Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

One of the important aspects of Tuesday's agreement in Stormont is that the Northern Ireland Assembly will be given powers to reduce the corporation tax rate to 12.5% to bring it level with that of the Republic. While there has been a mixed response to it, overall it should be a positive development for the all-island economy. We will be able to attract investment to the island, which can only benefit us, and I say this as somebody who comes from the Border counties. Could the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, come before the House to outline the implications for the reduction in the 12.5% tax rate and the latest Government spin on the jobs plan? I do not know if we have plan No. 55 or No. 56 since the Government was formed. It would be interesting to hear if anything positive is to come out of it. Due to the imminent reduction in corporation tax in 2018, the Achilles' heel, despite the positives for the all-island economy, is that the Border region may be squeezed as a result and industry and jobs sucked into the conurbations of the north east and Belfast in the same way as they have been sucked into the greater Dublin region to the detriment of other parts of the country, despite the Government’s statistics. I have raised the issue with the Minister in the House and he has refuted it. When anybody raises the question of the dispersal of jobs to the regions, the Government response is that job development is not confined Dublin. However, the perception is that it is confined mainly to Dublin and, outside of it, to Galway, Limerick and Cork.

There is a need for the creation of a cross-Border enterprise agency that would provide incentives to industry thinking of locating in Ireland, particularly after 2018, and that would make the Border regions more attractive. A wide schedule of initiatives could be brought into place, including road and industrial infrastructure, apart from any tax breaks or other incentives that could be given through the local enterprise offices that are part of local authorities. The future of the Border regions could be under threat in terms of attracting jobs once there is an all-island economy which would have a level playing field regarding corporation tax, which is a major plank of Government policy, and one which we would all defend to ensure there is more foreign direct investment. I ask that the Minister, Deputy Bruton, would come before the House to outline the impact of the 12.5% corporation tax rate and the issues I have raised alongside it.