asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce (a) the names of Irish firms who have put forward investment proposals for 1975-76 (b) the total amount of capital involved in such proposals (c) the names of the firms whose proposals have been approved by the IDA and (d) the amount of grants to be allocated in each case.
Written Answers. - Investment Proposals.
41.
Many proposals submitted to the Industrial Development Authority are tentative and are not pursued to a stage where all the necessary information required to have a decision taken on them is furnished. In such cases apart from considerations of confidentiality it would not be appropriate to give information of the kind sought to the Deputy.
I have been informed by the authority that 547 proposals submitted by Irish firms were approved in the period 1st January, 1975, to 31st January, 1976, the latest date for which the information is readily available. The total fixed asset investment involved in these proposals is about £175 million and the grants approved by the authority in respect of the proposals amount to £36 million approximately.
I have also been informed by the authority that it is not the practice to announce approvals of projects, including the names of the firms involved, except with the prior agreement of the promoters. Some of the approved projects to which I have referred have been announced by the authority with the promoters' approval but I understand the list is quite extensive and I regret that, in the time available, I am not in a position to furnish the details.