Google Ireland, the Dublin-based arm of the global technology group and which covers Europe, Africa and the Middle East, has reported a near 8% increase in turnover during 2014 to €18.3bn.

The company reported pre-tax profits of €209m on this revenue and paid tax of €41.5m - a tax rate of about 20% on those profits which are minuscule when compared to the volume of turnover generated.

The relatively low profitability is due to the company’s high administrative costs of €12.5bn and cost of sales of €5.6bn.

This is effectively the cost of buying services and assets from the Google network elsewhere, a process known as transfer pricing which is coming under increasing scrutiny from governments and tax authorities worldwide.

During 2014, Google Ireland purchased two office buildings on Dublin’s Barrow Street near Grand Canal Docks for a combined cost of nearly €80m.

The company now the second largest within Google's organisation, employing more than 5,000 people.