@mozart
Well the deal was approved by parliament at the first reading but was then pulled by the Conservative from going through the second reading because parliament did not want to be rushed into fully approving the deal under Johnson's time table which they felt didn't properly give them time to scrutinize it.
If Johnson wins the election the deal will be brought back. If the opposition win there will likely be a second referendum.
Point is, is that there is other options Brexit options for NI other than reunification with Ireland or going out on the same terms as the rest of the UK.
What about the principal that all sides in a referendum abide by the legal rules. The leave side did not.
The "will of the people" is an absolutely meaningless Brexiteer phrase. Define the will of the people please. Did all 17.4 million Brexit voters vote for Boris Johnson's deal, maybe it was May's deal, did they vote for no deal, did they vote for Canada + or the Norway Model, remaining in the Customs Union or out of it, I don't think the Democratic Unionists Party idea of Brexit involved a border down the Irish Sea. The Ulster Unionist Party is now of the opinion that remaining in the EU is better than Boris Johnson's deal. What about Brexit voters who where interviewed later and said they have no changed their mind and would rather remain. Or are they all plants?
"Will of the people" "Take back Control" "Brexit means Brexit" "Leave means Leave" "WTO Terms" "Get Brexit Done" all meaningless terms used to deflect and avoid actually debating the issues with facts and evidence.
@sharkbok
We both agree then that corporate tax should be decided by the individual countries.
Ireland is not stealing other countries tax per say but it has facilitated corporations funneling tax money out of other EU countries back to the US. Agreed the tax should be payed in the country the sale is made in. The thing about call centers....whats that got to do with Ireland....that's just how companies work, they have call centers in loads of third party countries. As an Irish person who works in I.T I've had to deal with call centers all over Europe and outside of it. Doesn't bother me in the slightest if I'm talking to a Pole, Indian or an American.
The Conservatives have a very bad track record when it comes to funding the NHS. They simply don't care for it, but they know promising to give it money is a vote winner, they just never follow through on the promises.
Brexit hurts Ireland, but if the UK takes the deal on offer, its manageable for us. Yes the EU should enforce fair play rules on all member states Ireland included when it comes to illegal state aid.
Ireland has other incentives to US corporations to come to Ireland other than low tax. Ireland has strong relations with the US. The Irish American population is 32 million which is fairly evenly split among Republican and Democratic lines. This gives Ireland more influence in the US than you might otherwise expect. But as a country Ireland has a well educated workforce, is English speaking, offers a decent standard of living to people who live here, is politically very stable, as a member state of the EU offers access into a market of 400 million and has a general reputation of being able to work with anyone. Also the craic is mighty! Even if the corporate tax rate was enforced to its full here, remember it would still be the 2nd lowest in the EU.
As I've already said the UK leaving the EU will result in reduced investment from multinationals. Why invest as heavily in a market of 60 million when you could invest more into a market of 400 million and make bigger profits?