Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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108. To ask the Minister for Finance the reason the receipts from the Court of Justice of the European Union ruling involving Apple and the Irish State are split across 2024 and 2025 but booked on a general Government basis in full in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40065/24]

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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109. To ask the Minister for Finance if the money held in the Apple escrow account will be received by the Exchequer in whole or in part in the current year; whether the money is being accounted for on a cash accounting or an accruals basis; whether the normal accounting rules for Exchequer receipts are being departed from; if so, the reason; if Eurostat or the CSO, or both, were consulted about the accounting treatment of the money; to outline any advice received; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40068/24]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 108 and 109 together.

Exchequer receipts are recorded on a cash basis. The White Paper and Budget 2025 documentation included a technical estimate of €8bn that will transfer over to the Exchequer from the Escrow Account in 2024. The final transfer amount in 2024 will be dependent on the timeframe for the implementation of the process set out in the Escrow Fund Deed. The remainder is expected in 2025. There is no change in the normal accounting rules for Exchequer receipts.

The general government accounts record the transfer of the revenue from the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on an accruals basis. This is in accordance with the European System of Accounts which applies to all EU Member States. This framework states that in the case of transactions subject to a court decision the time of recording is determined by the time of the court judgement. Furthermore the court decision must be final and not subject to further appeal. My Department has been advised that the initial view of the Central Statistics Office (CSO) is that all of the revenue should be recorded in 2024, in line with the timing of the CJEU judgement. In light of the scale involved, the CSO have consulted with Eurostat on this transaction who have given preliminary confirmation that they share the CSO’s opinion on the timing of recording.

This is reflected in my Department’s general government forecasts for 2024. The final decision on the categorisation and timing of the revenue associated with the CJEU ruling will be made by the CSO in consultation with Eurostat.