Ireland has reached a point where large scale wind- farms are not acceptable to communities, according to Housing Minister Simon Coveney.

THE acknowledgement yesterday, by Planning Minister Simon Coveney, that we have reached a point where large-scale windfarms are not acceptable is very welcome, but it would be even more so had he had not used the wriggle room qualifier “large-scale”.

There are plenty of good reasons for wanting to open an offshore account.

An Argentine prosecutor has asked for an investigation into President Mauricio Macri's role in offshore companies, adding to the global fallout from a massive leak of documents from a Panama law firm.

The Government has used the Finance Bill to rubber-stamp its long-since mooted broader tax terms for exploration firms with Irish offshore interests, despite widespread calls for a revision of the proposals in light of depressed oil prices.

The 500 largest US companies hold more than $2.1trn (€1.87trn) in accumulated profits offshore to avoid US taxes and would collectively owe an estimated $620bn in US taxes if they repatriated the funds, according to a study released yesterday.

The Government looks set to formally open its new offshore exploration licensing round next month, with it likely to run until the autumn of 2015.