Recent revelations under the Freedom of Information Acts, north and south
Kerry deal still clear as butter
Despite a Freedom of Information request, the
Irish Independent has been unable to discover what incentives were offered to Kerry Group to set up its Global Technology and Centre in Ireland. The documents were withheld or heavily redacted, as commercially sensitive.
Joan Burton's team blew €5K on staff party
The Irish Mail on Sunday revealed that the Republic's Department of Social Protection spent over €5,000 on its annual party for current and retired staff, including €1,000 on spot prizes. There was particularly strong criticism at the cost, while the Department was deciding which social welfare benefits to cut.
EU presidency website to cost State €250,000
Among the costs of the upcoming Irish presidency of the European Union, the website alone will cost nearly a quarter of a million Euro. The figures can be seen in
contracts obtained through an FOI request and published on
thestory.ie.
Queen's University Belfast was allocated extra student places on the basis of nothing more than an informal conversation between the Vice Chancellor and the Minister, according to the Derry Journal. This information was provided via FOI to Derry-based lobby group U4D, which is pressing for more places for the local University of Ulster, and Assembly member Pat Ramsey of the SDLP.
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/kerry-shifts-assets-to-luxembourg-to-cut-tax-bill-3101418.html
ReplyDeleteKerry gets grants from taxpayer while at the same time shifting IP to Luxembourg to reduce its tax rate.