Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 September 2016
210. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Finance the reason the Government was caught by surprise by the announcement of the European Commission's adverse ruling on 31 August 2016 given that his Department spent €1 million over three years on legal consultancy and fees in respect of the EU's investigation into the taxation affairs of a company (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27321/16]
View answerI first learned of the impending Commission decision following a phone call from Commissioner Vestager on Tuesday 23rd August. In that conversation I was given to understand that the Commission would issue a negative decision early the following week. I was given no confirmation of the date of the decision, no indication of the size of the recovery amount, nor was I provided with any information on the grounds for the Commission's decision.
Until that point I had been working on the basis of intelligence gathered by my officials that the Commission was likely to issue a decision in September or October, but I had not firm indication of the timing or content of the Commission's decision.
Following further contacts with my officials, the Commission indicated that the recovery amount would be large, and in the billions.
It was not until the morning of the decision that the recovery amount and other details of the Commission's decision became available to Ireland.
There has been significant work undertaken by Ireland in anticipation of the Commission decision, which will now enable a robust case to be put before the European Courts on Ireland's behalf. I consider that the money spent on the case to date is reasonable in light of the significance of the issues involved.
