Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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296. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the current state aid and de minimis thresholds, by enterprise with specific reference to each of the measures, enterprise stabilisation measures, State-backed credit insurance, export trade financing, export credit guarantees and employment subsidy schemes; if she and her Department have had discussions with the Directorate General for Competition with regard to increasing de minimis levels for each one of these measures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2445/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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EU Regulation No 1407/2013 (the de minimis Regulation) sets out the rules for granting small amounts of financial aid to enterprises which are unlikely to affect trade and distort competition (de minimis aid). Generally, public bodies are allowed to grant aid to a single undertaking of up to €200,000 over a 3 year fiscal period without prior notification or approval from DG Competition. The Regulation requires that the aid is ‘transparent’.

Specific arrangements on de minimis aid apply in the following sectors:

road freight transport sector - the de minimis ceiling is €100,000 to any industrial road freight transport operator over any consecutive three year fiscal period

primary production of agricultural products - the de minimis ceiling is €15,000 to any agricultural producer over any consecutive three year fiscal period and an overall cap for Ireland in any 3 year period of €66,280,000.

production, processing and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products - the de minimis ceiling is €30,000 for any producer, processor or marketer of fishery or agriculture products and an overall cap for Ireland of €20,820,000.

As part of the revision of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) under the State Aid Modernisation Agenda, Member States and the Commission discussed a proposal to increase the de minimis threshold in 2013. A number of Member States suggested increasing the de minimis threshold to €500,000 over a three year fiscal period. The European Commission rejected the proposal on the basis that the amount was substantial and could distort the competition in the Internal Market. A more modest increase to €300,000 was also declined. The current State Aid framework does not allow for the re-calibration of aid intensity rates under the GBER or de minimis thresholds.

Against the backdrop of the UK vote to leave the EU, my Department has initiated engagement with senior officials from the DG Competition to ensure Ireland can deliver the necessary supports to Irish enterprises within the EU State Aid rules. Discussions will continue in 2017.

With regard to supports for export finance I would direct the Deputy to the Minister for Finance recent announcement that his Department, with the support of my Department, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI), Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) and Enterprise Ireland (EI), is working on developing and rolling out an Integrated Export Finance Strategy. In this regard, work is continuing on the delivery of an export finance pilot initiative, due to be delivered by Q2 2017.