Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to add my voice to that of those who have spoken on this section. I have raised this issue several times in the House. As has been suggested, there is fear in government such that the multinationals, the 12.5% rate and existing system are not to be touched. Following a parliamentary question that was asked some months ago, it is evident that the effective tax rate paid by multinationals who come under the 12.5% rate, which presumably would include indigenous companies who benefit from the 12.5% rate, is effectively between 5% and 6%.

The Minister of State is aware that there are very strong moves, initiated by the British, the French and Germans, to address this issue. The Chancellor of the Exchequer wrote a strident letter to the Financial Times about three weeks ago in which he made it quite clear that they would not tolerate the Starbucks scenario any more. As the Minister of State will be aware, France has had difficulties with Google and the Germans have also weighed in on that. I am anxious to establish what is happening here in this respect. Something must be going on within the Department of Finance on this issue. The Minister of State is not unaware of what is going on in the outside world. He is aware of what is happening. Has he done any investigation as to what will be the impact of this Europe-wide initiative by three of the most powerful economies in Europe which are obviously going to tackle this issue once and for all? The Osborne letter makes it quite clear that they are not going to allow this to slide. They are going to go after this. The Starbucks issue is a scandal. If that was happening in this country, I wonder whether this or any Government would move on it or would it put forward the argument that Starbucks is providing employment, paying taxes and operating within the law. Starbucks admitted it has not paid any tax for however many years it has been operating in the UK. That can be measured up against what was stated by the Department of Finance in response to a parliamentary question, namely, that the effective collection rate is between 5% and 6% and I understand the remainder is being written off through royalties and other tax shelters. As Senator Barrett has said, a team of tax lawyers comb through every dot and comma and every line of the tax legislation to maximise the return for their clients, and that is their job.

I want to re-echo what has been said. This is not an attack on the multinationals. We embrace the multinational companies that have located here. They provide much needed jobs in this economy. It is an extraordinary achievement for a small country of this size on the periphery of Europe to have located within its borders some of the biggest pharmaceutical companies and high-tech companies who have set up their European headquarters here. Time and again we have been told that while the corporation tax is an element in this respect, it does not represent the totality of it. I would be curious to get the Minister of State's response to those comments.