How would you spend a €19 billion windfall Apple?

SafeSurfer

Ireland may be about to receive a €19 billion back tax windfall from Apple.

How would you spend it?

I would like to see investment in infrastructure projects. Motorways linking all major cities could ease the housing crisis. Making it more feasible to commute from smaller towns and villages that are declining in rural Ireland.
Make quality broadband available nationwide. The next Google or Facebook could as easily base its Irish HQ in the Galway Docks as the Dublin Docks.
Dublin airport and Dublin's cultural reputation being its main advantages.

Hibbeler

SafeSurfer wrote: »

Ireland may be about to receive a €19 billion back tax windfall from Apple.

How would you spend it?

I would like to see investment in infrastructure projects. Motorways linking all major cities could ease the housing crisis. Making it more feasible to commute from smaller towns and villages that are declining in rural Ireland.
Make quality broadband available nationwide. The next Google or Facebook could as easily base its Irish HQ in the Galway Docks as the Dublin Docks.
Dublin airport and Dublin's cultural reputation being its main advantages.

Building more homes would solve the housing crisis quicker than any motorway

Plus what's needed is more density in the cities not sprawling commuter towns in the sticks

Junkyard Tom

Cake. Cake for everyone. A month long 'Festival of Cake' in the spring time.

RobertKK

The government have said they will repeal if Apple loses their case to the European Commission, that the benefits of Apple losing are somehow less than Apple winning their case.

We would likely only get a nominal sum in comparison to €19 billion if Apple loses and any repeal of the judgement fails.

SafeSurfer

Hibbeler wrote: »

Building more homes would solve the housing crisis quicker than any motorway

Plus what's needed is more density in the cities not sprawling commuter towns in the sticks

Hastily built slums to put everyone of a certain social class? We've tried that it didn't work. Commuter towns are sprawling because Dublin is expensive. Can you name a major city where a simple increase in density has lowered prices. Hasn't happened in London.

Eugene Norman

SafeSurfer wrote: »

Hibbeler wrote: »

Building more homes would solve the housing crisis quicker than any motorway

Plus what's needed is more density in the cities not sprawling commuter towns in the sticks

Hastily built slums to put everyone of a certain social class? We've tried that it didn't work. Commuter towns are sprawling because Dublin is expensive. Can you name a major city where a simple increase in density has lowered prices. Hasn't happened in London.

Dublin is expensive because we don't build enough housing. And we didn't really build slums. Clearly we need more buildings

Iwasfrozen

SafeSurfer wrote: »

Hastily built slums to put everyone of a certain social class? We've tried that it didn't work. Commuter towns are sprawling because Dublin is expensive. Can you name a major city where a simple increase in density has lowered prices. Hasn't happened in London.

We need to remove height restrictions and allow private developers to build vertically.

Harry Palmr

The 19 billion could be used to pump prime the my economy.

If it was shared out equally it would only be about 4500 euro each.

smash

Well obviously the politicians need a pay rise and Irish Water needs some bonuses.

The Backwards Man

I'd build a wall round Donegal. For north and south, to keep them out, by God I'd build it tall.

RobbingBandit

Taxed at €4501 per person. Think of the windfall from that.

maudgonner

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I'd build a wall round Donegal. For north and south, to keep them out, by God I'd build it tall.

But then how would the Tennents get in? Pipeline or by tanker to Killybegs?

The Backwards Man

maudgonner wrote: »

But then how would the Tennents get in? Pipeline or by tanker to Killybegs?

I'm closer to Scotland than Letterkenny, I'd figure something out

Fleawuss

Hand it over quietly to Mrs Merkel. As usual.

StupidLikeAFox

Build a Bertie bowl in each county

maudgonner

Mayo4Sam2016 campaign would be funded like you wouldn't believe.

Yup, we'd still lose.

Hibbeler

SafeSurfer wrote: »

Hastily built slums to put everyone of a certain social class? We've tried that it didn't work. Commuter towns are sprawling because Dublin is expensive. Can you name a major city where a simple increase in density has lowered prices. Hasn't happened in London.

No-one said anything about hastily built slums. It's easy to make sure that build quality is good by imposing minimum standards

London and south east England in general suffer from a chronic shortage of supply of housing hence the high prices there.

The Uk builds 250k new homes per year and during the boom Ireland built 100k. Given the UKs much bigger population you can see why the prices are so high. Shortage of supply simple

For what it's worth I do think transport infrastructure would be a welcome way to spend 19b but I'm thinking more along the lines of metro north or dart underground. No I'm not from Dublin nor do I live there

maudgonner

SafeSurfer wrote: »

I would like to see investment in infrastructure projects. Motorways linking all major cities could ease the housing crisis. Making it more feasible to commute from smaller towns and villages that are declining in rural Ireland.
Make quality broadband available nationwide. The next Google or Facebook could as easily base its Irish HQ in the Galway Docks as the Dublin Docks.
Dublin airport and Dublin's cultural reputation being its main advantages.

As for a serious answer, I completely agree with this. The current inability to see beyond Dublin as a potential site for tech jobs can't be sustainable. If major employers were lured out of Dublin to the other cities it could only be a good thing.

