Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 15: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will be making a formal submission in response to the letter from nine EU member states seeking the introduction of a financial transactions tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14827/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The letter signed by the Finance Ministers of nine EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) supported the introduction of a Financial Transactions Tax (FTT) and asked the current Danish Presidency of the EU to accelerate discussions on the current draft proposal from the EU Commission. I will not be making a formal submission in response to this letter but I have indicated that I do not favour accelerating the discussions, as Ireland believes the proposal should be given the fullest possible consideration.

The current draft proposal is still being examined at EU Council Working Party level and was discussed at ECOFIN this week. I have made clear in the past my view that, if an FTT cannot be introduced on a global basis, it would be better if it were introduced on an EU-wide basis to prevent any distortion of activity within the Union.