Vol. 236 No. 5
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether imported roofing materials have been used in the construction of factory buildings in respect of which Irish State grants have been paid; if so, why and to what extent this has occurred (a) generally and (b) within industrial estates.
41.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state in respect of grants paid towards the cost of construction of factory buildings, whether it is a necessary qualification that Irish building materials be used as far as possible.
: I propose, a Cheann Comhairle, with your permission to take Questions Nos. 40 and 41 together.
An Foras Tionscal employ Irish technical consultants to advise them as to the reasonableness of the cost as well as the technical standard of all capital items including buildings for which grants are paid. In certain instances suitable materials of Irish manufacture are not available; for example in the case of roofing materials to which the Deputy refers mineral surfaced bituminous roofing felt or asphalt are standard requirements for flat-roofed factory buildings and these materials must be imported, as they are not made here. The specifications for the factories of the Board's industrial estates at Galway and Waterford provide for the use of Irish materials to the maximum extent possible. Where basic raw materials, including materials for roofing such as steel, aluminium and bitumen, have necessarily to be imported, the fabrication of these materials into the finished state is undertaken where feasible by contractors here. It is estimated that Irish materials and manufacturing processes undertaken in Ireland account for 75 per cent of the total cost of the roofing for the factories on the Board's estates.
It is not a necessary qualification or condition of the payment of a grant by An Foras Tionscal that Irish materials be used in the construction of factories. It has been the policy to make an offer of grant as free as possible from encumbrances other than those necessary to safeguard public moneys so as not to impair its value as an inducement to industrialists.
In practice, the maximum use of Irish building materials is promoted by ensuring that, in general, the industrialist will engage an Irish architect, an Irish consulting engineer and an Irish building contractor for the building works for which a grant is given. In the case of grants for adaptation and enlargement of existing businesses, the standard letter of offer contains the following paragraph:
It is desired that, in relation both to goods and services of various kinds, preferential consideration should be given to the placing of business with Irish companies provided that the terms offered bear reasonable comparison with those otherwise available.
: Would the Minister not agree that the regulations applying to the payment of grants from State funds for private housing, farm buildings, and other items of this nature, should also apply to the payment of much larger grants in respect of factory buildings? Furthermore, is the Minister perfectly satisfied that where English and, indeed, Swiss materials have been used for roofing purposes in industrial estates and elsewhere no comparable Irish material was available in all these instances?
: First of all, on the question whether or not this should be a condition of the grant, I think we should aim at encumbering the grant as little as possible, especially when in practice complaints in this regard are very rare, that is, from Irish manufacturers. As regards the roofing of factories in industrial estates, the position is, as I have said, that the items which have been imported are not made here and 75 per cent of the total cost of the roofing is in respect of either material or work done here. In so far as this can be done, we allow only the importation of raw materials, and the processing or manufacturing of them is done here. As regards people obtaining grants and importing materials for factory construction, they are, of course, subject to the normal regulations; if there is a protective duty on particular goods, they will pay that protective duty and will get no special duty free concessions in that regard.
Questions Nos. 42 and 43 postponed.
