Opinion

Ian Guider: We could save face by taking Apple’s €13bn and giving it to the taxpayer

Our reputation has been damaged twice by the long-running case, which is now set to run even longer with the EU court’s decision

Ireland may have to relitigate Apple’s tax dealings – and again show the scale of money flowing through its subsidiaries. Picture: Getty

It is unlikely anyone in the Department of Finance was preparing to pop open the champagne on Thursday morning, regardless of the advocate-general’s opinion in the long-running €13 billion Apple tax saga.

If they were tempted, any celebration is now firmly on ice following the advocate-general’s finding. It would be a very odd twist of fate if the full ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) differs from it when it ...