Written Answers. - Repatriation of Profits.
Joe Higgins
Question:
224
Mr. Higgins (Dublin West)
asked the
Minister for Finance
the amount of profits repatriated by multinational corporations here for each year from 1990 to the latest date in 2001 for which fig ures are available; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[31001/01]
Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy): According to the national income and expenditure statistics produced annually by the Central Statistics Office the level of net factor outflows for the years 1995 onwards are as follows:
|
£
|
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1995
|
4,685 million
|
|
1996
|
5,147 million
|
|
1997
|
6,332 million
|
|
1998
|
7,389 million
|
|
1999
|
10,410 million
|
|
2000
|
12,875 million
|
However, this figure is made up of the amount of money from all sources repatriated to this country, less the amount of money from all sources repatriated abroad. A negative sign indicates outflows. In order to establish the level of profits repatriated by multinational corporations one must disaggregate the data on net factor income flows published in the balance of payments release, and look only at direct investment income outflows.
Direct investment income covers the income accruing to foreign direct investors from ownership of a direct investment enterprise located in Ireland. I understand from the Central Statistics Office that the method of calculation was amended in 1998 to record profits attributable abroad, whether or not actually repatriated, and that data for the period before this are not readily available on this basis. Since 1998, direct investment income attributable abroad has amounted to:
|
£
|
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1998
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12,190 million
|
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1999
|
16,920 million
|
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2000
|
20,803 million
|
The corresponding figure in the first two quarters of this year was £11,762 million, compared to £8,955 million in 2000.
Foreign-owned multinationals make a significant contribution to the Irish economy. In the manufacturing sector, for instance, foreign-owned multinationals employ 122,000 people, equivalent to 49% of total manufacturing employment, according to the latest census of industrial production which refers to 1999.