Antar Bolaeisk

Probably by paying whatever fine Europe decide to land us with.

saltsun

Give them long suffering TD's, Senators, County Councillors a well deserved pay rise....

You know what would be great? If they invested it into the communications infrastructure and actually gave us good quality internet, especially in rural areas.

everlast75

Protect Boards from any future DDOS attacks.

Seriously - those few days were horrific

smash

Deleted User wrote: »

You know what would be great? If they invested it into the communications infrastructure and actually gave us good quality internet, especially in rural areas.

You know that one of the biggest roadblocks are the farmers who are refusing to sell or lease parts of land to install antennas and/or cables...

the groutch

use it to set up a state-owned exploration company, instead of giving our oil/gas to private companies for virtually nothing.

511

smash wrote: »

You know that one of the biggest roadblocks are the farmers who are refusing to sell or lease parts of land to install antennas and/or cables...

No, the single and only roadblock is the sheer cost of the project. In the broadband forum, the guys (the ones who work in I.T., not the rural dwellers) say that 35% of Ireland population is rural and it would cost over a billion euro to finance it.

Rural Ireland doesn't generate enough tax money to sustain itself and a re being subsidized by the urban tax payer. The get plenty handed to them as it is without another service handed to them at the expense of the urban tax-payer.

SEPT 23 1989

Mental health and disability services for children and teenagers

Give them a proper chance at life

511

Deleted User wrote: »

You know what would be great? If they invested it into the communications infrastructure and actually gave us good quality internet, especially in rural areas.

It would be even better if you guys moved to urban areas instead of expecting urban-dwellers pay for every service yous get. Only farmers should be living in rural parts.

This money should go towards the needs of the urban-dwellers as they are the one who subsidize the rural-dwellers. Dublin Underground and Metro North are a much bigger priority than rural needs.

The money left over should be used to speed up urbanization in Ireland as it's happened in pretty much every other Western country.

smash

511 wrote: »

No, the single and only roadblock is the sheer cost of the project. In the broadband forum, the guys (the ones who work in I.T., not the rural dwellers) say that 35% of Ireland population is rural and it would cost over a billion euro to finance it.

Rural Ireland doesn't generate enough tax money to sustain itself and a re being subsidized by the urban tax payer. The get plenty handed to them as it is without another service handed to them at the expense of the urban tax-payer.

The 'urban' tax payer also travel and so a better infrastructure would benefit them as well as the rural dweller. I know people who have worked for mobile operators and were tasked with land acquisition for infrastructure upgrades. They said most farmers point blank refused access to their property and wouldn't negotiate on land leasing or sale.

511

smash wrote: »

The 'urban' tax payer also travel and so a better infrastructure would benefit them as well as the rural dweller.

Travel where, one-off dwelling on the side of country roads? These are the problem houses.

How an Earth would high speed broadband to these private rural dwellings benefit urban tax payers?

I know people who have worked for mobile operators and were tasked with land acquisition for infrastructure upgrades. They said most farmers point blank refused access to their property and wouldn't negotiate on land leasing or sale.

Rural-dwellers don't would mobile broadband, they want fibre.

TallGlass

511 wrote: »

It would be even better if you guys moved to urban areas instead of expecting urban-dwellers pay for every service yous get. Only farmers should be living in rural parts.

This money should go towards the needs of the urban-dwellers as they are the one who subsidize the rural-dwellers. Dublin Underground and Metro North are a much bigger priority than rural needs.

The money left over should be used to speed up urbanization in Ireland as it's happened in pretty much every other Western country.

As a Dublin tax payer, I have no problem with my money going down to the sticks, provided its for a good cause and helps people out, I do think everyone in 2016 should have access for a 50/100mb connection.

511

smash wrote: »

I know people who have worked for mobile operators and were tasked with land acquisition for infrastructure upgrades. They said most farmers point blank refused access to their property and wouldn't negotiate on land leasing or sale.

The thing is, ISP have no interest in rolling out fibre to rural-dwellers because it's very costly and there's no return on investment. Mobile broadband uses the airwaves, it doesn't cost as much to feed a mast, like it does feeding every single home with fibre optic cables.

UPC have no interest in it, Eircom and Vodafone/EBS are only interested in ti because the a government plan to subsidize rural fibre, but it's also these are just per-election promises to gain/keep votes before the GE. Don't be surprised if Fine Gael abandon the rural broadband project.

511

TallGlass wrote: »

As a Dublin tax payer, I have no problem with my money going down to the sticks, provided its for a good cause and helps people out, I do think everyone in 2016 should have access for a 50/100mb connection.

It's a lot of money, though, and it could go to waste in the future if rural homes are abandoned. I see a few abandoned cottages in my area and it would be a complete waste to fibre those dwellings.

We have a very high rural population compared to other European countries and it's because the industrial revolution hit Ireland later than the others. In the 1960s, 66% of our population lived in rural areas, now it's 35%.

