Frankly, it's not clear what benefits Ireland as a country could have from basically not asking any tax from a few very big companies that have no other places to go within EU, and close to business centers like London or Paris.
The corporate rate is already very low, and you can find comparable or better rates only in Bulgaria or some Mediterranean island, and I can't really see Apple moving there. Luxembourg is also involved in dodgy deals, but its corporate rate is more than twice the Irish one.
Meanwhile Ireland has an income tax at 40% over 34-43K euro - depending if you are married, with children or not-, which is not low at all. Meanwhile Irish debt greatly increased in the past years. Still withing reasonable limits, but higher.
So you wonder who really reaps the benefit of such system, beyond Apple...
Biting the hand that feeds IT
