Vol. 482 No. 6
113 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the dividend policy of the Government as a shareholder in the semi-State companies individually, under the aegis of her Department; and the projected yield for each of the next three years that her Department and the Department of Finance have made for these dividend receipts. [18560/97]
The current statutory basis of a number of State companies does not allow for dividends. There is another group of such companies whose commercial and financial circumstances render dividends inappropriate e.g. where they are in receipt of Exchequer subvention or where profits are very low.
In those cases where dividends are appropriate, the approach of the Government is a pragmatic one which takes account of the current financial condition of the company and the short to medium-term commercial outlook. The dividends are settled between the company, my Department and the Department of Finance. In some cases there are general understandings between the parties about the determination of dividends covering a few years.
The new reality is that most of these companies are operating in an increasingly commercial environment where it is not appropriate for commercial reasons to indicate to their competitors the approach to future dividends.
