This is obscene

We all know multinational corporations cheat on their taxes, using complicated legal arrangements to funnel money through different jurisdictions to avoid paying anything to support the societies that host them. How obscene are such arrangements? This obscene:

An Irish subsidiary of Microsoft made a profit of $315bn (£222bn) last year but paid no corporation tax as it is “resident” for tax purposes in Bermuda.

The profit generated by Microsoft Round Island One is equal to nearly three-quarters of Ireland’s gross domestic product – even though the company has no employees.

The subsidiary, which collects licence fees for the use of copyrighted Microsoft software around the world, recorded an annual profit of $314.7bn in the year to the end of June 2020, according to accounts filed at the Irish Companies Registration Office.

The company’s profits jumped from just under $10bn in the previous year and compare with Ireland’s 2020 GDP of €357bn ($433bn).

Three-quarters of a country's GDP, not a cent in tax. Multinationals are simply parasites.

To use another comparison: Ireland's 2020 government spending was ~105 billion Euros (~US$127 billion). If they taxed this single corporation at the usual Irish rate of 12.5%, it would provide ~US$39 billion - or just under a third of all government spending. Not taxing them means Irish people are paying more and/or getting worse government services than they would if Microsoft paid their fair share. I'd expect them to be pretty angry about that.

This shows the need for international cooperation to stop tax-cheating, with a global minimum corporate tax, and a financial blockade of tax havens and money laundries until they join the system. Until we do that, these parasites are going to keep robbing us blind.

The end of the establishment in Ireland?

Irish voters went to the polls on Saturday in parliamentary elections, and perhaps delivered a political revolution. Since independence, Irish politics has been dominated by two parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Basicly patronage networks with indistinguishable policies, their cleavage isn't ideology, but who killed whose father or grandfather in the civil war. But this time around, a quarter of voters opted for Sinn Féin, which also has roots in the Irish independence struggle, but which has reinvented itself as a progressive, left-wing party since ending its policy of abstentionism in the south. Which clearly looked appealing given the two establishment parties shared pro-business policies, and so now Ireland has a three way split (plus an assortment of minor parties).

Sinn Féin has announced they will try to form a government, but obviously that will require the support of one of the two establishment parties. Alternatively, the establishment can work together (as they did after the 2016 election) to keep one of their own in power. Whichever happens, its a huge shake-up for Irish politics, which hopefully marks the end (or the beginning of the end) for their establishment.

Climate Change: Ireland will ban fossil fuelled cars

If humanity is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avoid making the Earth uninhabitable, we need to stop burning fossil fuels. Transport is a key emitter, so this means we need to stop using fossil fuelled vehicles. A number of countries have already committed to do this, and Ireland has become the latest:

The Irish government plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, as part of a major new strategy to protect the environment.

The aim is to ensure that all new cars and vans on Irish roads in 11 years' time are electric vehicles.

[...]

The hope is that by the time the petrol and diesel vehicle ban is introduced in 2030 there will be 950,000 electric vehicles on Irish roads.

The government is set to invest in a "nationwide" charging network to power the new vehicles.

At least one recharging point will be required at new non-residential buildings with more than 10 parking spaces by 2025.

Banning new imports is only the start - you also need to get legacy vehicles off the roads. Ireland plans to no longer issue registrations for fossil fuelled vehicles from 2045 - a window which gives plenty of time to make the switch. The question is whether it is fast enough, but its a plan, which can be sped up as required.

So, what's New Zealand's plan? Oh yes - let the market sort it out. Heckuva job the government is doing there.

Ireland declares a climate emergency

Last week, the UK Parliament became the first in the world to recognise the seriousness and urgency of the environmental situation by declaring a climate emergency. And last night, Ireland followed suit:

Ireland has become only the second country in the world to declare a climate and biodiversity emergency.

The development came after a Fianna Fáil amendment to the Oireachtas report on Climate Action was accepted by both the Government and Opposition parties without a vote.

