Protest at U2 Glastonbury debut

I for one never begrudged U2 their success and I am not one of their knockers. They are a hard working professional Band who have worked hard at their craft for over 30 years. They have stayed living in Ireland and invest in the country. Indeed Bono (Paul Hewson) and The Edge (David Evans) live within bombast distance of a friend’s Martello Tower in Killiney Co. Dublin.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/07/killiney-martello-tower-no-7.html

Paul was a near neighbour on the Northside of Dublin growing up in Cedarwood whilst I lived down the road in Willow Park. I never knew him but Dublin is not a huge city and I would see him at the next bustop by the roundabout on Ballymun Avenue with a Dunnes Stores bag of records waiting for the 19A bus into town. There, like all of us in Dublin at the time, he and the guys would hang out in the Dandelion Market on Stephen’s Green, a development site which became a bit of a groovy market a bit like Camden Lock in London. We also had some mutual acquaintances and I caught some of their early concerts in the Project Arts Centre which acted as a catalyst for so much in the visual and performing arts in Dublin.

In common with others U2 have taken advantage of an extraordinary tax break introduced by Charles Haughey when he was Finance Minister which exempted royalties earned abroad from creative writing from income tax. Now this was originally intended to get writers to settle in Ireland and encourage native talent but it has been availed of by film directors, script writers and pop musicians all of whom structure their tax affairs to take the bulk of their income in royalties.


The Boys

Glastonbury organisers were accused yesterday of using heavy-handed tactics against demonstrators who tried to embarrass U2 during the rock group’s debut at the festival. Activists from protest group Art Uncut made their point by unfurling a 25-metre inflatable balloon bearing the slogan ‘U pay tax 2?’ in front of the 50,000 fans watching the band perform on the festivals Pyramid Stage. Friday’s protest was directed at U2’s 2006 decision to cut their tax bill by moving their business affairs from Ireland to the Netherlands.

Before 2006 U2 Ltd, which deals with U2’s royalties payments, was registered in Ireland, the band’s native country, for tax purposes. At the time, Ireland had an astonishing policy of allowing artists to pay zero tax on royalties. In 2006, the Irish government decided to cap the income which can be subject to this exemption at 250,000 Euros per annum. Following this change in the law, U2 Ltd decided to move their tax affairs to Holland in order to pay less tax.

Irish politicians called it a cynical tax-avoidance ploy by the world’s highest-earning musicians, who last year raked in about £80 million. Members of the 30-strong group of activists, who were aged between 18 and 35 and included a teacher, artists and musicians, said within minutes of the unveiling they were set upon by security guards, who pinned protesters to the wall and left one, 23-year-old Claudia Stevens, with a broken finger.



U2 business acumen is legendary directed by their “5th Member”, their Manager Paul McGuiness who has always directed their affairs and who takes an equal share with the band members. U2’s members are worth almost £1 billion between them through savvy investments. The band was one of the first music successes to obtain all rights to its music. Frontman Bono, 51, and lead guitarist The Edge, 49, each own 25 per cent of Dublin’s Clarence Hotel. Bono, who has a £300 million stake in Facebook and a £220 million share in media company Forbes Media LLC, owns properties worth more than £30 million.



Meanwhile, The Edge has a £30 million Californian mansion; bassist Adam Clayton, 51, has a £12.5 million house in London plus a home near Nice, and drummer Larry Mullen Jr, 49, owns properties in upstate New York and the French Riviera worth a total of £30 million. Now they are not the first band to organise their affairs to minimise their tax payments, the Rolling Stones for instance have always been a company in the Netherland Antilles, but it does sit uneasily with Bono’s pronouncements on Western Nations not giving enough to Africa.

Indeed I am worried that with Bono and Chris Martin both at Glastonbury nobody is looking after Africa. I shouldn’t have worried as it turns out Bono asked God to deputise for him over the weekend!

Here is UK Uncuts argument on their website;

http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/blog/art-uncut-its-crucial-we-send-a-message-to-bono-that-what-he-is-doing-is-wrong

No Expenses Spared?

