By Conor O’Carroll An environmental advocacy group has objected to plans to build a private aircraft hangar at Kerry Airport, saying private jets represent an “unnecessary polluting form of transport”. The plans involve the construction of a new 33-meter hanger, secure reception area and reserved parking to service private jets at Kerry Airport. It will also include a private arrivals and departures pick-up area. They also state the largest single aircraft capable of being stored is a Bombardier Global 7500 – the world’s largest purpose-built private jet. In their submission to Kerry County Council, Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) outline their opposition on a number of grounds, including nature protection, climate impact and social distribution to the surrounding area. They note that despite the ongoing climate crisis, private jet usage has soared with over 3 million flights taking place in 2022. Recent analysis by UK newspaper The Guardian found that “private jets belonging to 200 celebrities, CEOs, oligarchs and billionaires have spent a combined total of 11 years in the air since the start of 2022”, contributing significantly to global emissions. Studies have found that private jets are between 5 and 14 times more polluting, per passenger than commercial flights. Attention is also drawn to the impact on the surrounding area and the increased air, noise and light pollution from private jets flying overhead adding to the commercial traffic. The FIE submission cites local residents who claim that “private jets from Kerry Airport to date have resulted in increased knock-on helicopter traffic, disturbing their peace and invading the common airspace at very low altitudes to the upset of residents and farm animals”. The added noise pollution of low-flying aircraft has also disrupted the local school, church, sports activities and ceremonies, they claim. In their planning application, the developers say the new hangar will “release [Kerry Airport’s] potential as a strategically important international gateway”, citing the government’s policy on the development of the aviation sector. “The owners of these private planes have expressed an interest in storing their planes when not in use,” they continue. Studies have found that private jets are between 5 and 14 times more polluting, per passenger than commercial flights Kerry Airport has deep connections to the private jet industry. Last year, the airport’s AGM was told that its private aviation business had surpassed Cork, only lagging behind Dublin and Shannon. A major shareholder in the airport since the 1990s has been the bin Mahfouz family, a Saudi billionaire banking family that invested in the airport in exchange for Irish passports. A representative of the family, Sammy Haress, was co-opted onto the board of directors in 2019 to oversee their interests. Haress is also the CEO of Jetstream Aviation, a private jet management company. A decision is expected from Kerry County Council in mid-December. Village has contacted Kerry Airport for comment.
By Conor O’Carroll Over sixty TDs and Senators have signed an open letter addressed to Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD, calling on him to review the government’s policy on munitions inspections at airports. The letter, which was published by the Seanad Civil Engagement Group (CEG) and signed by 67 TDs and Senators from Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, and People Before Profit (PBP), as well as independents, requests the Minister to “ensure Ireland is not complicit in arming Israel”. It cites a report from Village Magazine last week in which a spike in munitions exemptions for flights travelling through Irish airspace coincided with the conflict in Gaza, raising questions over Ireland’s role in the supply of weapons to the region. Data from the Department of Transport shows that 98% of applications since 2016 were granted exemptions. Of the 8,264 exemption applications received by the Department, just 109 have been refused Over 180 exemption applications were granted by the Department of Transport to carry munitions through the State in October, the highest monthly total from available records dating back to 2016. The vast majority of the granted exemptions permitted flights to fly through Irish sovereign airspace, while a smaller number permitted flights to land and take off from Irish airports. Tracking seven civil aircraft used by the US military, Village found there have been at least 26 layovers in Shannon Airport since the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, and one in Dublin. There were also a further 35 entries into Irish airspace by these aircraft. Many of these aircraft used call signs associated with the US Transportation Command and arrived having visited US military bases before crossing the Atlantic. These flights went on to connect to US military bases in Europe & the Middle East. Under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989, Minister Ryan has the discretion to deny any exemption application made under these Orders, and it is prohibited to carry munitions through Irish airspace without being granted an exemption. However, data from the Department of Transport shows that 98% of applications since 2016 were granted exemptions. Of the 8,264 exemption applications received by the Department, just 109 have been refused. The letter calls on Minister Ryan to “commit publicly to using Ministerial discretion to deny exemptions to all flights carrying munitions destined for Israel, or where the end user is Israel”. It also calls on the Minister to implement a system of inspections for flights that land at Shannon Airport. Village reported last week that no inspections have taken place on any aircraft transiting through Irish sovereign territory, with a Department spokesperson saying: “While the orders do provide for the inspection of a civil aircraft to ensure compliance, it is only whenever it appears that a flight would be in contravention of them. There is no provision for such an inspection without this prerequisite”. Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics over the weekend, the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD, said that Shannon Airport was not being used to supply weapons to Israel. However, the Department of Transport did not respond to a question posed by Village last week asking whether it seeks a final destination of any munitions it provides an exemption for. The Department instead stated that the exemption “is not an approval to land at any airport outside the State”. The Seanad CEG letter also cites recent evidence uncovered by Israeli newspaper Haaretz suggesting that the US may be supplying weapons through proxy countries, such as Cyprus and Jordan. In a statement to Village, independent Senator Frances Black, a member of the Seanad CEG, said: “We are concerned by figures which show an unusually large number of exemptions granted to munitions flights by the Minister in October, with no inspections being carried out and a lack of clarity around information on end users. In this context, we have serious concerns around the government’s assurances that weapons bound for Israel are not transiting through Ireland. We urgently need a rigorous, transparent inspection system if we are to uphold our human rights obligations”. The letter calls on Minister Ryan to “commit publicly to using Ministerial discretion to deny exemptions to all flights carrying munitions destined for Israel, or where the end user is Israel” Village contacted Minister Ryan for comment in response to the letter but has not received a response. Separately, as part of a wide-ranging motion before the Dáil today submitted by PBP TDs, the government was called to “close Shannon Airport to the US military immediately, by banning US military and US military contracted aircraft, including troop carriers, from landing at the airport”. The motion claims that “Shannon Airport is effectively a forward operating base for the US military, used to support their operations in the Middle East, with approximately three million US troops and their weapons, and US Air Force/Navy cargo planes passing through Shannon Airport since 2002, and over 51,000 US military personnel have passed through Shannon Airport in 2023 to mid-November”, stating this has undermined Ireland’s constitutional neutrality. Speaking at a Dáil debate on the motion, Paul Murphy TD said: “Is Shannon Airport being used to transport weapons from the US to Israel? The truth is, I do not know. The truth is that the Tánaiste and the government do not know either because they refuse to do inspections”. An amendment to the motion submitted by the Tánaiste, Micheál Martin TD, asserts that “there are no planes with weapons en route to Israel stopping at Shannon Airport or any other Irish airport”. Responding to the PBP motion in the Dáil, the Tánaiste said: “The Government is clear that no airport in Ireland, whether Shannon or any other airport, is being used to transfer weapons to the Middle East or to any other war. This policy is well known and fully understood by our partners. No applications have been received or exemptions granted in relation to civil aircraft travelling to Israel
The Department of Transport’s failure to inspect aircraft at Shannon Airport leaves Ireland relying on the good faith of those transporting munitions through Irish sovereign territory. By Conor O’Carroll The highest number of munitions exemptions since 2016 was granted by the Department of Transport in October, raising questions over whether Ireland has facilitated the supply of munitions to the ongoing conflict in Gaza through its sovereign territory. 182 applications were granted by the Department last month, up from 122 in September. This represents the highest monthly total from the available records, which date back to 2016. The figures come from the routinely published statistics on the number of exemptions granted to civil aircraft under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989. Under these orders, “it is expressly prohibited for civil aircraft to carry munitions of war in Irish sovereign territory, without being granted an exemption to do so by the Minister for Transport”, Minister of State Jack Chambers TD said in response to a parliamentary question posed by independent TD, Thomas Pringle, in September. The latest figures show that there was a 42% increase in the number of applications received by the Department in October, though it should be noted that the figures are based on the date the Department issued a decision on each application, not the date the application was received or the date of the flight itself. The vast majority of the exemptions granted (158) permitted flights to fly through Irish sovereign territory, while the remaining 24 exemptions permitted flights to land and take off from Ireland. These flights relate to civilian aircraft that are contracted by militaries, typically the US, to transport munitions to different parts of the globe. Some exceptions also relate to diplomatic flights where security personnel are armed. The Department also does not appear to inspect the planes that land in Ireland, to ensure they are carrying what their applications say Designated military aircraft are the responsibility of the Department of Foreign Affairs and any aircraft wishing to enter Irish airspace requires diplomatic clearance from the Minister for Foreign Affairs. This clearance is subject to strict conditions, according to the government, with a requirement that the aircraft be unarmed, carrying no arms and not be part of intelligence gathering or a military operation. The presence of US military aircraft in Irish airspace has been a hotly debated topic for many years. Peace activists have long demanded that Ireland end its arrangement with the US military, arguing that it violates the