 billion. The figure may be lower and it may have to come back for more when the Department of Finance examines its figures again. There is good reason to worry about that. The Government should accelerate the cuts process. I do not know why we have to wait for "an bord snip". If it has any recommendations, let us deal with them and make the cuts now.

There are serious questions to be asked about the semi-State bodies and State agencies. FÁS is only one with €1 billion. There are interesting questions to be asked about the budget of Enterprise Ireland. It is all very well for semi-State agencies to tell us they have done a wonderful job taking a few guys out to Japan and the Middle East, announcing they have got €140 million worth of orders in Japan and therefore Enterprise Ireland is a good thing. That does not follow. Let us examine what it costs because if we compare the operational costs for Enterprise Ireland and the Industrial Development Authority, Enterprise Ireland is inexplicably in the stratosphere. There are quangos galore that could be cut. An industry grew up around the sacred cow of social partnership in which there are people on boards that need not exist. The State is looking after them. We could begin to attack that mindset. I wish I had more time to speak.