Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the sentiment, and I mean this in all seriousness, of the recommendation. I have no major opposition to it but this is an issue of what is practical. There is no mechanism under which Ireland may request another jurisdiction to be added to the EU list. The listing process is an objective process based on agreed tax standards applied consistently to all jurisdictions within the scope of the listing process. Any jurisdiction, including Israel, could be added to the EU list or have a tax practice deemed as harmful should it fall foul of its compliance with the relevant international tax standards. For the reasons I have outlined, I am unable to accept the Senator's recommendation. While I appreciate the sentiment and do not necessarily disagree with it, it is not in our gift to do this.