asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if the former Irish meat processing plant at Leixlip, County Kildare, will be involved in the Goodman International proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

5.

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the number of cattle slaughtered and exported live in 1986; the estimated figures for 1987 and the projected figures for 1988 and future years; and the steps, if any, he proposes to take to ensure adequate supplies of raw materials for the future in the light of the major investment now proposed for the meat industry.

14.

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if the IDA received, audited and examined up to date audited accounts for Goodman International prior to approving the grants for the company recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

25.

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the date on which Goodman International submitted (a) an outline of their recently approved proposal; (b) a full application accompanied by a company development plan and other documentation required by the Industrial Development Act, 1986; when it was approved by (1) the board of the Industrial Development Authority, (2) the authority of the Industrial Development Authority, (3) the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

28.

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when the IDA approved the application by Goodman International for grant aid for an expansion at its meat plant as recently announced; when it was approved by the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

37.

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food in relation to the jobs to be created in the Goodman International project (a) the number to be created at each plant; and (b) the number to be created in each of the five years covered by the grant package; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

40.

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if an employment-related clawback clause has been inserted in the Industrial Development Authority grant package for Goodman International as has been done in other grant agreements in order to ensure that, if the employment targets on which the grant payments are predicted are not achieved, the grants will be repaid; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

50.

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if the State is extending, through the IDA or otherwise, any special assistance in regard to the acquisition of, or covering the exchange risk in regard to foreign currency, in association with the recently announced package of aid for Goodman International; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

56.

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the amount of grants paid by the IDA in the past ten years to companies in the Goodman International Group; the number of jobs actually created in consequence of these grants; and the cost per job; and the number of jobs expected at the time these grants were originally awarded.

57.

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the present slaughtering capacity of each meat processing plant in Ireland; the slaughtering capacity that will be obtained after full implementation of the provisions of the Goodman International project; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

107.

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food whether the former Irish meat processing plant at Leixlip, County Kildare, is owned by or is a subsidiary of the Goodman International group; or whether this plant will be utilised or incorporated in the plans to expand the Goodman International Group.

109.

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the length of time the investment plans for Goodman International were with the IDA for consideration; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 4, 5, 14, 25, 28, 37, 40, 50, 56, 57, 107 and 109 together.

At their meeting on 16 June 1987 the Government approved IDA financing towards the cost of a major development plan for the meat industry to be undertaken by Goodman International Limited. The plan involves a capital investment of £120 million on the further development of existing processing facilities at Waterford, Dublin, Muine Bheag, Nenagh and Cahir and the establishment of four new processing facilities, two of which will be located at Tuam, County Galway, and Ardee, County Louth. The IMP plant at Leixlip is not involved in the development.

The IDA will contribute £25 million in grants and £5 million in redeemable preference shares. It is expected that the EC will also contribute towards the funding from the FEOGA fund. Neither the State nor the IDA are involved in the underwriting of the exchange risk in regard to any foreign currency that might be required for the project. Implementation of the plan will result in the creation of 664 new jobs, together with additional spin-off employment in the construction, packaging and services sectors associated with the new investment. Approximately 500 seasonal jobs are also expected to be provided. The details of the precise timing and location of the jobs being created is covered in the agreement between the IDA and the promoters.

The main features of the plan are the introduction of new advanced technological processes which will facilitate the production of long shelf-life consumer products, an expansion of cattle and sheep processing facilities, an increase in deboning and the development of new added-value products. Virtually all the new output arising from this investment will be exported.

The proposed development plan was the subject of consultation between the IDA and the promoters over a number of months. A formal application for grant assistance was submitted on 9 April 1987. Approval of the application was recommended by the board of the IDA on 10 June and by the IDA on 12 June. As is customary in cases involving grant applications, the audited accounts of the promoter were examined as part of the assessment process. The conditions for the grant assistance include a performance clause with grant clawback options related to employment and value-added created.

The Goodman International Group received IDA grants totalling £5 million since 1977. During that time 835 new jobs were created at an average cost per job of £6,000 approximately. The number of jobs anticipated was 820.

The numbers of cattle slaughtered and exported live in 1986, 1987 and 1988 are estimated as follows:

The grant aid for the introduction of new processing capacities is linked to adequate supplies of cattle being available to meet the needs of the plants. While the Department's policy is directed towards increasing cattle supplies no specific Government action is required for this project. The slaughtering capacity of the industry is difficult to quantify as it depends on the hours worked, processing facilities — chilling, freezing and deboning capacity — and other technical considerations. In 1986 the export plants slaughtered 1.4 million cattle and 1.2 million sheep. It is not possible to give details of the capacity of individual plants. The Goodman International plan is concerned for the most part with the creation of a new generation of meat plants based largely on existing throughput and the plan should not lead to any significant excess capacity.

Deputy Spring raised on the Order of Business yesterday the question of further State support for the Goodman project. In particular he sought clarification of the impact of the proposed change in section 25 of the Finance Bill in the tax treatment of certain grants. The Government's development intentions for the food industry have been expressed in clear terms to the House already. An intrinsic element in that approach was the creation of a more favourable tax climate for the food sector in general. All new grant-aided food manufacturing investment will be eligible to benefit from this proposed change and the Goodman Group may benefit in the same way as any other manufacturing food firm. The extent of any such benefit for individual companies is difficult to forecast as it will depend on the tax position of the recipient company. The only State money to be paid directly in support of the Goodman project will be those which I have outlined in this reply and which I gave to the House in the course of a full Adjournment debate last Thursday.

I propose at first to call Deputies who have tabled questions on this matter.