Many of the largest US tech companies, like X, Meta and Apple, are headquartered in Ireland. This is so they can take advantage of government policies that allow them to pay much lower than average tax rates. 

To secure these companies’ continued presence, the government has enabled rapid development of data centres, with Ireland now described as the ‘data centre capital of the world’. These are placing a huge strain on energy demand and water supply, while also increasing Ireland’s climate emissions. Predictions suggest that data centres could account for 31% of all energy demands in Ireland by 2027

Apple: facilitating tax avoidance for large corporations 

In 2016, after a two-year investigation, the European Commission formally accused the Irish government of unique tax schemes that aided Apple in paying substantially less tax than other corporations, violating EU rules. 

Apple had used what is referred to as “the Double Irish” scheme (the practice of using two Irish hybrid affiliates to shift profits and minimise tax liability) so Apple paid no tax on the majority of its offshore profits. Apple paid an effective corporate tax rate of 1% in 2003, which declined to 0.005% in 2014 on profits. 

The EU demanded that Apple pay back €13 billion (plus interest of €1.2 bn) to the Irish state, which the Irish government initially resisted, arguing that such tax advantages were beneficial for attracting MNCs to invest in Ireland. The Irish state sided with Apple against the Commission, despite the fact that the €13 bn is roughly 10% of Ireland’s gross tax revenue in 2023.

Ireland’s compliance in allowing corporations to shift profits has not only led to revenue loss in Ireland but significant revenue losses in low- and middle- income countries. India is among the biggest losers globally from corporate tax avoidance.

National Broadband Plan: privatising public services for corporate profit

The National Broadband Plan (NBP) was published in 2012 and involved bringing reliable, high-speed internet and communications networks throughout Ireland. Early on the government handed the NBP over to private investors. KPMG was contracted to provide “financial, commercial and procurement advisory services” and a company called National Broadband Ireland (NBI) was awarded the contract. 

While the shareholders of NBI have made large profits, the Irish government does not own the critical infrastructure. The ultimate controller of NBI is the Irish-American investor David McCourt who is founder and chairman of Granahan McCourt Capital. It was revealed in 2019 that Granahan McCourt’s initial investment would be one-fifteenth that of the Irish taxpayer, and that at the end of the contract the infrastructure would belong to the company and not the state. 

The Irish government’s approach to privatising public services has resulted in public funds supporting private ownership and contributing to large corporate profits for public services.

9 of the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world are located in Ireland. 50% of all Irish exports are pharmaceuticals, with Ireland now the largest exporter in the EU. These companies use Ireland as a tax haven, exploiting tax credits and loopholes. They are able to declare huge profits through their Irish subsidiaries, while paying little-to-no tax on them. 

BMS: Restricting access to life-saving cancer treatment 

When the European Medicines Agency approves a new medicine, each EU member state must make reimbursement deals with producers individually. These negotiations are secret and EU countries are pitted against each other, so companies can choose where is most profitable to launch their drugs. Governments are often charged extortionate amounts for life-saving medicines or are priced out of administering them, as this case study shows.

Opdivo is a cancer treatment drug produced by US drugmaker BMS (Bristol-Myers Squibb).  In 2018, Ireland and BMS could not agree on Opdivo’s price. While estimates suggest that similar antibodies to Opdivo can be produced for between €8.85-€18.60 per 100mg, BMS were negotiating €1,311. 

When the therapy was opened to stage three melanoma patients, the drug was restricted to stage four in Ireland due to the high costs of the drug for the Irish government. Miriam Staunton’s story shows the real-life impacts of this. 

Miriam, a 51-year-old woman, had a tumour removed from her armpit in 2018 with a 70% chance of relapse. In the following months, she was offered local radiation and regular check-ups, but no drug treatment, despite these being available in other parts of Europe. Within a year, the melanoma had spread throughout her entire body. Only then was she entitled to drug treatment. Ironically, BMS makes Opdivo in Dublin, close to Staunton’s home.

