Vol. 487 No. 1
95 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Finance when the outcome of the special study commissioned by him into the provision of childcare tax relief and subvention is likely to be completed; if its recommendations will be laid before Dáil Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3525/98]
I have not commissioned a special study into the provision of childcare tax relief and subventions. In my budget speech last December, I said that: "I will review the situation [in relation to tax relief on childcare] for my next budget in the light of the reports due next year from the working group on childcare set up under Partnership 2000 and from the household review group and the Commission on the Family set up by the previous Government." The first of these is being chaired by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and the others are under the aegis of the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs.
96 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Finance if he will amend the definition of qualifying trading operations for regional airport enterprise areas in the 1998 Finance Bill to allow for a wider scope of industries to be included. [3571/98]
The 1995 Finance Act provided for various tax reliefs to be given to six enterprise areas located in the Dublin, Cork and Galway urban areas. The 1997 Finance Act extended the enterprise area reliefs to two further areas in Dublin and to areas in Rosslare Harbour. Provision was made in that Act for the designation by order of areas immediately adjacent to seven regional airports as enterprise areas. The airports in question are those at Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Knock, Sligo and Waterford.
The designation order will be made by the Minister for Finance after consultation with the Minister for Public Enterprise and following receipt of a proposal from or on behalf of a company intending to carry on qualifying trading operations.
Qualifying trading operations are manufacturing companies which qualify under the Finance Acts for 10 per cent Corporation Tax and internationally traded service activities — as designated under the Industrial Development Act, 1986 — i.e. data processing, software development, technical and consulting, commercial laboratory, healthcare, research and development, media recording, training, publishing, financial and administrative headquarters. Companies must also have been approved for financial assistance by the State industrial development agencies — Forbairt or IDA Ireland.
The approval of qualifying companies is given through a certification process involving, inter alia, Forfás and the Ministers for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Finance.
