Sir, – Now that we have taken our bite of the Apple, how long can we stay in the Garden? – Yours, etc,
ROBIN HARTE,
Dublin 20.
Sir, – There are many things that are good about Ireland and its leadership, but unfortunately competence in managing big (and often small) projects is not a strength here. From e-voting to Ppars (the HSE’s computerised payroll and human resources system), the children’s hospital to the bike shed, value for money is seemingly a concept unknown to our Government.
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I wonder if the Apple tax settlement offers an opportunity to circumvent our inability in this domain? Apple should be invited to pay the debt in kind. They have precisely a crucial form of expertise we utterly lack. And €13 billion buys a lot of advice, computers, skill and cables. If the company were invited to digitise our public service, creating a paperless health system and civil service in full and final settlement of the debt, it would feel like good value. For comparison, Ppars, an attempt to simply convert salaries in the health service to a digital format, cost around €200 million before it was abandoned. By agreeing the scope and nature of the task, the Apple company would then have an incentive to complete it as rapidly as possible. The mountains of paper charts and documents we continue to accumulate will need to be dealt with eventually. As our population grows, and we become ever more litigious, their growth is only accelerating. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Kinsale,
Co Cork.
Sir, – On the basis of “what we never had, we won’t miss”, perhaps we should consider redirecting the entire €13 billion to enriching the lives of those in dire poverty in the developing world. – Yours, etc,
LIONEL BARKER,
Sandymount,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – It’s a paradox that brings together two of my all-time favourite Bertie-isms: “upsetting the apple tart” will make the boom times “even more boomer”. – Yours, etc,
CHRIS FITZPATRICK,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – Hundreds of billions flow through Ireland annually that “are not subject to tax in this jurisdiction”. Nor are they taxed in countries where products are sold, many of them poorer than our own. We deprive them of housing, hospitals, schools and social supports.
Our ongoing legacy as a major tax haven will go down in the history of many other countries, no matter how much it is denied at home. – Yours, etc,
PAUL CONNOLLY,
Cavan.
Sir, – Given the dire state of the Defence Forces who lack even the most basic of modern equipment, such as counter-drone and air defence systems, along with suitable aircraft for air policing requirements, perhaps using even €1 billion of the Apple windfall would indeed be money well spent on defence improvements.
With all European Union countries recognising the need for increased defence expenditure due to the increased threat levels, the Government could put right decades of neglect and underinvestment in our Defence Forces, and dramatically improve the defence and security of the State. – Yours, etc,
CONOR HOGARTY,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – There is much discussion about how the Apple tax €14 billion should be spent.
But in the meantime, there is over 10 times that amount – approximately €150 billion – of Irish household savings sitting in deposit accounts earning little or nothing. This money is waiting for the Government to introduce a flexible savings scheme which will pay a decent interest rate and will fund State investment in our future – housing and climate change measures – without recourse to foreign borrowings. – Yours, etc,
MARGARET QUINLAN,
Ballymacarbry,
Co Waterford.
Sir, – When the Irish exchequer finally takes ownership of the Apple tax windfall, every Tom, Dick, and Harriet will be clamouring for a share of the crock of gold; but will the finance minister of the day hold firm, be resolute, and refuse to entertain any special pleading – especially from vested interest groups – or will they decide to throw caution to the wind, and be exceedingly flaithiúlach with the public’s money? Only time will tell. – Yours, etc,
PAUL DELANEY,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – I wonder if they serve Apple turnovers in the Dáil restaurant. – Yours, etc,
CIANA CAMPBELL,
Ennis,
Co Clare.
Sir,– Regarding what to do with the Apple money, it would clearly be bananas to decide too quickly. – Yours, etc,
ALASTAIR CONAN,
Coulsdon,
London.
Sir, –You quote the Taoiseach as saying that it is it is not useful for “everybody to make lots of suggestions” with regard to the Apple windfall (News, September 11th), to which I would counter that surely the citizens of Ireland, including even humble correspondents to The Irish Times, are entitled to have an opinion on the matter.
My own opinion is that a portion of the money should go toward bolstering support for the children and teenagers who were damaged by the pandemic lockdowns and school closures, a topic which will soon be returning to our news cycle upon commencement of the Covid inquiry. – Yours, etc,
KEN COWLEY,
Fribourg,
Switzerland.