Lobbying the Irish government to put corporate profits first in EU debate

The European pharmaceutical industry’s powerful, multimillion-euro lobbying machine is particularly active in Ireland, due to the number of pharma giants in the country. It has been successful in pushing the Irish government to adopt a pro-industry stance in the EU debate.

This involves the Irish government opposing EU legislation that would benefit patients. These changes would reduce the timeframes that a company owns a patent on new drugs, allowing generic drugmakers to more easily produce alternatives, but threatening big companies’ profits and ability to monopolise the market.

Lobbying included a letter from the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association to the then-Taoiseach Simon Harris in 2024, warning the changes could affect manufacturing jobs in Ireland and Europe. In April 2025, 30 pharmaceutical companies came together in a letter to the European Commission warning that they may divert up to €100 billion worth of planned investment in Europe to the U.S. and elsewhere. They also lobbied for a pause on new rules that make pharmaceutical companies contribute towards the cost of urban waste treatment.

Since joining the EU in 1973, the Irish government has heavily incentivized dairy and beef exports. This has concentrated wealth and power within a narrowly focused agricultural industry lobby, that has effectively blocked regenerative and sustainable agricultural policy in Ireland. By dismissing the ecological devastation of intensive beef and dairy, the agricultural lobby continues to threaten the future of healthy food systems in Ireland.

Nitrates Derogation: lobbying for water and climate pollution

The EU has rules in place to protect waterways from harmful levels of nitrogen pollution. However, member states can apply for an exemption from these rules with a Nitrates Derogation, which allows certain farms to use larger amounts of manure fertiliser. This has negative environmental consequences: it means more nitrogen pollution in waterways and more climate pollution as this fertiliser also releases significant amounts of greenhouse gas. 

Ireland has had a Nitrates Derogation since 2016 and in this time, water quality has declined severely. Almost half of all rivers are now polluted. However, in December 2025 after intensive lobbying, Ireland was given another 3-year extension. It is now the only EU relying on this loophole. 

The Nitrates Derogation benefits only 5% of Ireland’s largest farms. These are mainly dairy farms, many of which belong to huge shareholder investors that rely on intensive farming practices to maximise profits. Major dairy exporter Dairygold, which made a €23.9 million post-tax profit in 2023, pledged to work “hand in hand with the government” to protect its dairy farms – 60% of which are in derogation. Six major dairy and meat processors, farm lobby organisations and co-operatives, including the Irish Farming Association (IFA) also launched a joint declaration in support of the derogation in 2024, which was timed to coincide with the European Commission’s visit to Ireland. 

Many small scale producers have spoken about how excessive nitrates are wrecking their land, and that they want a more holistic alternative that will secure farmers a sustainable long-term future. The Nitrates Derogation makes farmers less resilient and more dependent on external inputs such as excessive nitrogen fertiliser, which is the only way agribusiness can continue doing industrial scale agriculture.

Greenwashing the school curriculum

Because Ireland’s National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) does not decide what materials are sent to schools, agriculture lobby groups are able to provide misleading “curriculum-ready” educational materials. 

Agri Aware, funded by numerous agricultural players, including Kerry, the Irish Food Board and the IFA, developed a series of 60-page workbooks called “Dig In” to over 3,200 primary schools in November 2020. DeSmog investigated these “curriculum-ready” materials and found that Big Ag’s materials were misrepresenting the role of agriculture contribution to climate change, pollution and biodiversity. For example, a graphic portrays the circular flow of trees emitting oxygen, which is taken up by cows, who breathe out CO2, which is then absorbed by the trees. In reality, Irish farm animal emissions are four times greater than emissions removed by forestry. There is also no mention of the release of methane from animals, a greenhouse gas that is 86 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year period.

The National Dairy Council also produced material, claiming that “grasslands soak up carbon from the atmosphere, helping to partly offset some of the carbon emissions produced by agriculture”. However, EPA data shows that Irish grasslands are a net source of approximately 7 million tons of CO2 annually.

