While they could do so also in the rest of the European countries if there was an homogeneous tax code among the member states.
This way they make millions from countries like Spain, Italy, Germany etc, and give nothing back.
Mind, the fault lies in how the EU is organized, it makes perfect economic sense for the companies.
> big taxes hurt the small guy the most
taxes pay for infrastructure, so while it might "hurt" the small guy proportionally the most, it also provides everyone with better infrastructure that the small guy would never be able to provide (obvious example is internet).
Why be embarrassed? It's competition in the big scale for the lowest tax rate. Ireland is getting taxes
Also, big taxes hurt the small guy the most.
In the meanwhile, Google, Facebook and others are building offices in Ireland and hiring people!