Donohoe confident Ireland will continue to attract jobs and investment

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe is confident Ireland will continue to be an attractive location in which to invest and create jobs.

Mr Donohoe said he wants to maintain and grow employment with a “good share” of international investment.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland he said it was important to maintain the ability to balance finances and to get people back to work. The Minister said he was confident that Ireland would continue to grow its economy “if we make the right decisions at home”.

Within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, national interests were being asserted about tax rates, and he would be doing the same for Ireland, he said.

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Mr Donohoe defended his insistence on a corporate tax rate of 12.5 percent, Ireland’s current rate, while other countries are calling for a 15 percent global tax rate and higher. This was a “very contested area” he said and believes it is very important that small and medium economies have a smaller rate.

Foreign Direct Investment

On the issue of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the Minister said the world of FDI was changing, there were ebbs and flows, but it would continue to be part of the Irish economic model. “We will continue to have a really strong domestic economy. FDI and international investment will continue to be critical to Ireland.”

With regard to the Facebook decision on allowing staff the option of working remotely from other countries, the Minister said it was a huge opportunity for people and that the rules on tax residency were "crystal clear" and that people would have to meet the residency requirements.

The social media giant said on Thursday that allowing staff work from abroad won’t alter its tax status in Ireland.