It is not just in the UK that politicians have been found to have had their snouts firmly in the expenses trough. More details about expenses incurred by Irish Politician John O ‘Donoghue have been disclosed this morning as the Ceann Comhairle (Speaker of the Irish Parliament) gives in to mounting public pressure and outrage and resigns. The news comes after considerable public outrage at an expenses scandal at another Irish Government, FAS, which say the “disgraced” chief executive leave with a Euros 1.1 million pay off and a side deal where a prestige car was secretly given to him as a leaving gift. In addition the Irish Taxpayer has been left holding a Euros 90 Bn. Bill for toxic property loans made by Irish Banks. The construction and property industries in Ireland have virtually collapsed leading to severe economic contraction and the wry joke that the children’s character “Bob the Builder” has to be renamed, he is now just called Bob. Public stoicism at the economic downturn has turned to widespread anger as the lifestyles of now bankrupt property plutocrats are laid bare and by revelations that Sean Fitzpatrick, the MD of the now nationalised Anglo Irish Bank had illegally and covertly borrowed more than 100 m Euros from the bank. He invested this in a whole rag bag of businesses including a bar in Las Vegas. He is now not paying the interest on the loan and like many of the loans made in Boomtown it is now largely irrecoverable.


John "Loadsamoney" O'Donoghue

Against this background the public has been very unforgiving as details of O’Donoghue’s taxpayer funded lifestyle have been exposed by requests under Ireland’s Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation. Reports this morning say documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show that Horse Racing Ireland picked up bills of more than €20,000 on behalf of ministerial delegations led by Mr O’ Donoghue to nine international race meetings between 2003 and 2007. Horse Racing Ireland is partly funded by a direct grant from the taxpayer. The latest revelation follows several weeks of Sunday newspaper articles detailing lavish expenses claims by Mr O’ Donoghue while he was Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism. The Ceann Comhairle also revealed last Friday that he has claimed more than €100,000 in expenses since taking on his new job in 2007, including more than €90,000 incurred during trips abroad.

The move comes after months of high-profile media coverage of his expenses. A total of €216,334 was claimed for expenses between June 2007 and June 2009, including about €89,000 on foreign travel. On St Patrick’s Day 2008 and 2009, Mr O’ Donoghue attended celebrations in Washington, Houston, New Orleans, Savannah and Charleston in the US at a cost of €27,074. He also spent €13,227 on flights between his constituency in Kerry and Dublin and more than €124,800 was claimed for adverts in local Kerry newspapers, phone calls and secretarial services and miscellaneous expenses. The cost of VIP lounges in Dublin and other airports such as Paris, Lisbon, Hong Kong and Singapore, totalled €4,461.


One of the Irish Government's executive jets - so handy for going to the races!

Mr O’ Donoghue claimed €3,474 for gifts while abroad - a “proportion” of which were used on the official visit, according to his record. More than €2,930 was spent on official entertainment, including €330 for a party of five at the Butte Chaillot bistro in Paris and €705 on a lunch in honour of Tourism Ireland and France Group. In a statement from the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament), a spokesman repeated earlier claims from Mr O’ Donoghue that his office should carry the same privileges as a Government minister. “Similarly, items of expenditure including use of executive facilities or security are the customary courtesies that Ireland provides whenever it hosts an incoming parliamentary delegation,” the statement said.


Butte Chaillot Bistro Paris - Good enough for an Irish Minister?

“When the Ceann Comhairle travels abroad, it is normal that arrangements made are on the recommendation of the host, giving due regard to criteria such as security and proximity to the venues or to accommodate meetings.”

Details of his claims (including reclaiming a £1.00 contribution to UNICEF) are on this excellent Irish Blog.

http://www.gavinsblog.com/

The craw thumping justification on his resignation today issued by the official Parliamentary Press Office is a worthy sick making example of the genre;

“In indicating his intention to step down from the office of Ceann Comhairle, John O’ Donoghue TD, acted in the best interests of Dáil Éireann, and the office of Ceann Comhairle. He has been a most effective and fair Ceann Comhairle who has acted with commitment and integrity to ensure that the members of Dáil Éireann could debate freely and fairly the issues of the day.”

“The Ceann Comhairle has indicated that he wishes to make a statement to the House next week, I respect his right to do that. I thank him for his contribution to this Dáil as Ceann Comhairle and I wish him well for the future.”

Or as the long suffering Irish Taxpayer would summarise it; “Good riddance to bad rubbish!”


John O'Donoghue arriving home in his Kerry constituency after his resignation to count his money.