Ultra-processed foods and alcohol are associated with a range of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including obesity, type 2 diabetes and cancers. There are effective policies to prevent and control NCDs, such as taxation on products and restricting advertising. However, these have never been implemented in Ireland thanks to powerful lobbying from the food and drinks industry.

Public Health (Alcohol) Bill: Shifting the focus to private profit

The Public Health (Alcohol) (PHAA) Bill was enacted in 2018, containing a set of measures designed to reduce overall alcohol consumption with the hope to reduce harm to health and society. 

Regulatory policies included raising retail price of alcoholic drinks by tax increases, regulating physical availability of alcohol, and restrictions on alcohol advertising in public spaces, media outlets and at events.

From the PHAA’s origins in 2009 to its passage to law in 2018, it faced considerable opposition and lobbying from the alcohol industry. Although the campaign to defeat the entire bill was unsuccessful, it was able to significantly water down sections. For example, the ban on sports sponsorship was omitted from the government’s legislative plan.

The financial services industry in Ireland is broadly composed of banks, investment banks, insurance companies, funds, brokerages, leasing corporations, credit card companies, and associated financial accounting services. Building and maintaining a competitive and international financial services sector in Ireland has been a central aspiration of successive Irish governments since the establishment of the Irish Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Dublin in 1987. Ireland is a hub for multinational financial institutions, hosting over 430 corporations across the sector.

Funnelling investment to fossil fuel expansion

A joint report by Action Aid and Trócaire highlights that €31 billion in fossil fuel investments are held by Irish-based subsidiaries of investment companies, while 91% of investments in fossil fuel companies are with corporations that have plans for fossil fuel expansion. Ireland is 14th globally in terms of fossil fuel investment by manager location, enabling the flow of billions of euros to fossil fuel expansionists. 

Ireland’s policies facilitate Ireland’s outsized role investing in fossil fuel companies. In September 2023, then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was asked about regulating finance flows to environmentally harmful industries. He responded “Those funds would just be managed somewhere else. I do not think moving them offshore would actually have an appreciable benefit for the environment”. 

The government’s landmark Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018, which ensures public money from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) divests from fossil fuel companies, concentrates on undertakings and exploration rather than fossil fuel use. It also excludes indirect investment through hedge funds. A report by Action Aid highlights that in 2023, the ISIF held US$ 11.2 million in fossil fuel attributed bonds and shares in the Global South and a further US$ 12.5 million in agribusiness in the Global South.

Ireland is heavily dependent on the private market and investors to provide housing. Government policies have encouraged global investors, particularly ‘vulture funds’, via tax incentives, sectoral engagement, and the sale of land at extremely discounted prices.

Housing for All? Housing for developer profit

In summer 2025, major developers and industry groups were invited to make submissions to the government before the publication of an updated National Development Plan (NDP) and a new Housing for All plan. A few months later, Housing Minister James Browne proposed numerous changes to housing standards that are hugely beneficial for big developers, whilst likely to reduce the living standards of people.

These involve cutting the minimum size of apartments to encourage developers to build more apartments. The requirement for a certain number of one-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments per development will be removed. This will increase the number of smaller studio apartments compared to one-bedroom units, which could save developers over €41,000 per unit. The government’s new guidelines also allow developers to save through reducing the number of balconies and windows under certain conditions, and removing the need for mandatory communal cultural floorspace in apartment developments. 

These changes are primarily geared towards cutting construction costs and increasing developer margins. While this might result in more units being built, it risks prioritising quantity over quality, with long-term negative consequences for urban liveability.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, public funding for Ireland’s higher education has been severely constrained. In response, the Irish government has introduced key policy reforms to address the funding shortfall, including encouraging private sector investment and creating a more commercialised research and teaching landscape. This has opened the door for academic capture, allowing private sector interests to leverage the power of publicly funded universities to advance their interests.

