The Government plans to outline a framework early next year on how the €14 billion-plus Apple windfall should be spent addressing “known challenges” in areas such as housing, energy, transport and water infrastructure, Minister for Finance Jack Chambers said.
The European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) ruling last month that Apple pay billions of euros of back taxes and interest to the Republic has “provided the State with one-off revenue that has the capacity to be transformational”, Mr Chambers said in the Dáil as he unveiled his part of Budget 2025.
He said that work on the framework “will begin now”. Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe’s officials will also feed into the plans.
Meanwhile, Minister Chambers has earmarked €3 billion raised this year from the sale of AIB shares for infrastructure and development.
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Some €1 billion will be given to Uisce Éireann (Irish Water) for non-domestic capital investment, to provide services for new housing developments and for remedial actions.
A further €1.25 billion will be made available to the Land Development Agency (LDA), bringing total funding to €5 billion, in order to boost the deliver of social and affordable housing.
The remaining €750 million will be used to support upgrades to the State’s electricity grid infrastructure to encourage more on- and offshore renewable energy projects, he said.
He said that any further money raised from AIB share sales will also be used for water, housing and the electricity grid. The Government’s remaining 21 per cent stake in the bank is currently worth €2.43 billion.
“The announcement of €3 billion in ring-fenced funding for specific infrastructure investment in today’s budget is hugely welcome, as we see Government’s ongoing commitment to the development of all aspects of the country’s infrastructure detailed – including specific funding amounts outlined for housing, water and energy infrastructure,” said Ferga Kane, a strategy and transactions partner with EY Ireland.
“It will be important, however, to balance that investment against the limited spare capacity that exists in the economy to ensure it delivers value for money. This can only be achieved by also resolving the underlying issues that are impacting the country’s ability to deliver infrastructure at speed and at scale.”