The problem with us Irish is that we area very short-sighted bunch that love wasting money.

c_man

We could give all income tax payers a break of about ten grand a head? Extra spending could boost the economy, hell we could all buy new Macbooks :P

I would think some should go on a decent infrastructure project (one of the shelved ones), pay off a bit of the debt and re-fund some of the cancelled support groups for mental health/youth groups/various illnesses.

Caliden

Hospitals and homes.

Have an independent body oversee it's investment in both so it's not wasted.

Caliden

Hospitals and homes.

Have an independent body oversee it's investment in both so it's not wasted.

arayess

RobertKK wrote: »

The government have said they will repeal if Apple loses their case to the European Commission, that the benefits of Apple losing are somehow less than Apple winning their case.

We would likely only get a nominal sum in comparison to €19 billion if Apple loses and any repeal of the judgement fails.

I read that too
That's just beautiful , the state is going to appeal a case where ireland is told to take the money.

I'm all on for supporting low corporation tax to attract direct investment into ireland but there are limits to how we should be rode on this.
Giving these companies a free ride only means the tax payer pays for the shortfall or state services suffer.

TallGlass

511 wrote: »

It's a lot of money, though, and it could go to waste in the future if rural homes are abandoned. I see a few abandoned cottages in my area and it would be a complete waste to fibre those dwellings.

We have a very high rural population compared to other European countries and it's because the industrial revolution hit Ireland later than the others. In the 1960s, 66% of our population lived in rural areas, now it's 35%.

The problem with us Irish is that we area very short-sighted bunch that love wasting money.

But the same could be said for Dublin, you could fiber up 50/60 homes as an example and only 10 could want it. What I meant by my post is to give these guys the option to have it, build the infrastructure to do so and it's not just personal connections I have heard of businesses complaining about the connections and speed.

Akrasia

straight to Vegas and put it all on Black.

First Up

Eugene Norman wrote:

Dublin is expensive because we don't build enough housing. And we didn't really build slums. Clearly we need more buildings

Who is "we"?

d2ww

It would all go towards reducing the €200,000,000,000 deficit because the EU's expenditure benchmark kicks in this year.
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/dan-obrien/hope-will-turn-to-anger-as-reality-of-our-spending-power-hits-home-34391157.html

PC Lackey

Our democracy is the key thing to enhance.
If we could improve bring it into the electronic age that would be a major win.

Some kind of electronic voting innovation perhaps.

silverharp

Write f*ck off Merkel on the moon

Tabnabs

Redundancy fees for the over-bloated civil and public service. Reforming that would bring huge dividends to the country for generations to come.

SafeSurfer

511 wrote: »

It would be even better if you guys moved to urban areas instead of expecting urban-dwellers pay for every service yous get. Only farmers should be living in rural parts.

This money should go towards the needs of the urban-dwellers as they are the one who subsidize the rural-dwellers. Dublin Underground and Metro North are a much bigger priority than rural needs.

The money left over should be used to speed up urbanization in Ireland as it's happened in pretty much every other Western country.

Only farmers should live in rural Ireland? You do realise that even farmers need shops, doctors, pubs, restaurants, vets, postal workers etc. a lot of jobs that are done by people currently clogging up the M50 could be down from anywhere in Ireland given a decent broadband connection.

ScumLord

Eugene Norman wrote: »

Dublin is expensive because we don't build enough housing. And we didn't really build slums. Clearly we need more buildings

Dublin needs to start building up. It would be a lot easier to make high volume transport system if there was the volume there to justify it.

511 wrote: »

It would be even better if you guys moved to urban areas instead of expecting urban-dwellers pay for every service yous get. Only farmers should be living in rural parts.

As much as I'd hate living in a city, I wouldn't be opposed to Ireland trying to move more people into urban areas. But it should come with an initiative to recover the islands ecosystems. Our island has been pretty devastated by human occupation.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Spend every cent of that 19 billion on an underground train system and a much better tram system that serves more than two lines. We should get a good carriage or two for that 19 billion

stimpson

Has nobody suggested blowing it on hookers and cocaine yet?

Standards in AH are slipping

stimpson

Has nobody suggested blowing it on hookers and cocaine yet?

Standards in AH are slipping

everlast75

Nixon Slimy Gingersnap wrote: »

Spend every cent of that 19 billion on an underground train system and a much better tram system that serves more than two lines. We should get a good carriage or two for that 19 billion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDOI0cq6GZM

Toto Wolfcastle

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

Cake. Cake for everyone. A month long 'Festival of Cake' in the spring time.

I like this idea. Everyone would be entitled to free regular cake. Gluten/wheat/sugar/dairy free/vegan cake would be available for an extra fee. Coeliacs could claim the fee back using the Med 1 form. Diabetics would have their fee paid using their long term illness book. Special little snowflakes who wanted different cake because of a lifestyle choice rather than a medical issue would have to pay the fee.

Those who do not like cake would be forced to sit in the corner and think about what they've done. (Unless they paid a small release fee.)

People get cake and it raises a bit of money. Win-win.

howamidifferent

Setup a free methadone/heroin clinic on Skellig Michael with pallets of free dutch gold and tracksuits with white socks and free hoodys. Free transport over.

Then drop a big bomb on it...:D