No. 13/1981:

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ACT, 1981

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 Definitions.

2 Grants and loan guarantees.

3 Maximum amount of certain grants.

4 Training grants.

5 Guarantees of loans to industrial undertakings.

6 Guarantee of loans for industrial re-structuring.

7 Guarantee of loans and interest subsidy for enterprise development.

8 Research grants.

9 Power to purchase shares in certain industrial undertakings.

10 Short title, construction and collective citation.

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ACTS, 1969 TO 1978.

[26th May, 1981]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

1.—In this Act—

"the Act of 1975" means the Industrial Development (No. 2) Act, 1975 ;

"the Act of 1977" means the Industrial Development Act, 1977 ;

"the Act of 1978" means the Industrial Development Act, 1978 ;

"the Principal Act" means the Industrial Development Act, 1969 .

2.—(1) The following subsections are substituted for subsections (2) (a) and (3) (a) of section 17 of the Principal Act (inserted by the Act of 1978):

"(2) ( a ) The aggregate amount of grants made by the Authority under the Industrial Grants Act, 1956 , and of grants (other than grants under section 12 of the Act of 1952) made by An Foras Tionscal and the Minister under the Undeveloped Areas Acts, 1952 to 1969, and the Industrial Grants Acts, 1959 to 1969, and by the Authority under this Act, and of payments made by An Foras Tionscal and the Minister on foot of guarantees given by An Foras Tionscal and the Minister under the Industrial Grants Act, 1959 , and of payments made by An Foras Tionscal or the Authority under section 4 of the Act of 1966, and of payments made by the Authority under section 15 of this Act, and of shares purchased or taken by the Authority under section 44 of this Act, and of grants made by the Authority under section 2 or 3 of the Industrial Development Act, 1977 , shall not exceed £1,500,000,000.

( 3 ) ( a ) The aggregate amount of grants under section 12 of the Act of 1952, section 3 of the Industrial Grants Act, 1956 , and subsection (1) (b) of this section (excluding any amounts required by the Authority to enable it to meet its obligations or liabilities arising from guarantees under section 37 of this Act or section 2 or 3 of the Industrial Development Act, 1977 ) shall not exceed £1,500,000,000.".

(2) The following paragraph is substituted for paragraph (b) of section 17 (2) of the Principal Act (inserted by the Act of 1977):

"( b ) The aggregate amount of moneys guaranteed in respect of principal by the Authority under section 37 of this Act or section 2 or 3 of the Industrial Development Act, 1977 , and outstanding, and of payments made by the Authority in respect of principal on foot of guarantees under any of those sections, shall not at any time exceed £125,000,000.".

(3) The following paragraph is substituted for paragraph (b) of section 17 (3) of the Principal Act (inserted by the Act of 1977):

"( b ) The aggregate amount of grants made by the Minister to the Authority to enable it to meet its obligations or liabilities arising from guarantees under section 37 of this Act or section 2 or 3 of the Industrial Development Act, 1977 , in respect of principal shall not exceed £125,000,000.".

3.—The following section is substituted for section 42 of the Principal Act (inserted by the Act of 1978):

"42. (1) The total amount of moneys granted under one or more of the following sections of this Act, namely, sections 33, 34, 35 and 46, to or in respect of a particular industrial undertaking shall not exceed £2,500,000.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in this section, the Government may, in respect of a particular industrial undertaking, permit the making of a grant or grants under one or more of the sections referred to in subsection (1) of this section exceeding in amount £2,500,000, provided that in each such case the percentage limits specified in sections 33 (2), 34 (2), 35 (2) and 35 (4) of this Act (as may be appropriate) are not exceeded.".

4.—The following subsection is substituted for subsection (4) of section 39 of the Principal Act (inserted by the Act of 1978):

"(4) The Authority shall not, without the prior permission of the Government, give in respect of a particular undertaking a training grant or training grants exceeding in the aggregate £2,000,000.".

5.—The following subsection is substituted for subsection (5) of section 37 of the Principal Act (inserted by the Act of 1975):

"(5) The Authority shall not, without the prior permission of the Government, give in respect of a particular industrial undertaking a guarantee under this section of repayment of principal exceeding £750,000.".

6.—The following subsection is substituted for subsection (2) of section 2 of the Act of 1977:

"(2) The Authority shall not, without the prior permission of the Government, give a guarantee in respect of moneys borrowed in connection with an acquisition or amalgamation referred to in subsection (1) of this section where the aggregate amount of the principal of any moneys the subject of the guarantee exceeds £750,000.".

7.—The following subsection is substituted for subsection (2) of section 3 of the Act of 1977:

"(2) The Authority shall not, without the prior permission of the Government, give a guarantee in respect of moneys borrowed in respect of working capital for an undertaking referred to in subsection (1) of this section, or make a grant towards the reduction of interest payable on a loan raised to provide working capital for such an undertaking, where the amount of the principal of any moneys the subject of the guarantee and the amount of the grant payable towards the reduction of interest exceed in the aggregate £300,000.".

8.—The following paragraphs are substituted for paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 40(4) of the Principal Act (inserted by the Act of 1977):

"( a ) Subject to paragraph (b), the amount of a research grant shall not exceed 50 per cent. of the approved costs of the project concerned or £250,000, whichever is the smaller sum.

( b ) The amount of a research grant may, with the approval of the Government in a particular case, exceed £250,000 by such sum as the Government shall in that case specify but provided that the percentage limit specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection is not exceeded.".

9.—The following subsection is substituted for section 44 (4) of the Principal Act (inserted by the Act of 1977):

"(4) The Authority shall not, without the prior permission of the Government, expend more than £1,500,000 in the purchase or taking of shares in a particular body corporate.".

10.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Industrial Development Act, 1981 .

(2) The Industrial Development Acts, 1969 to 1978, and this Act shall be construed together as one Act and may be cited together as the Industrial Development Acts, 1969 to 1981.

ACTS REFERRED TO