Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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96. To ask the Minister for Finance the costs that will apply to the establishment of the infrastructure and specialist staff to manage the escrow fund which will hold the €13 billion which the European Commission has directed Ireland to collect from a company (details supplied) in lieu of their calculation of tax owing to Ireland by the company subject to an ongoing appeal in the European Courts; the budget that has been set aside for this within the finance budget Vote for 2018; the reason the existing infrastructure of the NTMA is not being used for this purpose; the extent to which the company has designed the process being followed by his Department heretofore; if the costs of this infrastructure and specialist staff being met by the company or the taxpayer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52094/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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While the Government has never accepted the Commission’s analysis in the Apple State aid decision, we have always been clear that we are fully committed to ensuring that recovery of the alleged State aid takes place without delay and has committed significant resources to ensuring that this is achieved as quickly as possible.

The recovery obligation in the Commission’s Decision is binding on Ireland, therefore, it is up to the State to decide how we comply with it. The approach adopted is via the establishment of an escrow fund, in co-operation with Apple as this was identified as the method that delivers the best outcome for the State.

As part of the establishment of the escrow fund, the NTMA, on my behalf, and Apple will jointly appoint (i) a third party escrow agent / custodian to hold the assets and administer the escrow fund and (ii) third party investment managers to manage the escrow fund.  These service providers will be appointed following competitive tender processes, which are currently ongoing. Given the NTMA’s existing functions and expertise, and the scale and complexity involved, as Minister I appointed the NTMA as my agent under section 28 of the National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2000 to run the procurement processes on my behalf.

Due to the ongoing procurement processes which are subject to commercially sensitive deliberations, I am not in a position to provide further information on the costs associated with the management of the escrow fund at this point in time.

Significant progress has been made on this complex issue and the establishment of an escrow fund, in compliance with all relevant Irish constitutional and European Union law requirements, is close to completion. The Deputy will be aware of a recent announcement on progress in this respect. Officials and experts from across the State have been engaged in intensive work to ensure that Ireland complies with all its recovery obligations as soon as possible.

With regard to the costs in relation to the recovery process to date, approximately €2 million (including VAT) has been spent by the State (including the Department of Finance, the Revenue Commissioners, the NTMA, the Central Bank of Ireland, the Attorney General’s Office and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office). This case has involved a significant degree of legal and technical complexity, and additional expertise has been engaged where required. As it is an important issue for the State, the recovery process will continue to be appropriately resourced. A provision for some expenditure in relation to this has been included in the 2018 estimates which will be used on an, as required, basis in relation to this process.