Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, at the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach, the European Commissioner, Ms Vestager, engaged in possibly the most damning criticism of the attitude of the Government to the Apple tax ruling. This is an issue of national importance, yet, as reported in one European newspaper this morning, most of the questions asked yesterday were aimed at disproving the Commission's ruling in order to score political points against other parties. The ruling is watertight and was well researched. It finally disposed of the idea that it was all a misunderstanding of the application of Irish sovereign tax law. The Commission exposed the arrangement as having been calculated, contrived and unique. It is very plain and simple: absolutely no methodology whatsoever was applied to the manner in which the tax rulings were made. That is the major problem. The only major challenge yesterday was to whether the figure of €13 billion was due to Ireland alone or to an array of EU and other countries. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil's argument in this regard was destroyed. Commissioner Vestager responded by saying, "A large majority of the unpaid taxes would be due in Ireland," not in another European country. The robust defence offered by her exposes the folly of the Government's decision to appeal. The public has heard about the attempts of Ministers to challenge the report; they must now hear about the giant waste of taxpayers' money that will take place. It will take up to six years and cost millions in lawyers' fees, all just to save face. The Commissioner's ruling was reached with the help of hundreds of lawyers. From listening to her yesterday, I am extremely confident that the work done within the Commission has been thoroughly researched and that it was not just based on a whim. I want the Minister for Finance to explain to the House how the taxpayer will gain from refusing the €13 billion in unpaid taxes and instead spending millions on a doomed appeal that may be ongoing after the Government and many Members have left. I want him to explain it in as forthright and clear a manner as Commissioner Vestager explained the Commission's position yesterday. The public is asking the question and deserves an answer. I do not buy the argument that we need to appeal and that if we do not do so, it will somehow cut off multinationals from investing in this country because they need clarity on taxation issues. We have a responsibility to have methodologies in place to ensure fair tax is paid. While we certainly offer tax incentives, we need to ensure there is fair taxation across all multinationals and indigenous businesses to give everybody a fair chance.