Ireland unveils its plans for spending the $14 billion Apple tax windfall.

• In his pre-election budget speech, Irish Finance Minister Jack Chambers stated that the revenue generated from Europe's top court's judgement has the potential to bring about significant change in the country.
• According to Chambers, the government believes that we should use these revenues to tackle the challenges we face in housing, energy, water, and transport infrastructure.
• Three weeks after the ECJ ruled against Apple over its tax affairs in Ireland, his comments were made public.

Dublin has won its long-standing battle against Apple over back taxes, as the government announced on Tuesday how it plans to spend 13 billion euros ($14.4 billion) of the windfall.

In a pre-election budget speech, Irish Finance Minister Jack Chambers stated that the recent ruling from Europe's highest court could bring the country one-off revenue that has the potential to be transformative.

Ireland's economic future depends on how its infrastructure program is prioritized and delivered over the next decade, according to Chambers. It is crucial not to use the cash injection for day-to-day expenditure or to narrow the tax base.

According to Chambers, the government believes that we should use these revenues to tackle the challenges we face in housing, energy, water, and transport infrastructure.

Three weeks after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled against Apple over its tax affairs in Ireland, the landmark decision stated that Apple must pay Ireland billions of euros in back taxes.

The ECJ's ruling was hailed as a victory by tax justice advocates and the outgoing competition chief Margrethe Vestager.

At the time, Apple expressed disappointment with the decision, while the Irish government stated that its stance had always been to not provide preferential tax treatment to any companies or taxpayers.

'Infrastructure essentials'

The finance ministry of Ireland predicted that tax revenue this year would be 105.7 billion euros, a 13.6 billion euro increase from the previous estimate, mainly due to corporate tax receipts and the revenue from the ECJ's decision.

Apple's EU headquarters, Ireland, boasts one of the lowest corporate tax rates among the 27 nations in the bloc.

For years, the small EU member state maintained that the iPhone manufacturer should not be required to repay unpaid taxes to the country. The country had challenged the case, fearing that it may harm its ability to attract investment from companies seeking to minimize their tax liability on foreign earnings.

The ECJ's ruling on Sept. 10 upheld the European Commission's 2016 decision that Ireland must recover the "unlawful aid" granted to the U.S. tech giant.

Currently, Ireland has a budget surplus of several billion euros, partly due to the strength of corporate tax receipts.

The Dublin Chamber, representing over 1,000 businesses in the Irish capital, expressed its support for the pledge to allocate the funds from the ECJ's ruling on "infrastructure essentials."

Allocating funds for essential capital projects is crucial, and without a clear allocation, they remain aspirational, as stated by Dublin Chamber CEO Mary Rose Burke on Tuesday.

The government has agreed to tangible, ringfenced funding for water, wastewater, and electricity grid infrastructure, as stated by her.