constitutional protection of neutrality. Two weeks ago pro-Palestinian supporters staged a protest outside the Department of Transport, demanding that Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD, stop providing exemptions to US military aircraft headed for Israel. Many of the munitions carried through Irish airspace on US military aircraft drop off at regional bases, such as in Eastern Europe for Ukrainian supplies, or in bases in the Middle East, meaning tracking where the munitions end up is practically impossible. Village asked the Department of Transport whether it seeks the final destination of any munitions it provides an exemption for. A spokesperson for the Department did not respond specifically, but did say that the exemption “is not an approval to land at any airport outside the State”. The Department also does not appear to inspect the planes that land in Ireland, to ensure they are carrying what their applications say. In the same response to Pringle, Minister Chambers said “insofar as it can be determined, there is no record of an inspection of a civil aircraft having been carried out pursuant to these Orders”. The latest figures show that there was a 42% increase in the number of applications received by the Department in October. A Department spokesperson told Village: “While the orders do provide for the inspection of a civil aircraft to ensure compliance, it is only whenever it appears that a flight would be in contravention of them. There is no provision for such an inspection without this prerequisite”. They also provided the same response from Minister Chambers when asked whether an aircraft had ever been inspected. “The complete lack of willingness to inspect the flights is shocking”, Pringle told Village. “As an independent state we can take the view that other states can transit through our airports and airspace but the very least we could do is check that they are complying with our laws and respecting our status as a neutral independent state”, he continued. *** One of the US military aircraft that flew through Irish airspace last month disappeared off-radar over Jordan, Village Magazine can reveal, further complicating the task of tracking the final destination of the aircraft and its cargo. The aircraft, which is owned by Omni Air International, entered Irish airspace in the early hours of 11 October 11 en route to Bulgaria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. It had taken off from Bangor International Airport, in Maine, the previous evening, but had made stops at Hill Air Force Base in Utah and Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota before crossing the Atlantic. The aircraft also used a call sign reserved for the US Transportation Command (CMB), the US Department of Defence body responsible for providing the US military with air, land, and sea transportation. Flight logs show that the aircraft disappeared abruptly over Jordan, before reappearing several hours later and continuing on its journey, suggesting it turned off its transponder to mask its location. This practice isn’t unusual when travelling over or close to a warzone, but the time difference between the pings on the map above is significant. A spokesperson confirmed that this aircraft received an exemption from the Department of Transport in Ireland. Tracking six other US military aircraft since the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, Village found a further five ‘disappearances’ over Jordan, though in every other case, the aircraft avoided entering Irish airspace. The flight logs of these seven aircraft also show
Thousands have marched in solidarity with Palestine following the conflict in Gaza, but Ireland’s support of the Palestinian cause was not always so straightforward. By Diarmuid Breatnach Palestinian flags fluttering at demonstrations and rallies across Ireland, passing drivers beeping their horns in solidarity; Israeli Ambassadors complaining and even criticising the President of the Irish State; Irish politicians, out of step with the US-led consensus, calling for an unconditional ceasefire while an extremist Israeli Minister calls for the wiping out of the Gaza Palestinians or their expulsion to Ireland. There is little doubt where lie the sympathies of the majority of the Irish public. When asked why this is, most people point to the long struggle of the Irish against invasion, occupation and sectarianism. But it wasn’t always like that. In fact, not so long ago, the Irish public was mostly pro-Israel. In the early decades of the Irish state, most people’s sympathy with Jews, because of their history of oppression and the horror of the Holocaust, transferred easily enough to the creation of the State of Israel. In addition, there were important Irish political and cultural connections with the new state and finally, Hollywood played an important part in the moulding of Irish public opinion. State Politics The 1937 Constitution established under De Valera specifically mentioned Judaism in Article 44.1 and protected it from persecution while he himself had good relations with the first Chief Rabbi of Ireland, Chaim Herzog, who had an important role in relation to the founding of Israel. Nevertheless, the Irish State was wary of granting recognition to Israel, conscious that Palestine had been an Arab colonial possession or ‘mandate’ of the UK, many of whose other possessions around the world were being de-colonised. Five years after the founding of Israel, the Irish State was hardly encouraged to recognise it following the attack on Egypt, along with imperialist France and the UK, following an Egyptian attempt to nationalise the Suez Canal. The US, keen to show that the balance of world power had changed since the Second World War, publicly condemned the attack, especially chastising the old colonial powers and previous world masters, the British and French. President Eisenhower refused to intervene in the foreign-exchange