David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Cody and his team. I was going to finish with Apple, but I will start with it, given that it follows logically from the previous speaker.

Much has been said about this in recent weeks and months. The Government has stated its position. Revenue has stated its position and Apple has stated its position, but there seems to be a difference of language when Apple is talking in public and in the statement it made on RTE and on national radio and television stations and what it said at the US Senate hearing a number of years ago. I wish to clarify what Mr. Tim Cook said when he was before the Senate hearing giving sworn evidence. There is a difference between what they say when they give sworn evidence and what they say publicly when they are speaking to the media in Ireland. Mr. Tim Cook said at the hearing that the Irish Government gave the company a tax incentive agreement. He talked about a special arrangement. When the head of tax of Apple was pressed about what that meant, he said that they had negotiated a tax rate which meant that their tax was calculated at less than 2%. Was Tim Cook wrong when he said that he and his company had negotiated a tax incentive agreement with the Irish Government and was his head of tax wrong at that hearing when he said that negotiation meant that the company could calculate its taxes at less than 2%?