Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have already explained to Deputy Doherty that it moved to 100% because it was felt at that time that this would be a way of treating intellectual property that was consistent with how it was being treated elsewhere. On the question of contact between the Department of Finance and Apple, it is obvious that this was a number of years ago and predates my arrival in the Department. I will consult my departmental officials on the matter to see how contact can be established. The one principle I want to be absolutely clear on is that Ireland does not set its tax policy on the basis of any particular company, such as the company mentioned by the Deputy or any other company. We base our corporate tax policy, like all tax policies that are relevant to parts of our economy, on what we think and judge to be the right thing for the economy and for the taxpayer overall. We do not make tax policy on the basis of what any particular company wants or needs.