The escrow account holding almost €14bn of Apple money that the European Commission says is owed to Ireland will remain in place until legal challenges on the tax case are exhausted, the Department of Finance has confirmed.

The value of the account dropped €36m in the past year, a result of so called negative investment returns, and now stands at €13.98m.

Last year the managers of the account had reported a much bigger €209m reduction, which was a result of the tech giant being permitted to move money out of the escrow to pay tax due elsewhere.

The Irish government does not have to make good any reduction in the value of the escrow under the terms of an agreement hammered out with Apple.

The account was set up after the European Commission concluded in 2016 that Apple had benefited from illegal State aid in Ireland between 1991 and 2007, and claimed the iPhone maker owed €13bn in back taxes plus interest.
Ireland and Apple challenged the ruling and the money was put into the escrow account pending the outcome of an appeal.

The Commission’s decision was successfully overturned by a European court in July last year, but the Commission has in turn appealed against that ruling.

In its latest update the Department of Finance said the escrow account will remain in place until the appeals process is exhausted, but did not provide a timeline.

If the Commission wins its case the funds in the account will go to the Irish government