CRH chief: tax system not for EU to decide

IRELAND should tell the EU to keeps its hands off our tax system if we want the country’s economy is to continue to thrive the chief executive of Ireland’s largest international company told business leaders last night.

CRH chief executive Liam O’Mahony, 59, in a wide-ranging address to guests at the annual diner of Cork Chamber said that Ireland will give up our low corporate tax regime “at our peril”.

Mr O’Mahony, whose company employs 50,000 people in the US said that he is very disappointed at the “glee” with which US failures in Iraq are met in Europe.

“We should be critical of our friends, but we should never forget who our friends are,” he said.

CRH is a major international producer and distributor of building materials, with a diversified business profile.

Mr O’Mahony disclosed that he expects CRH to have global sales of close to €20 billion this year.

The company which operates in four main regions — the Americas, Ireland, continental Europe and Britain is expected to post pre-tax profits of close to €1,579 million (2005: €1,279m) for the 12 months to December on an expected turnover of €18.4bn. The company will deliver its results for 2006 on March 6 next.

CRH is valued at €16.6bn and makes up 14% of the Irish Stock Exchange and it will continue to grow on an evolutionary basis, according to Mr O’Mahony. He stressed that there will be no large scale cost cuttings measures like those seen at other major multi-national companies.

The CRH boss believes that Ireland must push ahead in the implementation of the country’s National development Plan.

“We need to a culture of delivery to make it happen,” he added.