Fáilte ar ais, a Cheann Comhairle.

Apple's CEO, Mr. Tim Cooke, has told a US Senate investigation that for the past ten years Apple Sales Ireland has paid an average corporation tax rate of just 2%. In 2011 this company paid at a tax rate of just 0.5%. Another company, Apple Operations International, also based here had an income of €30 billion between 2009 and 2012 and, amazingly, paid no tax whatsoever. How is this possible? I cannot imagine a local business getting away with this type of tax avoidance. It is one law for big corporations, developers and bankers and another for small businesses and ordinary citizens. Why was the standard 12.5% rate not applied to these companies? The Tánaiste knows that the hundreds of millions of euro in lost revenue could have been used to get people back to work, but instead ordinary people must pay more taxes to make up the shortfall. He will also know from his portfolio that this type of tax avoidance hurts the developing world. Christian Aid estimates that the lives of 350,000 children could be saved each year if this kind of corporation tax avoidance was ended. Was the CEO of Apple right when he said the average rate of tax paid by one of these companies was less than 2%? Can the Tánaiste confirm that the other Apple company has paid no tax since 2009? Will he tell us how many other companies are availing of these tax arrangements and how much revenue is being lost to the economy?

Let us be very clear that the corporation tax regime in this country is established in law. It is contained in the Finance Acts.

That is not what I asked.

Will the Deputy please do me the courtesy of listening to the answer? The corporation tax rate of 12.5% is established in law. No special tax rate deals apply to any individual company. We do not have any special low corporation tax rate regimes or arrangement for any multinational company. The tax rate which is established in law applies evenly to all companies. It is 12.5% on the trading profits in Ireland and 25% on non-trading income in this country.

An issue arises because of the differences in the legal and tax systems between countries. International tax planning takes advantage of these differences in national systems and rules and Ireland has been working for some time to address these issues. We have been working at OECD and European Union levels to examine these structures and consider how international rules can be implemented to ensure fair levels of taxation. I chaired a meeting of the General Affairs Council of the European Union yesterday, at which this issue was on the agenda in preparation for today's European Council meeting. In our capacity as President of the European Union, we have been advocating addressing the issues of tax evasion, tax fraud and aggressive tax avoidance by companies operating internationally. We are advancing a series of measures to deal with them. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, together with the EU Tax Commissioner, circulated a letter setting out seven proposals on how this issue will be deal with at European Union level.

In addition, the OECD has a project on base erosion and profit-sharing which deals with these issues. Ireland is one of the strong supporters of that approach being taken by the OECD. In December last year Ireland became one of the first countries to sign an agreement with the United States to improve international tax compliance and implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. This type of agreement is being hailed as the emerging international standard for the automatic exchange of tax information. The issue of the use of the differences between the tax regimes in different states is being and can only be addressed at an international level. We support that approach. We are one of the leaders in seeking to have these tax loopholes addressed at European Union and OECD levels. In the meantime, our tax regime is established in law. There is one law for corporations. There are not different laws and different standards applying to different companies, nor are different arrangements made with different companies in respect of the tax rate. There is one law and it applies evenly to all companies.

Clearly, there is one law, but it is one law for the rich and one law for everyone else.

That is two laws.

There is Croke Park two and a half.

Implicit - explicit in the Tánaiste's answer - is that in one case the company has got off without paying any tax, paying less than 2% in another and 0.5% in another. The Minister should count this up instead of giving smart answers. The Tánaiste should look at what he has done recently to reshape Revenue. Revenue officials can now go to people's credit union and bank accounts and deduct from their salaries all sorts of taxes. The Tánaiste has said the Government is doing the things he outlined, but did officials from the Department of Finance or Revenue meet any of these companies before they made their tax returns?

The Tánaiste said there is "an issue". It is more than an issue. It is a very profound matter. At a time when we are strapped and ordinary people are carrying the burden of bad policies, these corporations are able to avoid paying tax. Can the Tánaiste tell me whether officials from the Department of Finance or the Revenue Commissioners met any of these companies before they made their returns?

If I knew that, I think the Deputy would correctly be asking me an entirely different question.

Is the Tánaiste saying he does not know?

In this country, the dealings of any individual taxpayer - a person or a company - with the Revenue Commissioners are not known to members of the Government-----

Not even the Minister, Deputy Shatter.

-----nor indeed should they be.

Is it the same with the Garda?

It is an entirely separate-----

Are they known to officials in the Department of Finance?

No.

That is an entirely separate system. Under our system, we make the law in respect of tax and the tax affairs of individual companies or people are dealt with confidentially by the Revenue Commissioners. That is at it should be.

What if they fall out with a Minister?

Whatever about a justice Minister knowing about a road traffic offence issue-----

The Tánaiste would expect it from him.

He is worried about what else he knows.

-----if any Minister was to know about or come in here and comment on-----

That is allowed, is it?

-----the affairs of any taxpayer - an individual or a company - quite rightly-----

We are making sure to protect the corporations.

-----there would be a different issue in relation to it.

That is a red line.

He would have to resign.

Let us look at the overall situation.

Somebody in Holland will pay the 12.5%.

Deputy Adams is painting a picture to suggest there is somehow tax evasion or tax avoidance in respect of our-----

There is.

We are a tax haven.

No, we are not.

There is.

Please allow the Tánaiste to answer the question without interruption.

He is just in the door.

This is about 4,000 jobs in Cork.

On the application of our tax regime, the reality is that companies in this country pay 9.1% of Ireland's total tax revenue.

Except when they do not.

No. Please listen to the answer.

We are over time. If Deputy Adams wants an answer to his question-----

I want an answer but I am not getting it.

I will cut it off.

Companies in this country pay 9.1% of our total tax revenue. That compares with 5% in France and 4.2% in Germany.

Hear, hear.