Sir, – Of all the services provided by our State, national defence is the most fundamental and the most neglected. Our total inability to defend ourselves, based on the deterrent principle, may ultimately cost us our independence. Nothing but a complete recapitalisation of the Defence Forces, equipment and infrastructure, will secure our future. €2 billion from the Apple windfall would kick-start a viable programme to bring our Defence Force’s deterrent capabilities up to the average of similar-sized EU member states. Comparison with our neighbours should be based on the size of our territorial area, land and seas, our population and the size of our economy. The programme should address capability deficiencies in all five dimensions: land, maritime, air, space and cyber. – Yours, etc,
DORCHA LEE,
(Colonel, retired),
Navan,
Co Meath.
Sir, – Justine McCarthy writes well about about how we should spend the €13 billion we have been gifted by the European Supreme Court (“Apple tax: Ireland owes its lost people ¤13 billion worth of houses”, Opinion & Analysis, September 13th).
Public infrastructure with a long life span and usefulness is required and public rental housing certainly is one of those.
But what is also badly needed is an expansion of our health system to cope with our larger and growing population.
The two elective surgical hospitals need to be built as soon as possible, along with an increase in bed capacity, emergency department capacity, diagnostics for these and a big push to improve the amount of GPs in the service, along with publicly owned primary health care centres for them to work from, without having to worry about running a business along with diagnosing and treating patients.
Every public hospital in Ireland is running at close to or more than capacity at present, which is untenable in itself, but also leaves zero spare capacity in the event of another epidemic like Covid or even a basic flu surge.
Another regular hospital or two wouldn’t go astray either.
So, whatever this €13 billion is spent on, it had better be spent more wisely and managed much better than recent public projects. – Yours, etc,
DAVID DORAN,
Bagenalstown,
Co Carlow.
Sir, – Given the potential for reputational damage to Ireland that attends the Apple tax windfall, the Government might consider donning the mantle of Robin Hood by donating a significant portion of the €13 billion to one or more developing countries.
For example, Typhoon Yagi has inflicted enormous damage and over 200 deaths on Vietnam this week. Some of the Apple proceeds would be most welcome as they rebuild. So too would ring-fencing significant sums to help with reconstruction in Palestine and Ukraine when ceasefires are agreed. – Yours, etc,
Dr DERMOT STOKES,
Dublin 4.
Sir, – What better way can we now show practical solidarity with the people of Gaza than by sending the entire €13 billion windfall to Unwra, the United Nations relief and works agency for Palestinian refugees? – Yours, etc,
DOLORES QUINN,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.
Sir, – It seems only apt that a portion of this Apple windfall is funnelled into third-level institutions. Irish universities have long been underfunded and the significance of this is understated.
Our highly educated graduates play a large role in attracting foreign direct investment to Ireland, and to remain a global leader in attracting such investment and to guarantee that future corporation tax receipts are not a windfall, we must adequately fund university research and ensure our graduates are highly educated.
Graduates are an important Irish export. Irish graduates work in highly-skilled roles in various markets throughout the world. Many graduates working abroad are exposed to different perspectives and gain a level of expertise which may not available in Ireland. However, many of these people will return to Ireland, benefitting our society and economy as a consequence.
We see this with our medical professionals and those working in professional services, technology and pharmaceuticals. Without the quality and highly respected nature of Irish third-level education, these opportunities may not be possible. A lack of funding of our universities would exacerbate the risk of this.
Irish universities have a strong international reputation (Trinity College and UCD rank 87th and 126th in the QS rankings respectively), and Ireland’s universities have the opportunity to build on this to become a global hub for third-level study and research. We must build on the fact that we are the only English-speaking nation in the EU, and highly innovative companies such as Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft have operations in Ireland by providing quality teaching to our students and promoting ground-breaking research. This would aid the growth of domestic entrepreneurship, along with attracting international investment.
However, all of this can only be achieved if our universities are adequately resourced. Greater dialogue is needed between stakeholders and Government in order to maximise the capabilities of our universities.
The Irish economy is dependent on our third-level institutions, and we must not neglect them. – Yours, etc,
EMMET GERAGHTY,
London.
Sir, – If the 1.3 million adults in Northern Ireland were offered €10,000 each to vote for a united Ireland, it would cost only €13 billion. – Yours, etc,
Dr JOHN DOHERTY
Gaoth Dobhair,
Co Dhún na nGall.
Sir, – Pints, pints, pints, pints, pints! – Yours, etc,
SARAH GRIMLEY,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.