Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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84. To ask the Minister for Finance whether he remains satisfied that the taxation system in this country is sufficiently broadly based to avoid dependency on any one sector to such an extent that it might become a threat to the economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46048/24]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Every year my Department publishes an annual assessment on the Irish tax system in order to examine the structure of the Irish tax system and identify any vulnerabilities. These reports have focussed in particular on the concentration risks associated with ‘windfall’ corporation tax, i.e. revenues not linked to the domestic economy. Analysis shows that the corporate tax base is highly concentrated among a small group of large, multinational companies in a small group of key economic sectors.

This has long been highlighted as a vulnerability for our public finances, and Government has taken significant action to address this: by the end of next year some €16 billion will have been transferred to two new long-term savings funds, the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund, investing a portion of windfall receipts to prepare for future challenges instead of using this potentially transient revenue to fund permanent spending.

Of course, it remains of paramount importance that Government continue to pursue a budgetary policy that strikes the appropriate balance between responding as necessary to current pressures while maintaining our public finances on a positive trajectory over the medium-term.