Bono has claimed that U2 worked for IDA Ireland during the economic downturn because the band wanted to give something back to the country that "has been so good to us and that we love".
The Industrial Development Authority was set up in 1949 to encourage foreign investment into Ireland and foster domestic economic plans.
In an interview in the new edition of Hot Press magazine which is out today, Bono also defended U2's tax arrangements, saying it was "intellectually absurd" for Irish people to criticise Irish companies for moving their tax affairs abroad when Ireland had benefited so much from its own competitive tax regime.
In the Hot Press interview, Bono said U2 had worked to bring foreign direct investment to Ireland.
"We felt what we could be useful with was trying to get more companies to come to Ireland. So we went to work for the IDA. And I do, and I still do." he said, adding that the Irish people had been "badly treated. It was a very unjust situation that the public bailed out private sector wrongdoing."
Bono said that U2's involvement in private philanthropy during the recession was a "personal and private matter" but U2 did go public about the €5 million it gave to the Music Generation fund for young people in Ireland.
In a statement, an IDA spokesman has confirmed that Bono had been working on behalf of the organisation. "Bono has worked with IDA Ireland on a number of specific projects and used his influence very positively on those occasions.
"Bono's main work is to tell the Irish story through his own connections in the investment world, something he does very well. He is among a range of people who've helped sell the Ireland story over the last few years and IDA believes his contribution will remain very important in that context."
Speaking to long-time Hot Press contributor Olaf Tyaransen, the U2 frontman also discussed U2's controversial tax arrangements.
He said that U2 moved their tax affairs to the Netherlands in 2006 as "a matter of principle".
"The principle was this: that tax competitiveness was working for the country if tax competitiveness was a government priority because it paid for more hospital beds and firemen and whatever it is, that culture was a good thing.
"You're either into it or you're not into it. Is it right or wrong? The real hypocrisy is saying 'it's fine for the country, but it's not fine for U2 to think like that'. That doesn't add up."
Bono also said Ireland had a right to tax competitiveness despite complaints from larger countries, notably the UK. "They have scale. We don't. We have to be innovative." the singer said.
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