Vol. 429 No. 8
57 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for the Marine whether his Department, or agencies reporting to his Department, provide grants for replacement machinery in the fish processing industry; whether these grants are confined to companies who are creating new employment through re-equipping; and if he will make a statement on the total value of grants devoted to re-equipment and the estimated employment impact of the investments undertaken.
Neither the Department of the Marine nor BIM provide grants for the replacement of machinery in the fish processing sector.
The Department of the Marine administers the FEOGA Operational Programme for the fish processing sector. To qualify for assistance under that programme, projects must first receive an enabling grant from a relevant State agency such as the IDA, SFADCo, Údarás na Gaeltachta or BIM. Those agencies' policies in relation to grant aiding projects are governed by legislation relating to industrial policy generally. By and large that legislation precludes grant assistance to projects which do not entail growth in value-added or employment.
In the light of the foregoing, a special scheme was introduced last year to allow the Department of the Marine to give enabling grants for FEOGA purposes to fish processing firms to upgrade their plant and premises in compliance with the terms of the Community Hygiene Directives.
An allocation of £75,000 has been made under this heading in the 1993 Estimate for the Department of the Marine. Under this scheme, 22 companies have been selected to date for upgrading assistance totalling £817,000 in FEOGA grant-aid. The resultant total investment will be of the order of £1.8 million and will consolidate an estimated 375 full-time and 376 part-time jobs in the industry.
