Irish government set to take its time on Apple appeal decision

Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said that the cabinet is prepared to take more time to decide whether to appeal against the EU's ruling that it must be paid backtaxes from Apple to the tune of €13bn.

Finance minister Michael Noonan said on Tuesday that he "disagreed profoundly" with the European Commission's ruling that the US tech giant's tax practices in the country were illegal under EU law.

“We will have discussions with colleagues” Mr Kenny said. “It is important that colleagues would have the opportunity to have any anxieties or any questions raised that they want answered.

"This is a complicated document from the European Commission, it is 150 pages. It will need time to absorb and digest properly.”

The Fine Gael party leads a minority government which relies on support from the Independent Alliance to pass legislation, and it is thought to want more time to consider whether to back an appeal or not.

Public Expenditure minister Pascal Donohoe also mentioned that it was important to analyse the situation carefully.

"I'm sure, if people need time to understand this matter, that we will create the time and space to do this properly," Donohoe said.

"We will be able to make a decision but it is appropriate that we give this the time it needs. I am very confident that this government will work its way through this issue."

The government has faced criticism from the public and from the country's third-largest party Sinn Fein over the possibility of backing an appeal from Apple.

Critics argue that the €13bn Ireland would receive in the taxes is equivalent to what it spends in one year on its healthcare service, and could be used to bolster an economy that is slowly recovering from the after-effects of the financial crisis.

However, Ireland could be set to lose long-term investment from the ruling, with Apple amongst a host of corporations who currently have operations based in the country due to its low corporate tax rates.