Apple tax money to 'address the known challenges'

The Minister for Finance has said it was "imperative" that the revenue from the recent Apple tax judgment is not used for day-to-day expenditure or to narrow the tax base.

Delivering Budget 2025 in the Dáil, Jack Chambers said there should be a clear strategic direction in how it can be used to deliver for the future of the country, improving the lives of people and communities and supporting SMEs and multinational corporations.

"It is this Government's view that we should utilise these revenues to address the known challenges that we face in housing, energy, water and transport infrastructure," he stated.

The minister also said the recent disposal of part of the State's shareholding in AIB has presented the Government with an immediate opportunity to allocate additional funding towards capital spending over the coming years.

He said he was making €3 billion available for infrastructure spending, which he said will help build on current progress, eliminating key infrastructural bottlenecks more rapidly, and help lay the foundations for further improvements in living standards and competitiveness.

Mr Chambers said that it is the Government's priority is to continue to accelerate the supply of new homes.

To support this, a further allocation of €1.25bn will be made available to the Land Development Agency (LDA).

This will bring the total amount of funding now available to the Agency to €6.25bn to deliver thousands of more affordable homes.

€1bn will also be provided to Irish Water for non-domestic capital investment, which will allow for works to be carried out across the country on capital projects related to remedial action lists, connections for new housing and addressing urban wastewater pressures.

€750 million will also be provided for the further development of the country's electricity grid infrastructure.

Providing a secure, sustainable source of energy, will encourage further industrial investment, facilitate the progression of the digital economy, enable decarbonisation and enhance the country's competitiveness, the Minister said.