Sir, – Ireland’s recent budget surpluses have largely been attributed to those large corporation tax receipts from just a handful of US companies. One now wonders how long can Ireland depend on those taxes, now that Donald Trump is US president? It appears that the advice by the experts is to say that we can’t really depend on these companies. One must not forget how concentrated those tax receipts are. We have three companies in Ireland that account for 43 per cent of corporation tax in 2022. We collected €23 billion of corporation tax in that year, and three companies accounted for €10 billion of that.
The Department of Finance has categorised some of this money as windfall taxes. In other words, this is tax money that one can’t rely on. Irish politicians are going to have to run budgets on the basis that they can’t rely on this money. – Yours, etc,
JOHN O’BRIEN,
Clonmel,
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Co Tipperary.
Sir, – In his inauguration speech Donald Trump invoked the phrase “manifest destiny” as a lynchpin of his “Make America Great Again” policies. The phrase was first coined and popularised in 1845 by John L O’Sullivan in relation to the annexation of Texas and it promoted the expansion of the United States from the east coast to California. O’Sullivan, an editor and columnist of Irish descent, saw the expansion of the United States not purely in terms of land-grabbing but as a means of spreading the seeds of democracy throughout the world.
It remains to be seen how Mr Trump’s desires for the Panama Canal and Greenland will fit in with that philosophy. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN O’SULLIVAN,
Letterkenny,
Co Donegal.
Sir, – Further to “Trump returns to the White House, launching a new era of upheaval” (News, January 21st), over my lifetime, I’ve heard countless criticisms of politicians failing to do as they had said.
So I wonder will there now be widespread admiration for the new American president delivering immediately on his commitments? – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Kinsale,
Co Cork.
Sir, – While many people will be viewing Donald Trump’s second term in office with trepidation, I would guess that mimics all over the world are delighted. Four years of material are guaranteed. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN CULLEN,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
The art of the deal
Sir, – Ireland is not alone in the political game of “deal or no deal” (Fintan O’Toole, “‘Deal’ is the dirtiest four-letter word in Irish politics”, Opinion & Analysis, January 21st). This practice bears a striking resemblance to the infamous “pork-barrel” politics of the United States, where politicians discreetly funnel federal funds into their home states under the guise of broader legislation.
One of the most notorious examples is the “Bridge to Nowhere” in Alaska. In the early 2000s, the US Congress approved nearly $400 million to connect the town of Ketchikan (population 8,000) to the sparsely populated Gravina Island, home to just a few dozen residents and an airport. The project was ultimately scrapped after public outcry, but not before it became a symbol of wasteful spending and political manoeuvring.
Just as Irish ministers skirt transparency laws with artful ambiguity, US lawmakers have long buried earmarks within sprawling legislation, ensuring their constituents benefit while avoiding any explicit admission of a quid pro quo. In both cases, the real skill lies not in making the deal, but in denying it with a straight face. – Yours, etc,
ENDA CULLEN,
Armagh.
SNAs and education
Sir, – I agree with many of the sentiments raised by Maria Burke (Letters, January 15th) in relation to the article “Tension between teachers and special-needs assistants flagged in official report” (Education, January 10th).
I’m a highly educated, experienced and skilled special-needs assistant (SNA) fortunate to have worked in many wonderful educational settings from mainstream schools to an autism spectrum class and now working in a special school.
Many of the findings in the report depicting the role and duties of SNAs from the perspective of school leaders are dated and very condescending toward the vital role SNAs play within our schools. They in no way capture the challenges we face daily nor the skills required to do the job or the duties carried out by the outstanding, hardworking team of SNAs that I work with.
On a positive note, one observation noted from the focus groups that resonates with me is the realisation that “the complexity and demands of the role have increased dramatically, in particular for SNAs working in special schools”.
Special schools are a different world to their mainstream counterparts, it therefore follows that the role that teachers and SNAs undertake in them are totally different to those taken in mainstream schools.
SNAs are the backbone of special schools like the one I’m privileged to be working in. Due to the very varied and complex needs of the children in special schools and the failure of the system to provide vital multidisciplinary teams to support these needs, the role of an SNA extends far beyond a “mothering role” and an “extra set of eyes and ears” in the yard and classroom.
In many special schools, managing behaviours, meeting the complex individual care needs of the students and promoting practical life skills are the main priorities day to day rather than academic achievement. The curriculum is therefore modified accordingly.
The very nature of this specialised work and with a ratio of four to five SNAs to each teacher in these settings inevitably leads to a lot of blurring of role between teachers and SNAs.
SNAs, among the lowest-paid public servants, are not only the workforce in special schools. We are the teachers, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, play specialists, behavioural analysts, nurses, social workers, dieticians and mammies all rolled into one. I call on the Department of Education to please give a voice to the almost 22,000 SNAs for a more balanced and accurate depiction of the true role of SNAs today, particularly for those working in special schools. It clearly is an evolving role that extends well beyond assisting the teacher in supporting students with special educational needs who have significant care needs, the formal brief for the job! – Yours, etc,
LORNA O’SULLIVAN,
Malahide,
Co Dublin.
