asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism if re-equipment grants for industry will be continued, if he will introduce special grants for new micro-processing techniques and if he will make a statement on the matter.

The operation of the re-equipment grants scheme, which was introduced in 1969 to enable Irish manufacturing industry to raise its standards of efficiency in order to compete effectively in free trade, is at present being considered but I have taken no decisions yet as regards its future. Grants for microprocessor-based industries are provided by the Industrial Development Authority under their normal range of industrial investment incentives, which includes, in appropriate cases, assistance towards the cost of new product and process development.

The Minister may have misunderstood my question. I was trying to get at whether he or his Department had any views on how the overall industrial situation might react to the massive impact of having to introduce high technology into their industries overall, not in the microprocessing industry as such. I am talking about overall industries having to meet the cost of installing high-technology instruments and equipment in this era.

There are certain grants and incentives available at the moment which in certain circumstances would be available towards the cost of the installation of these kinds of high-technology equipment, but frequently, of course, these are self-financing in the sense that they will often reduce the company's costs. They are not the kind of equipment in respect of which one would be very anxious to see large grants paid in, but where appropriate grants are paid. They are paid at the moment.