Mr. John Chamney:

Employing 5,000, the Irish whiskey sector is the world's fastest growing, with figures for premium spirit up 200% since 2003, driven by four multinationals. In response, 13 small Irish SMEs are planning new distillery projects in Carlow, Mayo, Galway, Cork and Dublin, with a total industry planned capital investment of €1 billion. The working capital required for distilling and maturing ranges from €15 million to €30 million per project, making it a significant barrier to entry and survival. Companies must wait at least four years for a financial return.
The current Government assistance makes no allowance for the special funding needs of the whiskey industry, as standard grant assistance of €20,000 per job generated or approximately 6% of capital requirements is provided. This compares very unfavourably with the assistance available to our Scottish rivals, for whom in 2013 capital grants per job were more than €160,000 and represented between 16% and 40% of capital needs, depending on location. In Scotland SME distilleries are eligible for ex gratia funding of €300,000 which is allowed every three years under EU state aid rules, plus up to 40% of capital investment, 50% of a graduate's salary, a figure of 40% in building a website and 50% in the case of new product development.

While the UK Government is retrenching aid generally, financial support to its all-important Scottish whisky industry - amounting to 25% of Scottish exports - is being given a high priority. If we want to grow successful indigenous Irish companies, we must follow this lead by establishing meaningful whiskey-specific funding programmes that will help drive the industry to a second golden age.