Vol. 429 No. 3
123 Mr. Hughes asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the proposals, if any, he has to allow grant aid to be given to companies that wish to have existing machinery reconditioned by Irish engineering companies and accordingly reduce the large amount of imported new industrial machinery and thereby encourage the use of services provided by indigenous service companies.
At present, the IDA has a policy which operates within strict guidelines to allow grant aid on the costs of new parts and labour involved in the refurbishing, reconditioning or rebuilding of machinery. Any such grant assistance would be provided as part of a total package of assistance towards the cost of establishing or expanding a manufacturing/ international services operation.
The IDA, in assessing the eligibility for grant-aid of refurbished/reconditioned machinery, insist that various conditions must be met including the following:
(i) That the refurbishing machine has a working life at least equal to that of a new machine,
(ii) That the technology would be the most modern available,
(iii) That the machine being refurbished has not been previously grant-aided,
(iv) That the warranties attached to the refurbished machinery are satisfactory and comparable to new machinery.
