Micheál Martin
Ceist:7. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach when Cabinet Committee A (Economy) last met. [41642/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 18 October 2017
Ceisteanna (7, 8, 9, 10)
Gerry Adams
Ceist:8. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach when Cabinet Committee A (Economy) last met; and when it is scheduled to meet again. [42742/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Brendan Howlin
Ceist:9. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Taoiseach when Cabinet Committee A (Economy) last met. [43751/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:10. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when Cabinet Committee A (Economy) will next meet. [43786/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (14 píosaí cainte)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 10, inclusive, together.
Cabinet Committee A held its first meeting on 12 September. Its focus is on economic issues, including implementation of the Action Plan for Jobs 2017 and preparation of a new, more focused action plan for next year; labour market policies, including implementation of Pathways to Work and responding to emerging skills pressures; competitiveness and productivity challenges for businesses, including pressures from recent currency movements; rural affairs and implementation of the Action Plan for Rural Development; and also the development of a pensions reform roadmap. I expect to see further progress in all of these areas in the coming months, building on the measures included in budget 2018.
The next meeting of Cabinet Committee A is scheduled for 23 November.
I thank the Taoiseach for that information. The committee has met once and another meeting is scheduled. The Taoiseach has given an outline of the issues it will cover as part of its deliberations. Will he clarify whether the capital investment plan forms part of its work, or is that the responsibility of another Cabinet committee? Will he confirm when the capital plan will be published? Rather than listing every project for the sake of it, the plan should contain meaningful information on the prioritised projects, including timelines and indicative budgets. This can be done without compromising the commerciality of what will need to be done in that respect.
Will this Cabinet committee deal with the issue of corporation tax? There have been renewed attacks on Ireland's sovereignty in the corporation tax area. The common consolidated corporate tax base proposal has been brought forward by the European Commission again. Proposals have been made for new taxation mechanisms in respect of digital companies. President Juncker has done more than float his idea about the vetoing of corporate tax decisions. He has said he would like the veto to be removed. Will this committee deal with that issue? Does the Taoiseach have any views on the issues I have raised?
Will the Taoiseach advise if the tracker mortgage scandal has been discussed by Cabinet committee A? He said earlier that the Government has lost patience with the banks that have prevented people who were paying tracker mortgages from continuing with those mortgages and have forced such people to pay higher charges. The Central Bank has said that just one in four of those who have faced these higher charges - this figure covers only the customers we know about - has received compensation. We know that as a result of the decisions of the banks, at least 23 families have lost their homes and 79 other people have lost properties. It is acknowledged that this scandal may have had an impact on more than 20,000 house owners. The Taoiseach has described this behaviour as scandalous and spoken about the need for a clear timeline for redress and compensation. At the same time, the Central Bank has said it can do little for those who were affected by the unscrupulous actions of the banks before 2013. In accordance with the Taoiseach's comments about losing patience on foot of this scandalous behaviour and about the need for a clear timeline for redress and compensation, does the Government intend to give the Central Bank additional powers to force the banks that are responsible for this scandal to face up to their responsibilities and deal properly with the home owners involved?
Is the capital plan being discussed by this Cabinet subcommittee or by the Cabinet as a whole? It will affect every area of Government and every Department of State. Will this House be able to make an input into the plan before it is determined by the full Cabinet?
We are all mindful of the damage that has been done in this country in recent days. The mitigation of the effects of climate change on our built infrastructure is an ongoing issue. What are we going to do about it? We need to look at all elements of it, including the prevention of flooding and coastal protection. The need to look at specific areas, such as the island of Cobh, has become very clear in the 48 hours following Monday's storm. The road from Fota is the only point of access to Cobh. My colleague, Councillor Cathal Rasmussen, raised this matter nationally last night. The vulnerability of Cobh is an issue that goes back many years. Will that kind of issue be comprehended in an overall climate change mitigation plan as part of the capital programme that is to be set out?
I would also like to ask about the duration of the capital plan. The Taoiseach previously indicated that it will cover a ten-year period. Will that be the case for every Department? A ten-year horizon is needed in the transport sector because it takes such a long period to develop certain major projects, such as metro north. As a result of changing demographics, more flexibility is needed to deal with other areas, including education. Will there be one ten-year plan for every Department? In the case of the previous plan, there was a longer-term plan for transport and a more agile shorter-term plan for other Departments of State.
President Donald Trump is claiming that Ireland is planning to reduce its corporate tax rate from 12.5% to 8%.
It must be right if President Trump is saying it.
President Trump is a dangerous and pathological liar and I do not give any credence to those claims. Does it concern the Taoiseach that Ireland is now a watchword for corporate tax avoidance by big multinational companies and for the race to the bottom on corporate tax? President Trump is simply using the low effective rate - the 0% effective rate on big multinational companies like Apple - as an excuse to accelerate the race to the bottom on corporate tax in the US. Does that give the Taoiseach cause for concern about the sustainability of our economic model?
