How would you spend a €19 billion windfall Apple?

SafeSurfer · 26-01-2016 12:26AM #1

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 · 26-01-2016 12:29AM

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 · 26-01-2016 12:34AM

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

RobertKK · 26-01-2016 12:35AM

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 · 26-01-2016 12:36AM

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 · 26-01-2016 12:40AM

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 · 26-01-2016 12:41AM

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 · 26-01-2016 12:41AM

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 · 26-01-2016 12:43AM

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

The Backwards Man · 26-01-2016 12:44AM

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

RobbingBandit · 26-01-2016 12:46AM

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

maudgonner · 26-01-2016 12:49AM

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 · 26-01-2016 12:53AM

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 · 26-01-2016 12:54AM

Hand it over quietly to Mrs Merkel. As usual.

StupidLikeAFox · 26-01-2016 01:03AM

Build a Bertie bowl in each county

maudgonner · 26-01-2016 01:17AM

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

Yup, we'd still lose.

Hibbeler · 26-01-2016 01:20AM

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 · 26-01-2016 01:26AM

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 · 26-01-2016 04:52AM

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

saltsun · 26-01-2016 10:59AM

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

26-01-2016 11:19AM

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 · 26-01-2016 11:30AM

Protect Boards from any future DDOS attacks.

Seriously - those few days were horrific

smash · 26-01-2016 11:53AM

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 · 26-01-2016 12:02PM

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

26-01-2016 12:04PM

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 · 26-01-2016 12:09PM

Mental health and disability services for children and teenagers

Give them a proper chance at life

26-01-2016 12:09PM

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 · 26-01-2016 12:10PM

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.

26-01-2016 12:14PM

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 · 26-01-2016 12:21PM

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.

26-01-2016 12:23PM

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.

How would you spend a €19 billion windfall Apple?

Comments