Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 26 Jun 2001

Vol. 539 No. 1

Written Answers. - Steel Production.

David Stanton

Question:

89 Mr. Stanton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the agreements entered into by the State in order to allow steel to be produced here; if international quota arrangements or any other such mechanism exists; if so, the details regarding limits and values, timescales and other relevant information; the situation if and when steel ceases to be produced in the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18850/01]

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ms Harney)

I wish to advise the House that there are no quotas in place for the manufacture of steel in the State. The only quota system in place relates to quantitative restrictions on imports from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, which are governed by EU regulations.

An EU Commission decision of 7 February 1996 (Commission Decision 96/315/ECSC) authorised State aid for the former Irish Steel Ltd. linked to the sale process at that time to Ispat. As part of the conditions under which the aid was authorised, the EU imposed certain restrictions on production and sales by the company until June 2000. The details are set out in the following tables:

Limits on production (1 July 1995 to 30 June 2000)

'000 Tonnes

	1995-1996	1996-1997	1997-1998	1998-1999	1999-2000
Hot-rolledfinished products	320	335	350	356	361
Billets	30	50	70	80	90

Limit on European sales (Community, Switzerland and Norway) in hot-rolled finished products

(1 July 1995 to 30 June 2000)

'000 Tonnes

1995-1996	1996-1997	1997-1998	1998-1999	1999-2000
298	302	312	320	320

The EU also imposed a restriction on capacity increasing investment by the company until May 2001 whereby the liquid steel capacity could not be increased above the existing level of 500,000 tonnes per annum and the existing hot-rolling capacity of 343,000 tonnes per annum in finished products could not be increased, other than resulting from productivity improvements.

Also as part of the EU approval of the State aid at the time of the sale process in 1996, a bilateral agreement between Denmark and Ireland was made on 20 December 1995 under which it was agreed that Irish Steel Ltd./Irish Ispat Ltd. would not put on the Community market certain types of steel products for a period of 7 years i.e. until December 2002. In the event of steel production ceasing in the State, there are no manufacturing quotas to be sold on.