Tony Mulcahy (Fine Gael)

I warmly welcome this creative thinking and it is certainly the way forward. This is exactly the type of thought process we need. There was another proposal included in the Finance Bill which will be of great benefit to the country, the new tax regime for foreign investors. They will pay tax on between €75,000 and €500,000 at a rate of 30%. I heard a colleague in the Opposition criticise this last night, which shows the inertia between the two ears of some of these people.

If we are to get more people on this island to create jobs in order to collect tax from them, the only way of doing so is to make it attractive financially. What plans are there to communicate this scheme and get it to the world market? I have already circulated details to friends in the UK and I have no doubt they have been passed on to people in the US. The Shannon Chamber, which deals with much foreign direct investment in the Shannon region, will communicate details to associates, mainly in the United States. We must circulate this idea far and wide.

I could not welcome this more as it is the way forward for the country. There is no question or doubt in my mind that this is the way we must think. I have no doubt it will be of benefit to us. As Senators Bradford and Bacik noted, it is great to see an initiative like this come from the Minister for Justice and Equality, and I hope the other Ministers consider their briefs and do some creative thinking. It is a welcome idea.