Out of this world! Apple government payout enough to send send everyone in Longford to space

The Irish Government and Apple have lost the €13 billion tax case first taken by the European Commission in 2016 after Europe’s highest court ruled the money must be collected from the tech giant.

The €13 billion has been sitting in an escrow account for the past six years, being the Commission’s estimate of how much back taxes Apple should have paid into the Irish Exchequer.

On Tuesday morning, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) revealed that it had restored a 2016 European Commission ruling that Ireland gave undue tax benefits to Apple, which would be illegal under EU state aid rules.

In any man’s language, it’s a staggering sum of money. But seeing as the decision is now final, some rather outlandish suggestions have been made on how to spend the money.

The 13 billion payout is reportedly enough to rocket every person in Longford to space, according to Virgin Media news.

The money would also be enough to build an estimated 43,000 new homes, or 36,620 new Dáil bike sheds.

The funds would also be enough to bail out RTÉ 431 more times, or to provide €2,700 to the entire population of Ireland.

It is yet to be seen how the money will officially be spent, but dozens of other creative suggestions have been made.

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