Ireland ends 12.5% tax rate in OECD global pact

Low-tax policy of past 18 years had attracted multinationals such as Google and Facebook to Dublin

• What does the Irish tax deal mean for multinationals?

Ireland has dropped its cornerstone low-tax policy of the past 18 years, which helped persuade some of the world's biggest companies, including Google and Facebook, to site their European headquarters in Dublin.

The decision comes after months of wrangling over the fine print of an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) agreement to operate a 15% minimum tax rate in more than 130 countries.