Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome that we are having a debate on Europe Day. It is appropriate to have it and my colleague, Senator Leyden, will be taking the debate for Fianna Fáil. There are many issues to consider in this context and I raise an issue I raised yesterday in regard to the Commission's work programme from which it is clear that it wants to take away Ireland's corporate tax advantage by ensuring that any profits generated by companies based in Ireland will be paid in the country where it perceives they are generated. In this consumer age where Internet banking and Internet sales and activity are done in cyber space, it will be difficult for the Commission to define how a product is sold in Germany if it is bought through an Irish-based company. The EU is determined to take away our corporate tax advantage and that proposal is included in the work programme. Its work programme has been passed apparently by a committee of these Houses and brought before the House without having been debated. That is not the scrutiny or the transparency that we had hoped for or that the Government had promised, having regard to allowing this proposal to remain in the Commission's the work programme. It should be removed and Ireland should seek its removal.

I note that today's newspapers are full of more election promises for members of the public sector who are in line to gain €800 euro each. If the previous generosity of the Government with regard to the public sector is anything to go by, the money will go to those at the top end not to those at the bottom. Let us break down the €800 figure. This year we will borrow €4.6 billion, which works out at €2,500 per working person. What the Government is doing is borrowing money to buy votes.