markets to defend the plummeting value of the pound and the British Prime Minister, Anthony Eden, was forced to resign. Irish-language supporters and campaigners who wished to have the Irish language spoken throughout Ireland and not only in the Gaeltacht areas, admired the Israeli State for its achievement in restoring Hebrew as a daily-spoken language The Irish State of course had friendly relations with the US but the Israeli State had some important Irish connections too. The Chief Rabbi of Palestine, Yitzhak Herzog, was late of Belfast and Dublin, where he had also been Chief Rabbi of Ireland. One of his sons, Chaim Herzog, was born in Belfast and raised in Dublin, before becoming the sixth President of Israel. His own son serves as the current President. Robert Briscoe (1894-1967), an Irish Republican, former prominent IRA Volunteer, TD (1927-1961), and twice Lord Mayor of Dublin (1956/7, and 1961/2), not only supported the creation of the Israeli State but was a special adviser to Menachem Begin after the Second World War. He advised Begin in the transformation of the terrorist Irgun organisation into a parliamentary political movement in the form of Herut in the new Israeli state; the party later became Likud. Briscoe had also fundraised for the Irgun in the US (as he had for the IRA during the Irish War of Independence). Republican Politics During the 1960s there was a US and European fashion, especially among young middle-class students both Jewish and Gentile, of going to work in Israeli-dominated Palestine, in collectively-owned agricultural communities, known as kibbutzim. Also, Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land (holy to all three strands of the Abrahamic tradition: Christians, Jews and Muslims) went by permission of the Israeli State and had a very narrow and sanitised experience (if any at all) of what life was like there for the Palestinians. But by the late 1960s most left-wing thinking around Europe was clear that the Palestinians were oppressed and fighting a liberation struggle. Official Sinn Féin sent a delegate to conferences in Jordan and Kuwait in 1970/1. In 1970 an article in the party’s weekly United Irishman described Ireland, like Palestine, as engaged in a national liberation struggle. The Official IRA prisoners in Mountjoy Prison supported the Palestinians in their journal An Eochair in 1973 and Palestinians were among the guerrilla groups represented in the second Anti-Imperialist Festival organised by the Officials in July 1976. Nevertheless, the election manifesto of the Workers’ Party, successor to Official Sinn Féin, in 1983 accepted the recognition of the State of Israel, although that contradicted party policy and the involvement of its members in the Irish Friends of Palestine organisation, which was committed to supporting the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). However, party policy was soon publicly and internally reoriented in solidarity with Palestine. Around this time, the British and Irish Communist Organisation, a small but influential organisation, had a pro-Israel position. However, it was reversed in the late 1980s, shortly before its demise. In the 1970s, Provisional Sinn Féin’s weekly newspaper An Phoblacht often featured articles sympathetic to the Irish struggle from a US-based correspondent signing himself as Fred Burns O’Brien, one of which was notably favourable in its reference to the Israeli state. However, once the Provisionals declared themselves to be in favour of socialism, they became pro-Palestinian and since the 1990s Palestinian representatives have attended Provisional Sinn Féin’s Ard-Fheiseanna (Annual Congresses), most recently when Palestinian ambassador to Ireland, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, addressed the party’s gathering this month. In the early decades of the Irish State, most people’s sympathy with Jews, because of their history of oppression and the horror of the Holocaust, transferred easily enough to creation of the State of Israel The PLO, dominated by Yasser Arafat’s Al Fatah party, recognised the State of Israel
By Conor O’Carroll The government ignored the advice of the Central Bank on the mortgage-interest relief scheme introduced as part of Budget 2024, according to documents seen by Village Magazine. The records, which were released under Freedom of Information legislation, include confidential memos sent to the Department of Finance before the Budget where the Central Bank is unequivocal in its criticism of the government’s approach to mortgage-interest relief. The first memo, dated 25 September, highlights the Central Bank’s opposition to a broad mortgage-interest relief scheme, arguing that “the burden of higher interest rates does not fall evenly” across households. This, it argues, means “policy responses should focus on assisting households most at risk from cost-of-living pressures” and that it should be “timely, targeted, and sustainably funded”. A wide mortgage-interest relief package, Central Bank officials advise, would disproportionally reach high-income households and risk “overheating” the economy, which would bring about persistent higher rates of inflation. As part of Budget 2024, the government announced a mortgage-interest tax-relief scheme for homeowners who have an outstanding mortgage balance of between €80,000 and €500,000 on their primary home. Using the proposal submitted to them by the Department of Finance, the Central Bank finds that the main beneficiaries of the policy owe less than other borrowers on average and are disproportionately likely to be over 50 years old. However, the Central Bank advised that such a policy would be regressive. Pulling from a large body of international policy assessments from the OECD, the Central Bank found mortgage-interest relief schemes provide a subsidy to homeowners, who are more likely to have higher incomes than renters or those in social housing. It also states