Dáil told of support from EU for rate cut for Ireland

THE EUROPEAN commissioner for innovation has said there is strong support from the commission for a reduction in the interest rates Ireland pays for its EU loans.

Máire Geoghegan-Quinn also stressed that Ireland’s corporation tax rate could only be changed by the unanimous agreement of all 27 EU member states.

Addressing the special Dáil sitting to mark Europe Day, Ms Geoghegan-Quinn referred to the remarks of European Commission president José Manuel Barroso that “we can’t impose costs that are very, very difficult for our citizens to pay”. She strongly supported Mr Barroso’s comments and those of the commissioner for economic and monetary affairs Olli Rehn about reducing Ireland’s interest rate.

She said her commission colleagues had been “attentive, concerned and understanding” when discussing Ireland’s problems.

Highlighting Ireland’s success in attracting foreign direct investment and its key role in strengthening exports, she said: “Let me be clear and unequivocal about one issue raised in this respect. There can be no change in the rate of corporation tax in Ireland or any other EU country without the unanimous agreement of all 27 member states of the EU. This is the clear legal position as set out by the EU states.”

She noted that last year, Ireland had the second-largest goods trade surplus in the EU after Germany to the value of €43 billion.

Ms Geoghegan-Quinn added that she was “acutely aware of the public mood, anger and anxiety about the future as people across the country struggle through this exceptionally difficult period”.

However she insisted that the commission acted as an “honest broker” when addressing complex political discussions in Europe. She insisted that each member state had equal representation.

The commissioner was however “deeply concerned that a broad brush attack on Brussels is turning legitimate criticism on specific issues into a populist attack on all institutions and our place at the heart of Europe. “Robust criticism and debate is the lifeblood of democracy but when it comes to the vital issue of holding EU institutions to account facts matter. The European Commission has steadfastly made the case for a sustainable solution to Ireland’s acute economic problems.”

She referred to her own brief in research, innovation and science and her launch last year of an “innovation union flagship” to boost research and translate it into commercial products.

Her department runs the world’s largest public programme investing €55 billion over seven years to 2013. She said Ireland was “punching above its weight” within the programme and €270 million had been awarded to Irish-based organisations. By 2013, Irish companies would have received more than €600 million, she added.

“In the last few weeks, the framework programme has granted €5.9 million to an Irish biotechnology group, Opsona, which is a spinout from Trinity College, for research on organ rejection in kidney transplant patients.

“It has also provided funding to ensure key research to better understand people’s health . . . is carried out at UCD by Prof James Heckman, a Nobel laureate.”