De Rossa hits out at German insistence on higher Irish corporate tax rate

The hard line being taken by Berlin against Irish demands to lower the bailout interest rate is a mistake, according to Labour Party MEP Proinsias de Rossa.

Mr de Rossa is attending the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg.

He was commenting on today’s Irish Times story which quotes a German finance ministry spokesman reiterating Germany’s call for Ireland to raise its 12.5% corporate tax rate in exchange for a lower interest rate on our bailout package.

He said it was a mistake for German spokespeople "to engage in megaphone diplomacy".

"We find ourselves in Ireland in a particular economic situation. A lot of it is our own doing, but a lot of it is the doing of German, French and UK banks who loaned money to Irish banks who then loaned it on to speculators in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe, so it's as much a German, French and UK problem as it is ours."