Government insiders have expressed that a verdict needs to be reached within the next three weeks on how to utilise the €16 billion income primarily extracted from the Apple tax judgement. The state is expecting to add an extra €13 billion to its treasury from the Apple situation, and will also be receiving an additional €3 billion upon offloading some shares it has in AIB bank.
Notwithstanding, the proceeds from Apple won’t be accessible for government use until March of the following year. There has been tacit consensus that just part of the income will be utilised directly, a certain portion will likely be reserved for a sovereign wealth or a contingency fund. Specific allocations to these funds are yet to be finalised.
The funds potentially could be directed towards some of nation’s most urgent infrastructure necessities, sources imply. Priority sectors identified were housing, along with water infrastructure, The national power grid and road networks.
Potential areas for investment include the proposed new Dublin water supply derived from the Shannon river; a new department of infrastructure is also under consideration, although enthusiasm for the initiative is higher within Fine Gael than in Fianna Fáil, due to concerns over duplicating roles of existing departments. This proposal was highly commended by the Minister for Public Expenditure, Paschal Donohoe, at the recent two-day meeting of Fine Gael in Tullamore.
In the coming years, it’s crucial that the State invests substantially in new infrastructure, as this will be where the majority of funds are directed. Following the practices of other countries that have benefited from it, we need a minister to focus specifically on this infrastructure. This was signalled by Mr Donohoe, who also mentioned that a portion of the unexpected profits would be saved into a fund. He further stressed that the money wouldn’t cover routine expenses.
As per Mr Donohoe, we must dispel any delusions that this windfall could be utilised to repeatedly finance expenses and salaries, given it’s a one-time fund that can only be spent once. The crucial aspect here is to wisely allocate it to elements that will influence the nation’s future.
In a separate statement, the Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien expressed his desire for a notable allocation for housing and is believed to be putting together a case for it to be reviewed by the Cabinet this month. At the summit, Taoiseach Simon Harris and Mr Donohoe confirmed that the fund would principally target housing, energy, and water.