Ryanair: funding research to greenwash sustainable aviation

In April 2021, Ryanair donated  €1.5 million to Trinity College Dublin to establish the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre. Its purpose was to research sustainable aviation fuels, zero carbon propulsion systems, and noise mapping. This move followed Ryanair’s ranking as Europe’s 10th most polluting company in 2019. 

Despite broad publicity surrounding this partnership with Trinity, Ryanair’s CEO has since publicly discredited sustainable aviation fuels, compounding concerns about the company’s history of greenwashing. The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority reprimanded Ryanair over misleading and insubstantial green environmental claims in its advertisements, and the company has invested heavily in lobbying against environmental regulations in aviation.

This partnership reflects a broader pattern of fossil fuel-linked investments in Irish universities, raising questions about corporate priorities and the true impact of such funding on sustainability efforts.

Ireland’s energy systems still rely heavily on imported fossil fuels for transport, heating and electricity generation, so those representing fossil fuel importers and distributors are actively engaged in lobbying and policy-making on energy and climate policy. Although Ireland does not have a major fossil fuel industry, it is deeply embedded with the global fossil fuel industry through Irish-based subsidiaries of companies that are investing heavily in fossil fuels. 

Building new fossil fuel import infrastructure, such as the proposed Shannon LNG terminal, is in direct conflict with Ireland’s climate obligations and the government’s previous opposition to importing fracked gas.

Shannon LNG: energy for US data centres

Pressure from the US fossil fuel industry has contributed to the Government plan to build a €900 million ‘Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve’ (SGER) on the Shannon Estuary to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from fracked sources. 

This is a U-turn on previous government policies, with statements from the Program for Government 2020 indicating the inappropriateness of developing a commercial LNG terminal and the lack of government support for importing fracked gas. More recently, there were a series of meetings between the former US ambassador to Ireland, and former minister for the Environment and climate Eamon Ryan to discuss “energy security” and the “policy landscape” for data centres, and the potential for “public private partnerships” on LNG imports.

The proposed Shannon LNG terminal is facing its third judicial review which is set to be decided in January 2026.

Dalradian: bribes and threats to win community support

Dalradian, a Canadian mining company, has been trying to build a gold mine and cyanidation plant in the Sperrin Mountains in Northern Ireland. Many residents are against the project due to the ecological damage it would cause to the area and its rivers, and there has been strong community-based resistance. 

Dalradian has tried to bribe the local communities on numerous occasions, including giving free Christmas hampers to residents in 2014. It set up the Dalradian Community Fund, giving money to different individuals and community groups, like sports clubs and charities, on the condition that you agree not to speak or act against Dalradian and consent to be used in their publicity.

The three-year exploration licence was due to end in January 2017, but the licence has been extended again and again, and is still open in 2025. Local group Save Our Sperrins lodged approximately 50,000 objections in the planning portal. Their members reported physical assault, public harassment, verbal abuse, intimidation, phone calls with threats of sexual harassment and death threats from the company.

Gambling on horse and greyhound racing has a long history in Ireland, and the government continues to provide support to the industry. Because of the strength of the lobby and the cultural normalisation of gambling, policy makers often reinforce the harmful discourse that problem gambling is the fault of the minority, rather than a public health issue that needs a change in corporate behaviour.

Gambling Regulation Bill

The Gambling Regulation Bill, passed in October 2024 is the first comprehensive legislation to regulate the gambling industry since 1956. The Minister of State at the Department of Justice encountered “endless” lobbying from the racing, betting and gambling industries, with over 60 listings of lobbying activity to politicians. One instance involved live advertising during sports. 

In 2025, the CEO of the newly formed Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, announced that live advertising during sports events would no longer be permitted around pitches on Irish screens before 9pm. This meant that live broadcasted sports could not be shown before 9pm if they contained betting company advertising around the field. However, one year later, after a huge amount of lobbying from the industry, the Department of Justice announced that this ban will not take place. Watered-down advertising rules will now “not apply to the incidental background visibility of licensees logos during media coverage of events, for example, on hoarding in stadiums or venues”.