Chair of the Climate Action Committee, Fine Gael's Hildegarde Naughton, welcomed the outcome as "an important statement" but added "now we need action."

She said Minister for Climate Action Richard Bruton would speedily return to the Dáil with new proposals, and she looked forward to working "with all parties and none" to scrutinise them.

This isn't meaningless. It is a signal of intent, and as the article notes, will lead to new policies being put forward to reduce emissions. Its about focusing the mind of politicians on the problem that really matters, rather than the ones that don't - on the iceberg, rather than the deckchairs.

So, to ask the obvious question: when is New Zealand following suit? When will an MP even seek leave to put the motion to the House?

Ireland repeals blasphemy

While things seem to be going badly all over the world, with a murderous autocrat winning in Brazil, plus the ongoing retreat from democracy in the US, there is one place where things seem to be heading in the right direction: Ireland. In recent years, Irish voters have voted overwhelmingly for marriage equality and legal abortion. And now, the same liberal consensus has done it again, overturning the country's medieval blasphemy law:

Ireland has voted to remove blasphemy as an offence from the country’s constitution.

In a referendum, 64.8 per cent of voters were in favour of changing the law, with 35.1 per cent supporting the status quo.

The result was largely expected, as the article on blasphemy in the constitution is generally agreed to be outdated and obsolete.

The amendment finally needs to be brought into law and the outdated offences formally repealed, but its pretty much done.

If you're wondering, our government's bill to repeal blasphemy in New Zealand is currently waiting for its second reading.

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Abortion wins in Ireland

Over the weekend, Irish voters went to the polls in a referendum on their country's constitutional ban on abortion - and overturned it by a massive margin. While all the vote does is remove the constitutional prohibition, it is being interpreted correctly as a vote for change, and the Irish government is promising to pass a sane abortion law which doesn't kill women by the end of the year. Which will leave Northern Ireland as the only place in the British isles where abortion is still illegal.

This has put pressure on the UK government to Do Something about its backward colony, for example by legislating to allow for their own referendum. But that would be constitutionally improper. Northern Ireland is a devolved region, with its own government (though not at the moment) and laws. It is as inappropriate for Westminster to legislate for them as it would be for them to legislate for Scotland. They can only do so with consent. Unfortunately, due to the sectarian nature of Northern Irish politics, which sees bigot unionist parties holding a veto on government (which is why they don't have one ATM), that consent is unlikely to be granted. The only way to fix this problem is for Northern Irish voters to vote out the bigots and vote for people who will change the law. In other words, they have to solve this problem themselves.

Its also raised questions about why New Zealand is dragging its feet on removing abortion from the Crimes Act. Despite a clear promise from Labour, the issue has been parked with the Law Commission in an effort to gain political cover for change. Except that anti-abortionists won't care what the Law Commission says in its report, and will MPs will face a torrent of hate regardless. Which means the entire exercise is pointless - they might as well have simply cut out the middle man and introduced the law they wanted themselves.

Cruel, inhuman and degrading

That's the United Nations Human Rights Committee's view of Ireland's archaic abortion laws:

The United Nations has again ruled that Ireland’s abortion laws have subjected a woman to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.

It is the second time in 12 months that the UN’s human rights committee has denounced the abortion rules in the Irish Republic, which denies women with fatal foetal abnormalities the right to terminate pregnancies.

The committee has found in favour of Siobhán Whelan, an Irish woman who was denied access to an abortion in 2010 despite being diagnosed with fatal foetal syndrome during her pregnancy, it was announced on Tuesday.

[...]

In the Whelan case, the UN committee held that Ireland must also provide her with reparations for the harm she suffered and reform its laws to ensure other women do not face similar human rights violations.

The latter means making abortion accessible and legal. But that in turn will require amending the Irish constitution. There are moves afoot to do that, but until it happens, more women will suffer as Siobhán Whelan did.

