Apple timeline: countdown to €13bn tax bill – payable to Ireland

1980: Apple sets up a manufacturing centre in Cork.

1991: Ireland granted first "tax ruling" to Apple, according to the EU, to determine what profits of the company's Apple Sales International and Apple Operations Europe units in Ireland are payable in this country.

2007: Apple's tax agreement in Ireland is replaced by a second "tax ruling", according to the EU, on the two Irish-based units.

May 2013: US senators John McCain and Carl Levin label Ireland a tax haven for multinational companies such as Apple during hearings in Washington on tax avoidance. The California-based company is accused of avoiding billions of dollars in US taxes by sheltering profits in Irish "ghost companies", which didn't pay taxes anywhere.

May 2013: Apple says it had paid an effective tax rate of less than 2 per cent in Ireland over the previous 10 years.

May 2013: McCain and Levin reject the contention by Ireland's then US ambassador, Michael Collins, that the State is not a tax have. The senators said: "Most reasonable people would agree that negotiating special tax arrangements that allow companies to pay little or no income tax meets a common-sense definition of a tax haven."

June 2013: The EU begins to quiz Ireland, Luxembourg and Netherlands on the legality of various tax deals with companies, including Apple's arrangements in this country.

October 2013: Minister for Finance Michael Noonan outlines plans to ensure Irish-registered companies cannot be "stateless" for tax purposes, closing off a loophole that was used for many years by Apple.

June 2014: The EU opens a formal investigation into Apple's tax affairs in Ireland.

September 2014: The EU issues preliminary findings, saying Apple's tax arrangements were improperly designed to give the company a financial boost in exchange for jobs in the country.

October 2015: The EU concludes that Luxembourg and the Netherlands granted selective tax advantages to Fiat and Starbucks, respectively.

November 2015: During a trip to Dublin, Apple chief executive Tim Cook says that EU investigation will not affect Irish operations, as the company unveils plans to add 1,000 jobs.

January 2016: The EU Commission concludes that Belgium granted tax advantages to at least 35 multinationals.

August 2016: The EU issues its final decision on the Irish-Apple case, saying the Republic must recover up to €13 billion in back taxes from the company; the Government indicates it will appeal the decision.