Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We must apply for state aid clearance. We will not begin the process of applying until the Bill is passed by the Oireachtas. We anticipate that it will take four to six months to get approval from the Commission. Of course, this is an independent decision made by the Commission and we will have to engage with it on it. I will share my note. I will ensure that the committee's secretariat is given a copy of my speaking notes and the Deputy can then reflect on them.

As I understand it, Deputy Paul Murphy's question is whether the operation of a scheme like this could act as a catalyst to the growth of share option schemes. My judgment on the matter is that the key catalyst in place is the fact that we have so many larger companies located here which already have very generous share option schemes in place. That is the catalyst to the availability of share option schemes in smaller companies, not the availability of a scheme like this one. The catalyst is that larger employers are competing for the staff of small companies. If a company has the ambition to float at some point, it uses that as an incentive to be competitive with large employers that are here.

On the Deputy's question regarding the caps in place, the total market value of all schemes does not exceed €100,000 in any one year of assessment or €300,000 in all years of assessment. Any shares that are granted beyond those caps would not receive a benefit from the scheme. It has been highlighted to me that there is a third criterion here, namely the amount of annual emoluments of the qualifying individual in the year of assessment in which the qualifying share option is granted.