Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With regard to the debate, I recommend to the House and the wider public that they read Mr. David Quinn's article in today's Irish Independent. The media need to be careful not to rush to judgment. Perhaps the Leader might indicate whether the Government has challenged the besmirchment of the country abroad, particularly by the more scurrilous elements of the British press. They have jumped on this sad family tragedy in order to have a go at Ireland without any knowledge of the Irish laws or the practices that are engaged in by the medical profession. As has been pointed out, where the life of a woman is threatened there are medical procedures that will ensure that the mother's life is saved. We await the outcome of the inquiry.

I support the call for the Tánaiste to come here for a debate on the Middle East and Ireland's position vis-à-vis holding the EU Presidency. During that time there will be ongoing dealings, negotiations and exchanges between the EU Presidency and the Israeli authorities. It is a fact that Israel perceives Ireland to be hostile. As Senator Norris will know, Israel views Ireland as being unfriendly. The Tánaiste has been open and adopted a balanced approach to the matter, as has previous Irish Administration. Israel has the impression that Ireland is not friendly and it would be incumbent on the Tánaiste to clarify Ireland's position vis-à-vis its relationship with Israel and to alert the House about the Government's priorities on the Middle East in general.

I have raised the following issue before and shall keep returning to it. There is a growing clamour across Europe - the French and German finance Ministers came on board in the past two days - to investigate the tax paid by multinationals across Europe. The issue will not go away. I raised it here before and I shall continue to do so, particularly when I think of the way that the vulnerable in society will be dealt with in the next budget. It is ironic that it is being said that the cuts will not be any worse than what has been indicated. In other words, ¤3.5 billion must be taken out of the economy. Who will be hurt? It will hurt the most vulnerable, lone parents and home owners. The cuts will hurt the most vulnerable people in society, yet multinationals engage in legal tax avoidance. It is time we grasped the sacred cow, the multinationals. Yes, they are welcome here but that is not the issue. Are they paying a fair amount of tax when the rest of the country must carry an unfair burden of taxation? Once again I ask that the Minister for Finance will clarify what the Government will do to respond to the queries that arose in France, Germany and the UK about multinationals and the amount of tax that they pay to their respective exchequers.