that studies show mortgage-interest relief schemes raise house prices without increasing homeownership rates. The Central Bank acknowledges, however, that the higher interest rates are “undoubtedly creating financial difficulties for some households” and suggests that relief through the social welfare system, where means-testing and targeting are more feasible, would have a greater impact in providing support to vulnerable households. A second memo, dated a week before Budget Day, reiterates the concerns held by the Central Bank with the “inherent regressivity of using taxpayer funds to support mortgage holders in a non-targeted fashion”. They also caution that the relief may increase the incentive for lenders to raise interest rates, arguing that under such a scenario “the relief would act to support lender profitability without necessarily helping borrowers as intended”. A spokesperson for the Department of Finance said: “The Government is acutely conscious of the impact of rising interest rates and mortgage costs on many taxpayers…As the Minister for Finance has stated previously, it is not possible or desirable for the Government to alleviate the full impact of the increased interest rates for all mortgage holders”. “Some mortgage holders, will be in a much stronger position and will have the capacity to absorb the impact of the recent increases in mortgage rates”, itcontinued, “and the Minister believes that the parameters of the relief are appropriate and sufficiently targeted”. The Department spokesperson did not respond specifically to a question from Village asking why the government did not take the advice of the Central Bank. Data from the European Central Bank showed interest rates in Ireland were the ninth highest in the Eurozone and coming in above the average rate in September. Using the proposal submitted to them by the Department of Finance, the Central Bank finds that the main beneficiaries of the policy owe less than other borrowers on average and are disproportionally likely to be over 50 years old. This, it says, “do not point to the targeting of greatest need for support”, as they “have benefited from lower average interest bills than other borrowers for a decade or more, with a total impact over time significantly exceeding recent changes in interest rate costs”. Conor Dowd, independent candidate for Galway East at the forthcoming local elections and recipient of the FOI replies told Village: “The government appear to be embracing a strategy rooted in electioneering, by trying to give the impression the mortgage interest relief of Budget 2024 is of benefit to a wide income range”. Having received the second memo from the Central Bank, officials from the Department of Finance responded with appreciation for its help and said “the advice is very clear”.
By Conor O’Carroll Environmental advocacy group, Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE), have echoed comments made by Sinn Féin Senator Lynn Boylan accusing Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan TD of “scaremongering” over flood management reforms. In a recent Dáil debate following the widespread flooding in Cork caused by Storm Babet, Minister O’Donovan criticised attempts by Senator Boylan to “dismantle” the Arterial Drainage Act, discouraging her “not to go down that route because it will leave many communities in this country in a very vulnerable situation”. Under the Act, the Office of Public Works (OPW), which the Minister has special responsibility for, is obliged to maintain all rivers, embankments and urban flood defences in “proper repair and effective condition”. However, the Act has come under scrutiny recently with the Citizen’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss recommending that the Act “is no longer fit for purpose and must be reviewed and updated in order to take proper account of the biodiversity and the climate crisis”. Environmental groups also say that the ‘maintenance’ of the rivers by the OPW is leading to the “destruction of whole river systems”. Senator Boylan previously accused the Minister of “scaremongering” in a Seanad debate in June, stating that “flood management strategies have evolved significantly since 1945” and that “nature-based approaches like “slow the flow” can provide a win-win solution for both biodiversity and flood prevention”. These nature-based approaches, known as Natural Water Retention Measures, are designed to work with the natural processes of rivers and their floodplains to slow down the flow of water and reduce the risk of flooding. A petition with over 5,000 signatures from the Irish Wildlife Trust was also presented to the Minister in July 2021. It called for reform of what they described as an “archaic piece of legislation not fit for the 21st century”. Concerns were previously raised in 1975 when an Inland Fisheries Commission report claimed: “Drainage operations eliminated desirable natural meanders in rivers, removed holding pools, destroyed spawning beds, and produced canal-type water courses characterised by long stretches of steep banks piled high with rubble and spoil”. The Act has come under scrutiny recently with the Citizen’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss recommending that the Act “is no longer fit for purpose and must be reviewed and updated in order to take proper account of the biodiversity and the climate crisis” In a statement, FIE director Tony Lowes said the Act “could be amended to give the OPW more flexibility to reduce river flows facilitating the implementation of natural retention measures while maintaining current flood safeguards”. “We urge Minister O’Donovan to work with Senator Boylan and other stakeholders to amend the 1945 Arterial Drainage Act to enable the adoption of Natural Water Retention Measures while upholding existing flood protection”, he continued. Village contacted the Department of Public Expenditure for comment but has not received a response.
