Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Let me draw the Minister of State's attention to an Oxfam report, Blacklist or Whitewash, which was published yesterday and listed Ireland as one of four EU states that qualified as a tax haven according to the EU's own criteria. Oxfam highlights that corporate taxes lost worldwide amount to €84 billion per year. A third of this amount would be enough to pay for universal, global essential health care. This stands in sharp contrast with Ireland's worldwide reputation as a leader in humanitarian work and development work, delivering essential services worldwide. It also highlights the lack of joined-up thinking between our taxation policies and our commitments to the elimination of poverty, both nationally and globally.

Our role in tax avoidance is also out of line with our commitments under the sustainable development goals, SDGs, which the Irish Government played a key role in brokering. Under the SDGs, we are committed to working in global partnership to address inequalities between and within countries. Specifically, we have agreed on the following: "By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 percent of the population at a rate higher than the national average". Can the Minister of State offer his assurances that the Bill he presents here today delivers on this commitment?

I would like to raise a question about two specific aspects of the Bill. First, I note that for the key employee engagement programme, KEEP, there is a budget of €10 million allocated, yet I am concerned that this figure does not include an estimate of the revenue that will be lost to the Exchequer as a result of tax foregone under this scheme. What is the net effect of this measure? I am also concerned that the Government's outline for this scheme does not provide a sufficient mechanism to monitor it, including the level of uptake from the scheme and a calculation of the indirect cost to the Exchequer through foregone revenue.

Schemes such as this need rigorous analysis and scrutiny to ensure that all costs are taken into consideration. Such analysis needs to be freely available, to both the Oireachtas and the wider public. I wonder if the Minister of State could share his thoughts on the net effect of the measures, in addition to the basic cost to the State. We need to be careful to avoid implementing a scheme that could result in an upward transfer of wealth and make income inequality worse rather than bridging the gap between rich and poor. We must be very wary of tax deals that could narrow the tax base, which base is vital for investment in public services such as housing and health services.

The second issue I would like to raise is the cost to the Exchequer of the knowledge development box scheme. This scheme, which offers tax breaks for companies for investment in research and development, should also be subject to rigorous scrutiny and a cost-benefit analysis. It could impose a heavy cost on the Exchequer. I urge the Minister of State to consider how the scheme will be effectively monitored, how companies that participate in the scheme will demonstrate its value, and how the costs to the Exchequer will be calculated both before and after. It is important to ask whether this revenue lost would be better spent on investment in research through our public universities and research institutions, driving research excellence and retaining innovation within the public domain and ensuring that it serves the public good.

It was disappointing to note that this year's budget did not deliver on the Government's commitment to gender and equality auditing or an accompanying equality statement. I call on the Government to deliver on this commitment, not only as part of the budgetary process but also in the delivery of the Finance Bill. This offers both accountability and transparency regarding our commitment to the elimination of inequality - economically and between genders. This is consistent with what we in the Civil Engagement group have been calling for regarding accountability, transparency, sustainability and long-term thinking. I thank Senator Alice-Mary Higgins specifically for her hard work on this point in particular. We are calling for fairness in taxation. We are a low-tax country at a time when we have major unmet needs across all sectors, be they associated with the disabled, children, older people, those will mental health problems or those requiring addiction services. We need to meet our international standards and commitments and reflect on this.