Vol. 502 No. 1
109 Mr. Penrose asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she remains committed to the establishment of a Shannon authority to deal in an integrated way with all the interests along the river Shannon; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7361/99]
I am not aware of any current proposal to establish a Shannon authority. In the Shannon estuary area, Shannon Estuary Development Limited, SEDL, has been formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of Shannon Development to develop a strategy for the estuary in the areas of sectoral, infrastructure and port development.
In the upper Shannon area, a pilot rural renewal scheme is in operation. Under this scheme tax incentives in respect of rented residential investment have been in effect since 1 June 1998. I understand from my colleague the Minister for Finance, who has responsibility for the matter, that similar proposals in respect of owner occupied residential investment are contained in the Finance Bill which is currently before the Oireachtas.
The pilot scheme also contained proposals for tax incentives in the industrial, tourism and commercial spheres. These aspects require EU Commission approval and I understand that discussion in that regard is ongoing.
