Vol. 560 No. 1
539 Mr. Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources his proposals in relation to revisiting his recent announcement on AER VI in view of the negative changes introduced by the Minister for Finance in the recent budget. [27170/02]
In a speech in Carrick-on-Shannon on 14 November 2002 last, I set out the broad principles of AER VI. Certain provisions of budget 2003, in particular the extension from five to eight years of the period over which capital investment can be written off against tax liability, could impact negatively on proposed renewable energy projects. I am therefore finalising the detailed terms and conditions of AER VI in a manner which addresses the impact of certain budgetary decisions.
I expect to publish the terms and conditions of AER VI shortly. The competition will be conducted in accordance with EU procurement rules. It would be inappropriate, therefore, to go into any further detail other than the general outline I have already provided until the necessary notice making the terms and conditions is published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. This is necessary to ensure the exact terms and conditions generally available are accessible by all simultaneously in accordance with the procurement rules.
