It is part of the "deal" for companies in Ireland to get access to the rest of the EU. This access is the reason why Apple etc shuffle their profits through Ire

It is part of the "deal" for companies in Ireland to get access to the rest of the EU. This access is the reason why Apple etc shuffle their profits through Ireland in the first place. The "it" in this case is that every company should be treated the same. So basically no sweetheart deals allowed. And now there is a fight in the courts if there is/was a special deal in place for Apple or not.