Two stories dominated headlines this week: the EU’s highest court siding with the European Commission in its bid to make Apple pay billions of euro of back taxes to the Irish State, and the first (and seemingly the last) debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in the race for the White House.
The Apple ruling, which followed a lengthy legal battle, generated considerable comment both at home and abroad. Everyone seems to have a view on how the money should be spent - on schools, on energy infrastructure or, as Michael O’Leary of Ryanair suggested, a new ring-road for Dublin. Naturally, given the scale of Ireland’s housing crisis, many believe the windfall should go towards accelerating a national home-building programme. As John McManus put it, the news ought to prompt reflection on “our continued centrality to a rotten system depriving some of the poorest countries of much-needed tax revenue”.
In a week where it was already under major scrutiny, Apple’s Irish operations were also highlighted by the latest Top 1,000 companies ranking, which once again showed it leading the way in turnover and profits among firms active in the Republic. Meanwhile, Cormac McQuinn reported on how Apple warned the Government of “aggressive competition” from other countries trying to lure multinationals away from Ireland during a high-level meeting this summer.
The lively presidential debate between former US president Donald Trump and current vice-president Kamala Harris covered everything from abortion and immigration to the outcome of the 2020 election and the war in Ukraine. Reporting from Philadelphia, our Washington Correspondent Keith Duggan wrote that the night was one to forget for an addled Trump, as Harris successfully got under the skin of the former president. Despite winning the debate with some style, however, Harris still faces a challenge, he argues, to overcome a certain vagueness about her plans. It’s a challenge that perhaps looks slightly less daunting after she received a very important endorsement.
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One of the major sports stories of the week was the continued fallout from the Republic of Ireland’s 2-0 defeat to England in their Nations League clash last weekend, as well as the team’s defeat to Greece on Tuesday as part of the same campaign. The back-to-back losses made for a tough start to the tenure of Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrímsson, who cited lack of confidence as an issue within the Irish camp. Writing about the Greece match, Ken Early observed that “at half-time, Ireland would have been feeling pretty good about themselves. In the first half they had enjoyed 50 per cent of the possession and had played 268 passes – 63 more than they managed in the whole 90 minutes against England. True, there was a lot less going on in this match, but on balance that was very good news.” But the second-half saw “Ireland lose whatever semblance of control they had had in midfield”, with the match petering out amid a chorus of boos. Malachy Clerkin’s thoughts on events at Lansdowne Road on Tuesday night will be shared by many.
Sally Rooney is a bona fide publishing phenomenon. Her novels have sold more than 6 million copies, and even though she is still only 33 she has established herself as one of Ireland’s major contemporary writers. Ahead of the publication of her eagerly anticipated fourth novel Intermezzo, she gave her only Irish interview to The Irish Times - a wide-ranging exchange with our Books Editor Martin Doyle on her discomfort with having a public profile, how Christianity has shaped her thinking, and the influence of James Joyce. Elsewhere, Jessica Doyle has compiled a quick guide to the Rooney universe.
The damning report of a scoping inquiry into historical abuse at religious-run schools, published last week, detailed a systemic culture of abuse in religious-run day and boarding schools throughout the country over a 30-year period. Some 2,395 allegations of abuse were reported against 884 people. The Government now plans to establish a Commission of Investigation, but within the Coalition there are concerns about a potential €5 billion cost of providing compensation to those affected. Amid questions over funding the cost of such redress, Martin Wall examined in detail the very significant assets of some religious orders in Ireland.
Also worth a close read are Conor Lally’s profile of James “Jaws” Byrne, a Dublin career criminal who worked as a fixer for one of Ireland’s most powerful drug gangs; Arthur Beesley’s interview with the former RTÉ chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh; and Pat Leahy’s interview with Minister for Finance Jack Chambers.
The big dip in temperatures this week has offered a reminder that our washout summer is over and winter is coming. As if the thought of all those cold, dark and damp days ahead wasn’t enough to darken your mood, winter will bring with it higher prices for everything from the cost of heating and lighting our homes to feeding ourselves. In this week’s On the Money newsletter, Conor Pope explains what can be done to cut back on costs during the colder months. Sign up here to receive the newsletter straight to your inbox every Friday.
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