United we stand
A chara, – Rosita Boland’s excellent piece in Saturday’s Ticket reminded me that not everyone was impressed by the United Arts Club (“Inside Dublin’s United Arts Club: ‘I probably walked by this building hundreds of times without knowing what it was’”, Culture, January 19th). When 44-year-old poet, war poet, dramatist, novelist and children’s writer WM Letts married 67-year-old widower WHF Verschoyle, he told her that there were two things she did as Miss Letts that were not appropriate as Mrs Verschoyle – to swim at Seapoint Tower and to attend the Arts Club. She continued to do both, was still being published in The Irish Times in her eighties, and lived to be 90! – Is mise,
BAIRBRE O’HOGAN,
Dublin 14.
Savings scheme for newborns
Sir, – I was intrigued by the article “Next government’s newborn savings plan for newborns needs to aim higher” (Proinsias O’Mahony, Your Money, January 18th). While the author adeptly identifies a significant flaw in the plan, no concrete solution is proposed. Here is an impactful approach that could maximise the benefit to Ireland’s youngest citizens:
1) Establish a digital brokerage account for each newborn with an initial investment of €1,000.
2) Invest these funds automatically into a broad-based Irish exchange-traded fund to support Irish companies.
3) Facilitate top-ups from and promote awareness to parents and corporations alike.
4) Limit withdrawals until retirement, with provisions for partial access at pivotal life stages or for significant investments such as purchasing a home.
This strategy would allow capital to compound over time at favourable rates, enhancing not just the financial security of our children but also fostering financial literacy and stimulating economic growth. The new government must set its sights higher. – Yours, etc,
CATHAL CARROLL,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Defining anti-Semitism
Sir, – We write in response to the draft programme for government agreed by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Independents which states that it will “Give effect to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance ‘Working Definition of Antisemitism’ and implement the EU declaration on ‘Fostering Jewish Life in Europe’”.
This is extremely worrying, as some of the examples attached to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) “Working Definition of Antisemitism” very problematically equate anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel and anti-Zionism.
Zionism is a political ideology and therefore should be open to criticism and opposition like any other ideology. Criticism of Israel and Zionism should not be equated with racism or anti-Jewish bigotry.
This definition has been widely criticised by Palestinian and Israeli civil society groups, by Jewish and anti-racist organisations worldwide, as well as by all leading international human rights organisations.
As academics, we are particularly concerned by the misuse of the definition in the university sector in other jurisdictions.
The academic British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, in a detailed joint report with the European Legal Centre, analysed the effects of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism on higher education institutions in Britain, finding its impact detrimental in terms of undermining freedom of speech and academic freedom and producing unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism. Even the principal drafter of the text that became the IHRA definition, Kenneth Stern, has deplored the abuse of it as a tool to target speech on college campuses.
We call on the new government to reverse its support for a definition that seeks to censor valid and important criticism of human rights abuses carried out by the Israeli state. – Yours, etc,
Dr JOHN REYNOLDS,
on behalf of Academics for Palestine,
Maynooth University,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.
Ceasefire in Gaza
Sir, – Karol Balfe, CEO of ActionAid Ireland, in welcoming the ceasefire in Gaza, quite rightly draws attention to “hellish days”, “excruciating” deaths and “appalling atrocities” (Letters, January 20th). And what civilised person wouldn’t agree with her?
However, not once in 455 words does she mention “October 7th” or “Hamas”. Israelis who have been held hostage (a war crime under the Geneva Convention) for over 470 “hellish days” merit only a 13-word throwaway comment. For Karol Balfe and ActionAid Ireland, Palestinian civilians have been “killed . . . maimed, orphaned” in a “barbaric conflict”; Israeli hostages have been merely in “pain”.
Karol Balfe ignores the inconvenient truth that the architect of the October 7th atrocity, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, regarded the consequent Palestinian civilian casualties as a “necessary sacrifice”. She omits to mention that Hamas member Abu Marzouk stated that tunnels built by Hamas were for the protection of its own fighters, not for Palestinian civilians. She is blind to the fact that Mohammed Deif, the head of the armed wing of Hamas, was killed while using Palestinian civilians as a human-shield as he hid in a tented camp full of refugees.
That an aid agency funded by Irish taxpayers’ money should promulgate such a selective and fundamentally flawed narrative is deeply concerning as is the appropriation of the word “Ireland” in its title.
ActionAid Ireland’s demand for “justice and accountability” would find a more receptive audience if Karol Balfe could find it in her heart to include Israeli victims in the compassion and concern that “Palestinians deserve”. – Yours, etc,
RORY O’SULLIVAN,
Dublin 8.
VAT rate and hospitality
Sir, – If the new government lowers the VAT rate for the hospitality sector to 9 per cent, will the savings be passed on to the consumer? – Yours, etc,
BARRY ROONEY,
Ashford,
Co Wicklow.
Irish exemptions
Sir, – I give your education editor eight out of 10 for his article “Majority exempt from Irish studied another language” (News, January 20th). It would have been full marks if he had asked and reported on the answer to the following: were a disproportionate number of exemptions granted to fee-paying secondary schools? – Yours, etc,
JAMES DINEEN,
Bishopstown,
Cork.