According to figures provided by the European Commission, Irish courts are among the slowest to refer tax cases to the European Court of Justice.

The Commission's figures reflect the extent to which national courts refer direct tax issues to the Court of Justice. Topping the league table by some considerable distance are the German Courts with 32 cases, followed by the Dutch on 19 and the United Kingdom on 13. More recent members of the EU, Austria, Finland and Sweden are playing catch up and between them account for 19 cases.

Ireland however has yet to refer a direct tax case. This could be because our judges are more learned and assured in their own decisions. Or indeed, because Irish Direct Tax legislation is more in sync with European norms and the spirit of the Treaty of Rome. But then, maybe we're just not trying hard enough?