Good news from Ireland

The blasphemy investigation against Stephen Fry has been dropped:

An Irish police investigation into allegedly blasphemous comments made by Stephen Fry has been dropped after detectives decided there were not enough people who had been outraged by the remarks.

[...]

After initial inquiries, officers decided that not enough people had been outraged by Mr Fry's remarks to warrant further investigation, according to the Irish Independent.

A source told the paper: "This man was simply a witness and not an injured party. Gardaí (Irish police) were unable to find a substantial number of outraged people.

"For this reason the investigation has been concluded."

So much for that. But it could happen again, here as well as there. The sooner countries repeal their blasphemy laws, the better.

No freedom of speech in Ireland

Just when we thought Ireland was getting better and dragging itself into the twentieth century, they're investigating Stephen Fry for "blasphemy":

Stephen Fry is being investigated by Irish police over blasphemy claims more than two years after his outspoken comments about God on RTE's The Meaning of Life went viral.

Mr Fry described a hypothetical creator as “stupid” and an “utter maniac” for designing a world filled with undue suffering.

Asked in 2015 by the programme's host, Gay Byrne, what he would say to God if he arrived at the pearly gates of heaven, the actor and author replied: “I’d say, bone cancer in children? What’s that about?”

The committed atheist added: “How dare you? How dare you create a world to which there is such misery that is not our fault? It’s not right, it’s utterly, utterly evil.

And for saying this, Fry could face a fine of €25,000. But not under some archaic law still on the statute books from a bygone era - the law was updated in 2009!

But bfore we feel too mug, remember: "blasphemous libel" is still a criminal offence in New Zealand, and Fry could conceivably be prosecuted here for those words as well. He would be unlikely to, given the failure of the only prosecution and the environment set by the BORA, but as long as the law is on the books it is still a possibility. If any MP wants to repeal that obscenity, there's a bill to do it here.

Making the cheats pay

Apple is one of the world's biggest tax cheats, abusing accountants and strong-arming governments to avoid paying their fair share for civilisation. So I'm pleased to hear that the European Commission has overturned one of their sweetheart tax-cheat deals, and ordered them to pay the Irish government €13bn:

Apple has warned that future investment by multinationals in Europe could be hit after it was ordered to pay a record-breaking €13bn (£11bn) in back taxes to Ireland.

The world’s largest company was presented with the huge bill after the European commission ruled that a sweetheart tax deal between Apple and the Irish tax authorities amounted to illegal state aid.

The commission said the deal allowed Apple to pay a maximum tax rate of just 1%. In 2014, the tech firm paid tax at just 0.005%. The usual rate of corporation tax in Ireland is 12.5%.

“Member states cannot give tax benefits to selected companies – this is illegal under EU state aid rules,” said the European competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, whose investigation of Apple’s complex tax dealings has taken three years.

The US is apparently outraged that a company which doesn't pay taxes in the US (because it piles its money up in the Cayman Islands to evade US taxes) might have to pay them elsewhere. As for the Irish government, they're such crawling toadies that they're saying they don't want the money (while of course inflicting grinding austerity on their people). Which I guess tells you whose pocket they're in.

Meanwhile, its worth remembering that Apple pays next to no tax in New Zealand, in part because they use Ireland as a tax haven. Isn't it time we made them pay their fair share?

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WTF Ireland?

Apparently you have to be baptised to go to school in Ireland:

Instead of starting school last month, Reuben Murphy found himself back in his Dublin nursery for another year as his mother, Nikki, re-embarked on her quest to find a place at a local state primary for her four-year-old son.

She has already applied to 15 schools. But, following rejections from nine last year, Murphy is far from confident that a place will be found for Reuben. In a country where more than 90% of state schools are run by the Catholic church, unbaptised children like him are at the bottom of their admissions lists.

