Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 4 Nov 1993

Vol. 435 No. 5

Written Answers. - Manufacturing Companies Turnover.

Richard Bruton

Question:

64 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the progress, if any, that has been made to date in increasing the number of manufacturing companies having an annual turnover greater than £5 million in the year 1990 in real terms which was set as an operational target for industrial development agencies in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress; and whether the assistance of the Central Statistics Office has been sought in establishing an independently verifiable way of measuring progress towards this target.

Minister for Enterprise and Employment (Mr. Quinn)

The Programme for Economic and Social Progress provides for the adoption by the industrial development agencies of an operational target to increase by 100 within ten years the number of Irish manufacturing companies having an annual turnover greater than £5 million in real terms over the period.

According to information received from the IDA, the number of Irish manufacturing firms having turnover in Ireland in excess of £5 million per annum in real terms increased by 22 during the period 1990 to end 1992. The IDA estimate that a total of 175 Irish companies were in the £5 million plus turnover category at the end of 1992 as opposed to 153 such companies at the end of 1990 — both figures expressed in real terms.

It is normally a condition of grant assistance from the agencies that grant-aided companies are required to submit audited annual accounts to them for each year of the grant agreement. This enables the agencies to monitor the progress in terms of turnover of companies which they assist. In the circumstances, the assistance of the CSO has not been sought in measuring progress towards this target.