Lifford manufacturing company Powerbar Ltd paid shareholders €9.7m in dividends in 2015. The company also received €1.44m from taxpayers last year through grants effected by Enterprise Ireland.

Powerbar manufactues busbar trunking electrical systems and has been trading well in recent years. Turnover in 2015 advanced by 8% to €48m, and the company booked a net profit of €12m.

In 2014, Powerbar Ltd’s net profit was €13.7m and shareholders received €12.8m in dividends.

The Powerbar grant-aid accounted for 69% of the total payments made by the state agency to foster enterprise in County Donegal through 2015. Of the 14 grant and equity payments made by the agency in the county in 2015, the smallest was €2,580, received by EK Marine Ltd.

Taxpayer funding of large businesses is not related to their financial need. Every year Enterprise Ireland funds highly profitable companies for their investment activity.

In Association with

For example, according to Enterprise Ireland’s annual report, Glanbia plc received taxpayer-funded payments of €6.4m from the state agency in 2015 at the same time as the company paid €33.9m in dividends to shareholders.

Powerbar Ltd’s sole shareholder is E&I Engineering Ireland Ltd. The shareholders in this latter company are Damian McCauley, Cathal McLaughlin, Adrian Sheridan, Paul Connolly, Philip O’Doherty and a Cyprus-domiciled company also called Powerbar Ltd, which speaks for 58.6% of the equity.