Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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20. To ask the Minister for Finance the length of time it will take to receive approval from the European Commission to make the amendments to the employment and investment incentive which have been announced in budget 2015; if the delay in receiving approval from the Commission for the scheme introduced last year, section 45 of the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013, is a cause for concern in this regard considering that the relevant provision has not yet been commenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44357/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, I announced a number of changes to the Employment and Investment Incentive in the recent Budget, as a result of a significant review that was carried out by my Department in consultation with the Revenue Commissioners, which included a public consultation process.

The EII is being amended to raise company limits, increase the holding period from 3 to 4 years and to include medium-sized companies in non-assisted areas and internationally traded financial services. These measures are subject to approval from the European Commission. Hotels, guest houses and self-catering accommodation will remain eligible for a further 3 years and the operating and managing of nursing homes will be included for 3 years.

My officials will be notifying the European Commission of these changes to the EII once the measures in the Finance Bill have been enacted and it is hoped that approval will follow shortly thereafter.

Section 597A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides for CGT entrepreneur relief as introduced by Budget 2014 and Section 45 of the Finance (No 2) Act 2013. The relief was introduced subject to European Commission approval and discussions and exchanges have been taking taken place with the European Commission on that issue.

Arising from those discussions, a number of changes are being made in Finance Bill 2014 to the CGT entrepreneur relief provisions in order that the relief would satisfy the EU Commission's new General Block Exemption Regulations introduced earlier this year, thus obviating the need for formal EU approval of the relief from a State-aid perspective.

The changes involve targeting the relief at individuals involved in newly created enterprises or enterprises created within the last 7 years, placing a cap of €15 million on the total risk finance investment made in each such enterprise and ensuring that the risk finance investment is made by the entrepreneurs at the commencement of the new business.Other changes are also being made to the relief to make it more compatible with the commercial reality of conducting business on the ground.

The revised provisions of Section 597A (as included in section 52 of Finance Bill 2014 as passed by Dáil Éireann) will be effective from the passing of that Bill. The CGT relief will apply, among other conditions, where new chargeable business assets have been acquired on or after 1 January 2014.