Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister knows, the Labour Party in the Dáil supported the decision made by the Government to engage in an appeal against the decision of the European Commission. It was inevitable that an appeal would be launched, if only by Apple itself, and it was inconceivable that Ireland, as a sovereign nation with responsibility for its own tax affairs, would sit this one out given the absolute enormity of the matter in hand and the impact on this State of the decision and on our industrial policy and reputation, as already stated. I sincerely hope that the State’s case will be advanced in a better fashion than that evident from the confusion that seemed to characterise the Government’s initial response to the Commission’s decision.

There are enormous issues at stake in the context of the Apple decision. It is clear to all of us, including the Minister, that all the facts are still not available, and we may not know all of them for some years. Important issues will arise in the context of the appeal hearings and the processes, which will provide us all with a better understanding of the rationale for the Commission’s decision. However, we, as a sovereign Parliament and sovereign Government of a member state of the European Union, need to assert very forcefully some important points. It is the elected Government and Parliament of this Republic that get to set our tax policy. Ireland is not, never was and never will be a tax haven, but neither will we be a tax collector or clearing house for taxes that may be owed to other states across the Union or anywhere else for that matter.

The tax policies in this Republic should be applied to everyone equally and equitably, regardless of who one is or whom one represents. As the share of capital enjoyed by working people and other citizens across the world diminishes, and as we see how the top 0.1% live and behave, tax justice is becoming an increasingly important principle.Tax justice is becoming an increasingly important principle, and Ireland and the EU have a major role to play in this regard to redress the balance.

I agree that all corporations must pay their fair share of tax generated and owed in Ireland. I was a member of the Government and worked with the former Minister, Deputy Howlin, and others to end the so-called double Irish rule. We had to put an end to the murky practice of profit shifting and running profits through brass plate companies. We worked with the OECD to, in a sense, lead the way on those reforms. The Commission has recognised the fact that the practice it investigated has been closed down.

The Minister will recall that we engaged in an intensive diplomatic effort and a lobbying offensive to explain this to other countries and existing businesses that are located here, and to make sure there was clarity about the intentions of the Irish Government around the ending of the so-called double Irish rule and certainty for investors. Those of us who are interested in the creation of good, decent jobs know how important that is. The pipeline for foreign direct investment is continuing apace. We can take it from that that the reassurances that we provided to international investors in terms of Ireland's tax policy have reassured them that investing in Ireland is a safe option.

Some here are calling for the immediate allocation of €13 billion that, as Senator O'Donnell said, we simply do not have and we might never see even a portion of. The OECD said most of it belongs to the US, something of which we need to be mindful. It is not clear, based on the fiscal rules under which we now operate, whether all or a portion of this money, if it became available to us, could be spent by us on housing and transport projects and health infrastructure that the State needs. That alone is another good reason, if one was needed, for the current Government to heed Deputy Howlin's call for a relaxation of the fiscal straitjacket in order to allow us to spend more of our own resources on the critical infrastructure we as a society and economy need.

In terms of tax policy, I ask that the Minister reconsider the proposal made by my colleague, Deputy Burton, to have a standing commission on taxation. Tax policies and initiatives that may have been established in the past or will be in the future, with very good intentions, may subsequently reveal significant loopholes that well-paid tax lawyers and accountants are only too happy and able to navigate around for their blue-chip clients.

We have a very static system which has very limited ways of responding to anomalies in the tax system outside of the cumbersome processes we apply to the annual Finance Bill. A standing commission, similar to the Company Law Review Group, for example, in terms of how it approaches its work, would be a good model to allow us to identify and close loopholes before they do untold damage to our system, public confidence in it and tax schemes into the future.