The Irish military and arms industry is one of the smallest in Europe due to the country’s position on neutrality since World War II, as well as longstanding political and public resistance to increased military spending. However, a rapidly changing geopolitical environment has resulted in a monumental shift toward greater military spending and increasing military capabilities across the EU and in Ireland. 

In 2022, the Irish Government made a historic commitment to double the country’s annual military by 2028, with ambitions to eventually increase annual investments to €3 billion. The increased political appetite for spending on defence has provided unprecedented opportunities for arms manufacturers and military adjacent companies to expand their operations and create new close relationships with the Government.

Irish Defence and Security Association: secretive government meetings

The Irish Defence and Security Association (ISDA) is a registered pro-militarisation lobbying group. There have been increased, targeted efforts from the ISDA to influence policymakers and invest in public relations campaigns to shape public perceptions of military spending in Ireland. 

ISDA describes its membership as ‘Irish and Irish-based SMEs, research organisations and multinational corporations, all united by a common concern for Ireland’s security vulnerabilities’. Members of the ISDA include some of the largest international arms manufacturers in the world. The ISDA has met regularly with government officials, disclosing a total of 16 lobbying returns since it was formed in 2021. 

In 2022, the ISDA submitted a lobbying return for a meeting held with then Minister for Defence Simon Coveney at a networking conference to discuss increased defence procurement and dual-use technologies. Yet, the Department of Defence denied that this meeting took place. The Department of Defence has since acknowledged its agreement with the ISDA to keep details of their engagements confidential under the pretext of building trust and protecting this relationship against breaches of privacy.

Ireland is the number one producer of plastic packaging waste per capita in the European Union, generating 62kg of plastic waste per person per year. Described as ‘the backbone of Irish manufacturing’, the plastics industry in Ireland varies from processors, suppliers of raw materials, tools, machines and compounds, and services in terms of design and packaging.

Repak: Privatising the recycling industry 

Rather than implementing mandatory regulatory policies to recycling, Ireland has taken the approach of voluntary initiatives for companies. One of the most significant of these is Repak, established in 1995. Over 3,500 business memberships pay fees on the amount and type of packaging they place in the market. 

Repak advertise themselves as a ‘not-for-profit organisation with a social mission’ to ‘lead the recycling and sustainability of Ireland’s packaging’. However, it is a registered lobbyist, set up by businesses and owned by its members, including Tesco, Kellogg’s, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Aldi, Lidl who are some of the biggest corporate plastic polluters in the world. There are clear conflicts of interests in what Repak says is its mission, its close ties to the industry and position as a lobbyist.

A key problem with having a privatised recycling industry is the need to make recycling a profitable business. The rate of Irish glass recycling dropped from 47% during the 1990s to approx. 37% in 2000/20001 because of a drop in the price of recycled glass. To get waste contractors to recycle such waste, the government had to subsidise the recycling of glass. This shows the danger of having such an important service such as recycling in the hands of private companies whose main objective is to maximise profit.

Single Use Plastic Directive

The EU Single-Use Plastics Directive was introduced to reduce the impact of certain plastic products on the environment and promote a transition to a circular economy. During EU negotiations of this Directive from 2018-19, the Irish government pro-actively consulted with REPAK and promoted industry views, which was exposed by journalists through Freedom of Information Rules.

In October 2018, an Irish official sent an EU draft text to REPAK that proposed that litter clean-up costs should be shouldered by the industry and asked for a phone call “within the next 30 minutes” to discuss it. In another instance, a government official emailed Repak: “just to keep you in the loop on a development today.” Read the full report for more detailed accounts. 

Ultimately, delays were introduced to actions by several years, benefiting industry over civil society and environmental demands.