A major split between countries at the latest European Union (EU) summit is
worrying for Ireland, opposition leaders have said, raising concerns about the
impact of a new deal on the country's financial services sector.
The UK's Prime Minister walked out of the late night talks after failing to
secure 'adequate provisions' to safeguard what he says are the country's interests.
His actions leave the UK the only EU member outside the new agreement, which
aims at strengthening fiscal discipline and includes more automatic sanctions
and stricter surveillance.
Speaking on behalf of his Fianna Fail opposition party, former government minister
Micheál Martin said he doubts the UK will be joined by other countries
in opting-out of the tighter rules. He is concerned that, for Ireland, "there
is the added danger that our most important trading partner is taking a different
route."
The current Finance Minister Michael Noonan has previously spoken of the danger
of a financial transactions tax being imposed throughout the eurozone in isolation
from the rest of the EU. He has said implementing it in Dublin but not in London
would be "very onerous". It is thought that concerns for the UK's
own financial sector is one of the main reasons Cameron vetoed the EU deal.
He is set to explain his decision to parliament soon.
Martin then urged the Irish government to offer "immediate reassurance
that there is nothing in the enhanced cooperation and control rules that could
impact on the financial services sector or corporate taxation."
Responding on behalf of the coalition government, Michael McNamara, a Labour member of the
parliamentary Finance Committee, slammed Fianna Fail's call
to resist any financial transaction tax as opportunistic and said it shows the
party has learned nothing from its time in government, when Ireland was forced
to seek a bailout.
He commented, "The latest Fianna Fail fad is to follow David Cameron's
Eurosceptic agenda. Of course, we realise that a transaction tax, like other
fiscal harmonization measures has to be carefully considered. However, there
can be no blanket exemptions, least of all for those who contributed most to
the mess we're in".
LAWANDTAX-NEWS.COM
