Mr. Colm Markey:

As regards corporation tax, all present know the Irish position on it. We very much have to hold our position until such time as there is a universal consensus regarding where that is going. There is another fundamental point in this regard. There are other ways in which corporations have been supported by other countries. One such way I was studying over the weekend is in personal taxes. A corporation can pay its top executives who can then avail of tax breaks in some countries that allow them to avail of 2% personal taxation based on a classification such as a lack of IT skills in the country or whatever. That creates an imbalance. It is not appropriate to deal with corporation tax in isolation. You have to consider the grant aid that is provided to countries and the way in which corporations can be supported indirectly by virtue of their employees getting a particular tax break. There needs to be a broader response than just dealing with corporation tax on its own.

On the point regarding Poland and Hungary, I agree that Europe needs to take a stronger line. There are fundamental principles we in Europe believe in. If countries are not complying with those principles, we need to take full or stronger action.

The point regarding dementia is similar to the point I made regarding cancer care. At European level, we have the resources to invest in certain key areas, of which cancer is one and dementia is another, such that we can advance research much more effectively than individual countries can on their own. There is certainly a role for Europe, yet again in the preventative medicine space, to develop responses in these specific areas, particularly in respect of quality of life as well as everything else.