By Conor O’Carroll American pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer queried the Department of Finance’s Freedom of Information (FOI) policy following a report of their meeting with officials in the Business Post. Documents supplied to Village Magazine, also through FOI, show how representatives acting on behalf of Pfizer sought a meeting between its new Senior Vice President of Global Tax, Jerome Mychalowych and officials from the Department of Finance in June. The meeting formed part of a series held at the Department of Finance over the summer with multinationals that included the likes of Coca-Cola, Google and AstraZeneca, as well as Pfizer. For its part, Village Magazine finds the Department’s FOI Publication Scheme to be comprehensive and clear, and the corporate hand-holding that Pfizer requested was unnecessary to understand the operation and parameters of the Act Each company used the opportunity to express their thoughts on the evolving international developments surrounding corporation tax. However, and uniquely, Pfizer also raised an article published in the Business Post last year, saying it was “surprised by the content of the article and would like to understand better the Department’s position on responding to FOI requests from journalists”. The article in question details a meeting between Mychalowych’s predecessor, Tom Hogan, and officials at the Department of Finance last year where Pfizer warned that a “historic overhaul of global corporate tax rules would create ‘losers and winners’ and lead to administrative headaches for businesses”. Emails sent to Deirdre Donaghy, Head of Business Tax at the Department of Finance, state that “while Pfizer really value this type of meeting”, they requested to speak to officials “about FOI parameters arising from what transpired following the meeting back in June 2022”. Donaghy agreed to speak to Pfizer’s representatives on the issue raised, though reminded them that FOI in Ireland is governed by the Freedom of Information Act, 2014. No records of what was discussed were released and it’s unclear if any notes of the exact nature of Pfizer’s concerns were taken. A spokesperson for the Department of Finance said “a Department official had a telephone call with the agent in response to the request. The agent was directed to the Freedom of Information Acts and advised that these provisions would apply in respect of any meeting and related correspondence”. This explanation was accepted by Pfizer, they continued, and stressed “the Department did not feel under any pressure with regard to the release of records”. Pfizer did not respond to a request for comment. Pfizer also raised an article published in the Business Post last year, saying it was “surprised by the content of the article and would like to understand better the Department’s position on responding to FOI requests from journalists” For its part, Village Magazine finds the Department’s FOI Publication Scheme – found here – to be comprehensive and clear, and the corporate hand-holding that Pfizer requested was unnecessary to understand the operation and parameters of the Act. The minutes of the subsequent meeting on corporate tax were also released. They show that Pfizer continued their position from last year with “a discussion around the administrative burden of the new rules” taking place. Discussions surrounding moving to a territorial tax system also took place ahead of Minister Michael McGrath’s announcement in September that Ireland would begin its transition to such a system, introducing an exemption on foreign profits and simplifying the overall tax code. The Irish Tax Institute say multinationals are eager for this move as it would “reduce the administrative burden for Irish companies with international operations and simplify how double taxation relief would be available in Ireland on such foreign earnings. It would [also] bring Ireland’s corporation tax code in line with most OECD countries and EU Member States”. This, they say, would maintain Ireland’s competitiveness in attracting foreign direct investment once the OECD minimum corporate tax rates come into effect.
