Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Briefly, I have certain reservations on the recommendation tabled on the effective rates. There are many valid reasons the rate might be lower than the standard rate. This probably will be my only opportunity to make this point but in respect of the €2.47 billion in additional tax revenues up to the end of October, I note that more than 80% of it was made up of corporation tax receipts. While this is certainly welcome, I read further in details published in The Sunday Timeslast Sunday that ten of Ireland's largest foreign direct investment, FDI, companies are responsible for approximately 80% of the corporation tax revenue.

I need not tell the Minister of State that previously, there was an over-reliance on one-off taxes. While these are not one-off taxes, the Department of Finance must pay close attention to over-reliance on certain multinational companies that are located in Ireland. These companies are transient and if someone else offers them something better, they will consider it and will move. I believe what is being done disproportionately, in this year in particular by way of the budget, the Finance Bill and the way in which money is being spent pre-election, is the use of a sizeable chunk of corporation tax receipts, which depend mainly on ten large companies.

We must be extremely careful in this regard and that is why there must be careful consideration of reporting, not necessarily on the effective rates of corporation tax, but the quarterly reports will come from Revenue and the Department. I will conclude on this point but I simply ask the Department to give careful consideration to the top ten corporation taxpayers in this country, to how secure they are within this country and, therefore, how secure is that tax revenue into the future. When the State is dependent on such a small number of companies for such a disproportionately large amount of its corporation tax receipts, it is at risk to the possibility of any of them moving, which then would change everything.