The European Commission has approved a €500m scheme aimed at incentivising companies to increase and accelerate capital investment in Ireland to support a sustainable recovery.
The scheme was approved under the EU's state aid temporary framework, and the aid will take the form of direct grants to finance investments to aid greater competitiveness and productivity, and specifically in relation to green and new digitalisation technologies.
It will be open to companies active in areas such as manufacturing, information and communication, scientific and technical activities, and up to 500 firms are expected to benefit.
"This €500m scheme will help Ireland set the path for a faster and more sustainable recovery and represents an important step to bridge the investment gap left behind by the coronavirus crisis," said European Commissioner for competition Margrethe Vestager.
"We continue working in close cooperation with Member States to ensure that national support measures to kick-start and crowd-in private investment can be put in place as quickly and effectively as possible, in line with EU rules.”
In Association with
The Commission found that the scheme is in line with conditions set in the state aid temporary framework in that the aid amount per beneficiary will not exceed 1% of the total budget; the aid will benefit; investments in tangible and intangible assets but not financial investments; the aid will not exceed the maximum aid intensities set out in the temporary framework; and public support will not be granted after 31 December.
The Commission ultimately concluded that the scheme is "necessary, appropriate and proportionate to foster investment for certain economic activities of importance for a sustainable recovery."
The temporary framework was adopted to relax state aid rules to allow member states to support their economies following the outbreak Covid-19, and has been extended until the end of the year in cases of supporting investment for sustainable recovery and solvency support for SMEs.
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