Apple just the start of Irish battle over tax

The Government in its push back was telling anyone who was listening that the Apple case did not involve an assault on Ireland’s 12.5% headline corporate rate and that it had done no wrong in its dealings with the tech giant over the last 15 years.

But the minority Government, in launching its robust defence against the commission, is also taking on huge political risk at home. It faces explaining to a potentially sceptical electorate why it wants to turn its back on a huge bounty of as much as €13bn in back taxes from one of the largest and richest multinationals in the world.

Apple may in the next few years employ as many as 6,000 people in Cork. It has shown its further commitment in plans to build a huge data centre in Athenry in Co Galway.