Vol. 533 No. 2
120 Ms McManus asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he has received a submission from the county manager of Wicklow County Council in regard to a public private partnership for Greystones harbour; his views on this proposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8512/01]
A grant of £430,000 was allocated to Wicklow County Council under the public private partnership fund for local authorities on 29 June 2000, for a proposed development at Greystones harbour and north beach. Subsequently, a submission from Wicklow County Council was received by my Department which raised the issue of a number of tax concessions which may benefit the development.
The proposals included a request that residential owner occupier and residential investor tax incentives be made available for the development. These incentives are available at present for sites designated under the urban renewal scheme, 1999, and the town renewal scheme, 2000. The selection of towns and the recommendations regarding designations were undertaken by the relevant local authorities and the expert advisory panel respectively, in accordance with detailed guidelines. Greystones was not one of the towns proposed by Wicklow County Council for consideration under the town renewal scheme and there are no proposals to make further designations at present.
The other proposal relates to the amendment of the definition of a dock as it applies to the availability of tax allowances to encompass the proposed development. This will be given due consideration by my colleague, the Minister for Finance in conjunction with the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources. However, I am aware that part of this examination will include consideration of the proposal by reference to EU state aid rules.
