Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In regard to state aid considerations, I will be attending a meeting of the Competitiveness Council in Brussels on Monday next. The technical working group involving various players, including the Department, Enterprise Ireland and others, has been very successful. An outcome of the group's discussions has been the extension of the Irish rescue and restructuring scheme to include temporary reconstruction aid for enterprises facing significantly acute needs as regards liquidity. That provided €10 million in state aid to support companies experiencing difficulties, which is in addition to the €10 million announced in November 2017. Under the relevant guidelines, the temporary restructuring element is in the form of loans repayable over a maximum period of 18 months. Restructuring aid under the scheme comes, as the Deputy knows, in the form of direct grants or equity. My Department and the expert group will continue to engage with the European Commission in the coming months as the impact of Brexit becomes clearer. That means longer term loans, etc. We are not reneging on this; rather, we are working hard. I am sure that message was brought home to the Deputy in Brussels during the week.

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