asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will outline any changes he may have in mind with regard to industrial grants or subsidies; and the thinking behind such changes; and the total amounts of grants paid out in 1985, 1986 and 1987.
Written Answers. - Industrial Grants/Subsidies.
25.
The Programme for National Recovery, published in October 1987, outlined a range of policy measures to achieve an enhanced industrial development performance and the rationale behind such measures. Specifically in relation to industrial incentives the programme involves (a) an increased priority for the development of indigenous industry with a particular emphasis on the expansion and growth of selected Irish companies firmly rooted in the economy; (b) greater emphasis on State aid to achieve a significant shift in resources from the support of fixed asset investment to the upgrading of marketing, product development, R & D and management expertise; (c) training grants, expenditure being reoriented towards equipping Irish companies with marketing, management, technological and commercial language skills; and (d) linking State aid more directly to employment so that disbursements will depend on the achievement of specific employment targets.
Details of the total amounts of industrial grants paid in the years 1985 and 1986 are set out at Appendix 4A of my Department's Review of Industrial Performance 1986, copies of which are available in the Dáil Library. Figures for 1987 will be contained in the annual reports of the relevant State agencies for that year.