asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the date of the loan granted on the security of the port of Greenore, County Louth, to a firm (name supplied), the purposes for which the loan was first granted, the term of repayment, and the interest rate; if this loan was taken up; if so, when; if conditions affecting the first granting of the loan were afterwards waived; and, if so, what these conditions were, and when they were waived.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Greenore (Louth) Port Loan.
19.
A guarantee in respect of a loan was given in November, 1956, to the firm in question under the Trade Loans (Guarantee) Acts. The purpose of the loan was to assist in the carrying out of proposals for the purchase of Greenore port and railway station, the transfer of machinery and equipment to Greenore, the manufacture of plaster board at Greenore, the development of gypsum deposits at Kingscourt, Cavan, and the provision of working capital. The term of repayment was 20 years and the rate of interest guaranteed was 2½ per cent. The loan was taken up by the firm and issued in instalments during the period from November, 1956, to April, 1958.
Since it did not prove feasible to arrange for the transfer of plaster board manufacture to Greenore, approval was given in February, 1957, for an alteration in the purposes of the guaranteed loan, the effect of which was to delete from the purposes previously approved the transfer of machinery and equipment to Greenore and the manufacture of plaster board there.