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SINN FÉIN LEADER Gerry Adams has accused European Union leaders of trying to further militarise the European Union with the aim of eventually creating an “EU army”, allied to NATO.
Speaking in the Dáil yesterday, Adams said the function of such an army appears to be protecting the interests of former European colonial powers in their former colonies.
He was responding to a report to the Dáil from the European Council which covered the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), economic and social policy and a number of other issues.
“Did you at any stage stand up for the ideal of Irish neutrality, a concept supported and valued by the vast majority of citizens in this State?” Adams asked the Taoiseach.
“Unless seriously challenged, a continuation of the plans discussed at the EU summit we will see increased spending on weapons by EU states, including this state.
“At the time of one the biggest economic recessions that Europe has ever witnessed, the main idea contained in these Council Conclusions is to increase spending on weapons and military technology. Where is the sense in such a policy?”
Responding to these comments, Paschal Donohoe, Minister of State for the Taoiseach’s department, said the council recognises the safeguards for Ireland’s neutrality set out in the Lisbon Treaty.
“If I look at the understandable concerns raised by members as to what the Common Security and Defence Policy could look like in the future, I point to what it has done in the past and now, as well as Irish participation in it,” he said.
We should look at the work of the Defence Forces in Chad, Somalia and Mali where the men and women of the Defence Forces have been engaged in activities completely consistent with our neutrality, as well as its safeguards in the Lisbon treaty. It is about protecting and promoting vulnerable communities which need support to protect their human rights. In other cases, it is about the country’s security interests.
“Anything we have done to date and will do in the future recognises and will recognise the clear parameters laid down in the Constitution and the Lisbon treaty,” he stressed. “There should be no doubt or ambiguity in this regard.”
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Reduce the corporate tax rate to 0 just to piss the EU and IMF off.
Its already practically zero.
They should investigate the Swiss banks if they want money, every tax dodging crook on the planet have their I’ll gotten gains hidden away there.
Yeah! That’ll show those rich snobs who couldn’t care less about our country…
oh wait that’s the corporations too
F them let them sort out corporate tax in America.
US firms will continue to flee the nation that administers the highest corporate tax rate in the west. If not to Ireland then elsewhere.
ah boo hoo!, in all honesty Google or Microsoft and rest make better use of their profits and reserves if the only other option is giving it to the US government to p1ss away on their forever wars!
The eye of the World is focused on our tax rate more than ever. Eventually Ireland will buckle and the flood gates will open with a mass exodus of money and company’s. Ireland will be like a ghost land.
All the signs of what is to come are here but as usual we will ignore it but this focus will not go away.
A good example of this is the 9 out of 10 who thought there was no property bubble.
Makes sense considering that about 90% of people are either ignorant or idiotic
It will be worse than the 80′s if the big companies leave.
Thought it already was
What I thought Enda was on record as saying this isn’t happening?
Ireland is sadly gaining a very bad reputation internationally!
Low Corporation Tax -max 12.5% many Companies pay a lot less!. It’s a disgrace!
While individuals pay up to 8o% – Vat at 23%,Income Tax, PRSI, Levies, Local Property Tax and now Water Rates!
The Government should change the Law on Corporation Tax so that Companies pay a minimum of 12.5% of their declared profits!
There are a lot of exclamation marks in that comment. Must be true.
I think he borrowed the exclamation marks from Clare Daly…
Oh sh!t, the IMF don’t like our tax. Wait to see our pols brought to heel like the b!tches they are.
Great for jobs and the local economy though.
Some of them dont employ very many in ireland, one in particular just halved its irish workforce to a couple of hundred and pays 2 %tax
In the majority of cases Irish are hired such as apple, emc, boston scientific……. and the list goes on.
The world according to the IMF:
Competition between companies to provide lower prices to consumers = Good
Competition between countries to provide lower expenses to companies = Bad
Seems fairly contrived.
There is no such thing as a “worldwide taxation system”, but national taxation systems.
Anyone could be lead to believe that the IMF is a creature of US foreign policy.
What sickn me how stupid some people are the other reason why our government dosen tax these companies is they all ready make to much from our hard earned wage tax n other taxes, if they just taxed these companies just a little more we all as citizens could live in a tax free Ireland or very low tax rate Ireland. We could be one of the greatest countries to live and work in if we just changed a little and stud up more.
I read your comment a couple of times to be sure. I’m certain that the first line of it refers to yourself.
Meaning??
We should be so proud.
Why should we be proud Dan?
Because we lay down to Geithner and the bondholder losses?
Or because we have not yet complied with US/EU bullying regarding our corporate tax rates?
It seems the Irish taxpayer is more firmly in the sights of the Obama administration than ISIS and Syria’s despotic regime.
It’s only a matter of time before these companies leave here. It’s going to be a disaster , thousands upon thousands of job losses year after year.
Cop on. only a complete twit thinks the bug american corpos are here cos they only pay a small tax on their profits. They are here cos they make huge profits, politically safe and well educated workers.
have your say