Bertie Ahern
Ceist:78 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the discussions, if any, the Government had with the British Prime Minister on the future of Irish Steel. [18587/95]
Written Answers. - Irish Steel Negotiations.
Following intensive negotiations I had with the UK Minister for Industry and Energy, Mr. Timothy Eggar and with the President of the UK Board of Trade, Mr. Ian Lang, during the months of November and December 1995, following representations by the Taoiseach to the British Prime Minister on a number of occasions over recent months both directly and over the telephone and following representations by other members of the Government to their UK counterparts, the UK Government withdrew its reservations to the State aid involved in the Irish Steel Restructuring Plan thus enabling the EU Council of Industry Ministers to unanimously approve the State aid package on 20 December 1995 under Article 95 of the ECSC Treaty. To overcome the UK objections, production caps on finished steel and billets together with limits on the sale of finished steel products in the EU market (including Norway and Switzerland) had to be agreed by me in consultation with Irish Steel/ISPAT in order to secure the unanimous approval of all EU member states which was required under Article 95 of the ECSC Treaty.