Apple made Cork jobs an issue in talks on tax

Apple made an issue of the jobs in its Cork factory when working on a sweetheart tax deal with the Revenue Commissioners, according to the minutes of meetings between the two released by the European Commission.

However, the deal appears on the evidence produced by the Commission to be illegal, and if its full investigation confirms this, the giant iPhone maker would have to refund money to the tax authorities.

Both the Department of Finance and Apple have denied the charges, insisting the arrangement made first in 1991 and renewed and extended in 2007 did not amount to the state giving an illegal advantage to the US multinational.