More areas eligible for State grants

The Government has been given clearance to increase the number of regions where it can give grants to businesses to support investment and job creation.

The Regional Aid Map, published by Jobs Minister Richard Bruton, shows that the percentage of the country entitled to investment aid from the Exchequer will rise from 50% to 51.28% from July. It adds Kerry, Arklow, Athy, and Kells to the areas that are eligible, and means every county apart from Cork and Dublin is now included.

The increase is in spite of the fact the European Commission initially sought to reduce the percentage of the country that could receive the aid to 25%. That was following the enlargement of the EU and was also in response to concerns generally of anti-competitive practices by national governments providing very high levels of investment aid to “national champion” companies.

Regional Aid guidelines enable the State to grant aid, at enhanced rates, to businesses in order to support investment and employment in productive projects in Ireland’s most disadvantaged regions.

A Department of Enterprise, Jobs, and Innovation spokesperson said: “Typically, regional aid in Ireland is given in the form of capital grants for initial investment in fixed capital for new establishments or extensions and employment grants linked to initial investment.”

Under the new map:

- Aid to large enterprises is permitted for new economic activities, expansions which involve new products or services, and product innovation. Under the original proposals, aid to large enterprises was to be banned entirely in Ireland;

- Aid intensity rates (30% for small enterprises, 20% for medium-sized enterprises and 10% for large enterprises) are maintained at current levels.

Mr Bruton said: “Government-supported exporting companies play an important part in this plan. Areas which have been badly affected by the employment collapse of the past decade, including Kerry, Kells, Athy, and Arklow, have been added to the eligible areas, meaning only Dublin, Cork, and areas directly bordering Dublin are excluded.

“Most importantly, today’s announcement will make it easier to go into boardrooms of multinational and Irish exporting companies and convince them to create jobs in regional locations.”

Mr Bruton announced the news at Dairymaster, an Irish manufacturing company based in Causeway, Co Kerry. His department said Dairymaster was a large company which, from July 1, would be able to receive investment aid — it has not been able to since 2007.