The Irish government has announced how it will use some of the €14 billion windfall it has received from Apple.
Last month, the European Court of Justice instructed the tech giant to pay the Irish state back for tax breaks which the court ruled broke EU law.
“The recent judgement from the Court of Justice of the European Union has provided the State with one-off revenue that has the capacity to be transformational”, Minister of Finance, Jack Chambers TD, told the Dáil earlier today.
“We know that the future economic performance of the State will depend on how the public infrastructure programme is prioritised and delivered over the next decade. It is imperative that this revenue is not used for day-to-day expenditure or to narrow the tax base.”
Budget documents confirm that an “additional €2.25 billion has… [now] been allocated from windfall corporation tax receipts over the period 2024-26.”
A further €750 million from the Apple cash will be used for “critical infrastructure projects that are at an
advanced stage as well as to the existing Climate Action Fund.”
Jack Chambers insisted that the government wants the money to benefit Ireland for the long term and is not a spending spree ahead of the forthcoming general election.
“There should be a clear strategic direction in how it [the windfall] can be used to deliver for the future of our country, improving the lives of people and communities and supporting our small and medium enterprises and multinational corporations.”
Sinn Féin had suggested creating an “Equality for Communities Fund” with at least €1 billion allocated to upfront investment in working class communities.
Reacting to the budget, SF said the government’s increase in spending would not benefit people’s lives.
Without the windfall from Apple, the state would have significantly overspent, the Minister Jack Chambers admitted.
“When ‘windfall taxes’ and the one-off revenue from the Court of Justice of the European Union judgement are excluded, an underlying General Government deficit of €6.3 billion is projected for 2024 and an underlying General Government deficit of €5.7 billion is projected for 2025.”