asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the extent of the State's direct or indirect involvement through its agencies in the take-over by the General Automotive Corporation of Bombardier Ltd., Shannon Industrial Estate; the subsequent amount of grant aid approved and paid to the company for the purchase of fixed assets and other purposes; the names of the shareholders of GAC; if they increased the equity capital of the company since the take-over from Bombardier Ltd., and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Take-over of Bombardier Ltd.
25.
Limerick East): Bombardier (Ireland) Ltd. (BIL) which established operations in Shannon in 1979, was a joint venture between Bombardier Inc. of Montreal and General Automotive Corporation (GAC) of Michigan. In August 1983 GAC acquired all outstanding shares held by Bombardier Inc. and the Irish company became a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of GAC with the name of the local company changing to GAC (Ireland) Limited and the State had no involvement through its agencies in this acquisition.
The situation as regards grant aid approved and paid to GAC (Ireland) Limited since the takeover is as follows:
|
Category |
Grants approved |
Grants paid |
|
IR£ |
IR£ |
|
|
Machinery/Equipment |
134,522 |
21,249 |
|
R & D |
113,500 |
144,719* |
|
Rent Reduction |
148,034 |
21,399 |
* This includes certain grants approved prior to the 1983 takeover in respect of Bombardier (Ireland) Ltd.
The shareholders of GAC (Ireland) Ltd. are General Automotive Corporation and General Automotive International Corporation of 2395 Huron Parkway, Michigan 48104, USA.
There has been no increase in authorised capital by the company since the change of name to GAC (Ireland) Ltd.