Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I rise today to address the issue of tax avoidance once again, particularly in light of the Paradise - or parasite - Papers. This is not a new phenomenon. I was absolutely amazed last night to hear a Fianna Fáil Deputy state that he could not say whether Fianna Fáil supported Apple in respect of the €13.5 billion it has been asked to return to the State to put into an escrow account. He could not tell if Fianna Fáil was for Apple giving back the tax or against it, nor if it was supportive of the Irish Government, which it is propping up, in taking this case against the EU. The other thing I found astounding was that, while trying to stress the importance of foreign direct investment which is very important, the same Deputy said, "remember we have no natural resources". He actually said that. I am not surprised. He was probably speaking on the basis that Fianna Fáil gave away all our natural resources.