Louise O'Reilly
Question:256. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if own-resource income generated by IDA Ireland, and spent by IDA Ireland, is excluded from EU state aid rules. [22919/24]
View answerTuesday, 21 May 2024
Questions (256)
Written answers
As the Deputy will appreciate, State Aid generally refers to forms of State-controlled financial resources given to undertakings on a discretionary basis and with the potential to distort competition and affect trade between Member States of the EU. As such, State Aid is prohibited under the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU because of its anti-competitive effects. However, various categories of schemes are considered compatible, as their positive effects are considered to outweigh their negative impact. As such, the State Aid Framework performs a balancing act of economic policy to prevent distortion of fair competition, while also achieving worthy policy objectives, such as Regional Development, Environmental Protection or to promotion of Research and Development and Innovation (RDI) in Industry.
EU State Aid rules apply where a Member State is conferring benefit on selected economic undertakings e.g. a company. State Aid considerations apply when the Member State has discretion as to allocation of funds regardless of the source of the funds. Consequently, State aid rules apply as usual to all IDA supports, including where the funding in question is generated through own resource income. All IDA Ireland supports to industry are operated in accordance with EU State aid rules.
Finally, I might add that Agencies, through their parent Departments, are required to secure sanction to retain, and utilise, own resource income to support various activities.