Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 January 2013
313. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will detail the amounts of regional aid that can be applied for in the south-east region and if they are less than those in regions with lower levels of unemployment. [2470/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe maximum aid rates for the South East NUTS 3 Sub Region are 10% for large companies, and 20% and 30% for medium and small firms respectively. The only area with higher aid rates is the Border Midlands and West (BMW) NUTS 2 Region. The maximum aid rates available for large firms in the BMW region from 2007-2010 were 30%; for medium and small firms the rates they were 40% and 50% respectively. For the period 2011-2013 maximum aid rates available for large firms are 15%; for medium and small firms the rates they are 25% and 35% respectively.
The reason for the higher rates in the BMW region is due to it being classified under the Regional Aid Guidelines at the time of designation in 2006 as an “economic development region”. This status was due to the region having the category of an ‘A’ region in the 2000-2006 map. ‘A’ regions are those with GDP of less than 75% of the EU average. The unemployment rates included in the CSO Quarter 3 2012 National Quarterly Household Survey were 16.7% for the BMW NUTS 2 Region and 19.4% for the South East NUTS 3 Sub Region.