Has the Taoiseach considered and discussed the enormous and expanding hole in revenues resulting from the dramatic increase over recent years in the deductions and allowances that are given primarily to American multinationals? The Taoiseach might tell us whether he has read the Coffey report, which notes that tax deductions and allowances for the corporate sector have increased from €18.9 billion in 2003 to €97.0 billion in 2015. The amount of money involved in these loopholes has increased from €18 billion to €97 billion. That money could be going into our Exchequer, but instead it is going into the pockets of the multinationals that are benefitting from our pitifully low tax rate. Is the Taoiseach looking at the implications for our Exchequer, and indeed for the sustainability of this country's wider economic model, of the likely changes in the corporate tax regime in the United States?
Could the Taoiseach mention in his response any document that sets out the Government's actual economic strategy? We debated the national planning framework this morning. It says we want to move to a low-carbon economy and to reduce the commuting distance but nothing is happening in either respect. As far as I could see, last week's budget contained no signal of an industrial or economic plan other than a willingness to get the buildings going again and to sell as much beef as we can to the UK, which reminded me of the approach taken by Fianna Fáil at the end of the last century. What is the economic strategy? Which industries are really going to grow? What are we going to be good at? Which businesses do we want to specialise in? Where can I find out what the Government's economic strategy is in advance of considering the national capital plan?
I intend that the capital plan will be considered by the Cabinet as a whole because it will have an impact on all Departments. I am not suggesting that it will not be discussed by individual Cabinet subcommittees as well. My intention is that it will be discussed and approved by the Cabinet as a whole. I would welcome the involvement of this House in discussing the ten-year capital plan and the national planning framework, which are inextricably interlinked. I would like such a debate to take place in this House sooner rather than later so that the contributions of Deputies can inform the decisions that are to be made. Of course it is up to the Business Committee to make those arrangements. I have said in the past that I would welcome such a discussion.
As Deputies are aware, a public consultation is under way as well. We anticipate that the national planning framework and the ten-year capital plan will be published together on the same day. We aim to do this in December in the form of a new national development plan, which will run from 2018 to 2028. It is intended at this stage that all Departments will be covered by the plan for ten years, although these things can change. We will allow for at least one review, if not two reviews, during the course of those ten years to take account of the fact that things change over the course of a number of years. As Deputy Howlin has said, it makes absolute sense to have a longer-term perspective in transport.
We should also have a longer-term perspective on other matters. Take, for example, our national cultural traditions. The renovation of the National Gallery next door is most impressive. If we were to build a national theatre, for example, that would not be a three-year job but a longer-term one. It is not just transport which requires long-term planning; many other things do too. I take the point about the need to be flexible, given changes in demographics and other things.
It will be as detailed as possible. I hope it will be a similar model to the national development plans published under previous Governments. It will not contain every detail but I would like it to be as detailed as possible.
In respect of our corporate tax rate, I can confirm that President Trump's claim that we are proposing to reduce our corporation profit tax rate to 8% is indeed fake news. There is no such plan to do so. Our corporate profit tax rate is 12.5% and has been for a very long time, through changes of Government, recessions and periods of growth. It is as much that certainty which is important to businesses now as is anything else. Businesses investing in other countries, such as the UK, the United States or other parts of Europe, could invest in a country, and then governments may change and taxes may go up, down or up again. We offer certainty in respect of corporation profit tax. It is a good thing that the vast majority of parties in the House, including Sinn Féin, the Labour Party and Fianna Fáil, support its retention because anything else would damage our country, its employment prospects and its economy. Any uncertainty could be damaging, aside from a change in the rate.
We are totally committed to the OECD process on corporate tax. We are closing loopholes. Very smart people find loopholes in tax law no matter what we do. We have already closed the loophole in respect of the double Irish.
Not until 2020.
We have closed a loophole in respect of stateless companies.
I read the Coffey report. We are closing some of the loopholes in respect of intellectual property. That was in the budget and will be addressed in the Finance Bill tomorrow. A very good report to read for anyone interested in this area is the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General from a number of weeks ago. It contained two takeaway messages for me. Even though we have a low corporate profit tax rate in Ireland, we take in a lot of corporation profit tax and revenue compared to other countries. That has proved that our policy works. Having a low tax rate brings in more revenue. That may not always be true, but it is in this instance. Countries with higher corporation profit tax rates bring in less revenue. That is proof that our policy works and attracts enterprise. We take in more revenue than countries with higher rates.
Even though there are many ways to calculate the effective tax rate, it is interesting to note that when one compares Ireland with other countries we are taking in more corporation profit tax than countries such as France, which are critical of Ireland. It takes in less because while it might have a higher rate on paper, it has so many exceptions, incentives and loopholes that it takes in less. Countries which are critical of our tax policy will be reminded of that in my conversations with them. It is good to have documentary data to back up what I am saying.
We are not ruling out giving the Central Bank additional powers. It is worth pointing out that additional powers were given to it in 2013 but, unfortunately, are not and probably cannot be made retrospective. What was done to those holding tracker mortgages was done prior to 2013. We are not ruling out new measures or powers for the Central Bank. I ask Deputies to be aware of the limits of retrospectivity in legislation.
It could put moral pressure on the banks.
We have any number of economic strategies. I encourage Deputy Eamon Ryan to read them. They include, for example, the Action Plan for Jobs, the speech I made to IBEC outlining our five key economic policies, Enterprise 2025 and the trade strategy. There are any number of documents which could supply the Deputy with bedtime reading for a number of days and inform him fully of our enterprise policy.
As only 14 minutes remain, I suggest we move on to the next group of questions.