This is what happens when you outsource your education system to a religious organisation: it takes public money to cater to its own while excluding those who don't follow their dogma. The idea that a supposedly modern state would use such a discriminatory system simply beggars belief. And the sooner Ireland does away with it and frees itself from the bigoted hand of the church, the better.

Shifting the debate

Australia has long been an outlier on marriage equality, steadfastly refusing to follow the rest of the civlised world in recognising it. While Western Europe has recognised the need for equality, and the US is falling state by state, Australia is steadfast, standing there with its fingers in its ears, refusing to acknowledge the modern world and end bigotry, because that's the sort of thing kiwis do or something.

And then the Irish voted. And suddenly the debate is no longer about whether there should or shouldn't be marriage equality, but about who gets the political credit for it. The ALP put up a bill, the Liberals responded by demanding that one of their own front it so it would be "above politics", and now it looks like there'll be a bill and a conscience vote by the end of the year. And all because no-one wants to be left behind by the Irish.

So, thank you Ireland - your vote hasn't just brought marriage equality to Ireland, but shifted the political landscape and made it possible elsewhere as well.

Left behind

Ireland voted for marriage equality over the weekend, becoming the first state to approve it by referendum. Its a sign of how the cultural tide has shifted in the former theocracy, but its also putting pressure on other countries to make progress. Close to home, Australians are asking that if the Irish can do it, why can't they? And just over the border, Northern Ireland faces the shame of being the only country in Western Europe to still deny marriage equality. A look at the map shows that that's not entirely true - isn't Germany "western"? Aren't Britain's wretched, tax-cheating dependencies as much "countries" as Northern Ireland, a part of the UK? Ditto Greenland, a dependency of Denmark? But there's still a powerful sense that Northern Ireland has been left behind as a result of fundamentalist protestant bigotry - and something the Northern Irish will need to deal with if they want to pretend to be part of the modern world.

A cover-up in Ireland

Ireland has a problem: its refugee system doesn't work. Asylum seekers face long delays in having their claims processed. But the Irish government has a solution: exclude information from refugee agencies from their Freedom of Information Act:

The Irish Refugee Council has expressed its “concern” at the manner in which restrictions to the Freedom of Information Act, as it applies to bodies dealing with asylum and refugee issues, were “rushed” through the Oireachtas before Easter.

Both Houses debated and approved the restrictions on the date from which the records of two refugee bodies - Refugee Appeals Tribunal and the Refugee Applications Commissioner - can be now be accessed under the Act.

While the Act applies from April 21st, 2008, and the public can apple for records dating form then, the new restrictions mean records from these bodies can only be applied for from October 14th, 2014.

Needless to say, this won't solve any of the underlying problems with Ireland's refugee agencies. But it will stop anyone from finding out how bad those problems really are. Which is clearly all the irish government cares about.

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Another reason to hate Margaret Thatcher

As if NeoLiberalism, homophobia, and being chummy with Pinochet and Saddam weren't enough, she also pushed ethnic cleansing in Northern Ireland:

Margaret Thatcher horrified her advisers when she recommended that the government should revive the memory of Oliver Cromwell - dubbed the butcher of Ireland - and encourage tens of thousands of Catholics to leave Ulster for the south.

A year after she was nearly killed in the IRA's 1984 Brighton bomb, the then prime minister expressed dismay at Catholic opposition to British rule when they could follow the example of ancestors who were evicted from Ulster at the barrel of a Cromwellian gun in the 17th century.

[...]

Sir David Goodall, then a diplomat who was one of the most senior British officials negotiating with the Irish government, told a BBC four-part documentary, Endgame in Ireland, that Lady Thatcher made the "outrageous" proposal during a late night conversation at Chequers.

"She said, if the northern [Catholic] population want to be in the south, well why don't they move over there? After all, there was a big movement of population in Ireland, wasn't there?

"Nobody could think what it was. So finally I said, are you talking about Cromwell, prime minister? She said, that's right, Cromwell."

And then the right wonders why people hate her...