Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Independent)
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891. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide a list of the semi-State commercial companies under his control; the policy of a dividend payment to the Exchequer from each company; the dividend paid by each company to the Exchequer for each year from 2000 to 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14971/15]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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A list of the semi-State commercial companies under the remit of my Department is available on the Department's website at the following link . Details of Dividends paid from 2000 are set out in the Table below or, in the case of the State ports and harbour authorities, from 2006 when responsibility for maritime functions was transferred to the then Department of Transport.

The Government's position is that all profitable commercial State companies with distributable profits return a financial dividend to the State. The general guideline figure is 30% of after-tax profits. Depending on the financial circumstances of the particular company, the figure adopted may be more or less than this guideline 30% figure.  However, dividend policies will need to take account of issues such as current and projected profitability, capital investment plans and pension funding. 

The DAA dividend policy is dependent on profitability and is currently based on a 20% payment.  As a newly established entity (August 2014), Shannon Group's focus is on its commercial sustainability.  A dividend policy is yet to be decided.