Ireland’s corporate tax policy is no “sacred cow”
Emmanuel Macron, in the course of his successful election campaign, cited Irish corporate taxation policy as an issue which he believed that a refocused EU might address. This opinion is hardly startling, given Macron’s enthusiasm for rekindling the campaign for further EU integration. When you consider the French electoral system, its shortcomings become apparent. Rather […]
No monopoly on imagination or flexibility in Ireland’s response to Brexit
The warm and attentive reception given to Michel Barnier by the two Houses of the Oireachtas underlined the seriousness of Brexit as an issue for Ireland and the Irish hope that the UK’s departure from the EU will take place on terms that will not set back the political settlement on this island and the […]
The island of Ireland is a tale of two widely differing economies
The hyping of Europe and Brexit issues has reached new heights with the suggestion that a minute to be adopted in the Brexit meeting of the 27 member states represents a major or even significant achievement for Ireland or for Enda Kenny. The very idea that Northern Ireland, were it to vote for a united […]
Wholehearted commitment by a “coalition of the willing” needed on Brexit – let’s do it
When it comes to brass necks, Theresa May must be in the front rank. She called her snap election in the full knowledge that the EU 27 were in the process of developing negotiating guidelines in relation to the terms of Brexit. She even justified the election by reference to the “need” for her to […]
When you see life-saving surgery denied over cost, tax residency for sale is a gamble Ireland can ill afford
At the height of the financial crisis, we changed our tax laws to provide for a domicile levy on certain Irish citizens whose worldwide income exceeded €1 million, whose property in Ireland was greater in value than €5 million, and whose liability to Irish income tax in a relevant tax year was less then €200,000. […]
Tuam is a by-product of the deeper scandal of a religious and social culture that seems so cruel, and yet so recent, to the modern world
One of the less edifying aspects of politics is the tendency of some practitioners to engage in the rhetoric of competitive moral outrage. The Tuam Mothers and Babies Home scandal is a case in point. The Oireachtas has heard in each House genuine and moving personal accounts from survivors of the Irish system of dealing […]