Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will discuss the Apple case with Mr. Keegan and Mr. Redmond and then the hypotheticals. Mr. Tim Cook stated in the statement in August of last year that Apple had taken a Revenue opinion on how the taxes would be applied and acted in accordance with that opinion.

The Revenue Commissioners have also said that is the case, that they gave an opinion of how the law should be applied to the company. Commissioner Vestager, when she appeared before the committee last week, said there could be €13 billion due to the Irish Exchequer. Is it possible that Ireland could have the benefit of the windfall of those moneys, given that the information was given by the Revenue Commissioners on behalf of the State and that the reputational damage to Apple could be so much larger than €13 billion? Is it possible that a case could be taken by the company on the basis that the Revenue Commissioners gave an opinion it believed to be correct with regard to the law, yet retrospectively the Commission moves with a state aid case that impacts on the company?