Vol. 502 No. 3
304 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Finance if the European Commission has approved commercial incentives under State aid rules in respect of the scheme following the announcement of 17 February 1999 when Tuam town, County Galway, was designated under the new urban renewal designations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8389/99]
The EU Commission has yet to approve the business elements of the new urban renewal scheme. The latest position is that my Department has recently replied to the Commission's queries arising from our initial notification of the scheme and we are currently awaiting its response. This is part of the normal process associated with obtaining EU Commission approval and the procedure may take some time to complete. Any final decision made by the Commission in this context will be announced at the appropriate time.
