The existence of Denis O’Brien and George Hook is proof that God has made a mess of things.
Indeed, isn’t it interesting that that great humanitarian is pushing the State all the way for 57 million in taxes the High Court has ruled he owes from his successful Esat flotation in 1999. One sixth of the annual reduction the government is looking for from public sector workers amounts to roughly that very 57 million. The cuts that 46,000 public sector works would have had to have faced in a year had CP2 passed (and it may well pass in a different guise) could be covered, more or less, by that 57 million. How many other business people are pushing the state all the way in tax litigation, all under the radar of media commentary and media criticism, all the while public sector workers are subjected to intense scrutiny.