Pearse Doherty
Ceist:78. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the cost to date of the decision to appeal a matter (details supplied); and when the appeal will be heard. [13652/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 27 March 2018
Ceisteanna (78)
Freagraí scríofa
Ireland has never accepted the Commission’s analysis in the Apple State aid Decision and is challenging the Commission's decision before the European Courts.
Notwithstanding this, the Government is committed to complying with the binding legal obligations the Commission’s Final Decision places on Ireland. The Irish authorities have engaged fully with the Commission throughout the State aid investigation. This involved a significant degree of legal and technical complexity, and additional expertise has been engaged where required.
The appeal takes the form of an application to the General Court of the European Union (GCEU), asking it to annul the Commission’s Final Decision.
The Attorney General prepared the legal grounds in support of the annulment proceedings and the application was lodged in the GCEU in 2016. As is normal practice, a summary of these have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. They were also published on the Department of Finance’s website in December 2016.
The case has been granted priority status and is progressing through the various stages of private written proceedings before the GCEU. It is at the discretion of the Court to determine if there will be oral proceedings, either in public or in private. It will likely be several years before the matter is ultimately settled by the European Courts.
Over the past four years approximately €5.7 million (including VAT) has been paid in total, of which approximately €3 million relates to the recovery process. This includes all legal costs, consultancy fees and other associated costs. These fees have been paid by the Department of Finance, Revenue Commissioners, NTMA, Central Bank of Ireland, Attorney General's Office and Chief State Solicitor's Office. As this is an important issue for the State, the case will continue to be resourced as appropriate.