Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the Government cannot use the more than €14 billion in disputed taxes it has collected from Apple pending a European court appeal to boost the economy in the fight against coronavirus.
Apple is one of the country's largest multinational employers with 6,000 workers and both it and the Government have taken action to fight a European Union order that the iPhone maker must pay the back taxes to Dublin.
The leader of the opposition Sinn Féin party, Mary Lou McDonald, suggested yesterday that the Government could reach "right this minute" into the escrow account where the funds are being held to pay for further income supports for workers. "Mary Lou McDonald should know better, the Apple money is in an escrow