Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The actual grant the Minister of State referred to is actually €200. Companies that have checked this out are looking at having to pay between €20,000 and €30,000 to get this done. Many of them are going to England because it is much cheaper there. One can get it done there for as low as €15,000. If one had a British passport, one could get a 75% subsidy from the UK Government on top of that.

This directive will affect up to 5,000 jobs and push out the small man unless the Government does something active to help. It will be the bigger companies doing steel fabrication as a result. That would be a shame because the small firms that employ between four and five people are, from my experience, the best guys to do welding. They tend to be far more professional and good in their approach.

See this speech in context