PART II

Industrial Development Authority

10. —(1) The Industrial Development Authority shall continue in being notwithstanding the repeals effected by this Act.

(2) The Authority in the exercise of its powers and functions shall be responsible to the Minister.

(3) The First Schedule shall apply in relation to the Authority.

11. —(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Authority shall be an autonomous body with the following functions:

(a) to act under the Minister as a body having national responsibility for the implementation of industrial development policies;

(b) to provide and administer such grants and other financial facilities for industry as it may be authorised by the Oireachtas to provide and to administer;

(c) to initiate proposals and schemes for submission to the Minister for the creation and development of industry and the provision and maintenance of industrial employment;

(d) to provide, develop, construct, alter, adapt, maintain and administer industrial estates and factory buildings together with the associated facilities of such estates and buildings;

(e) to foster the national objective of regional industrial development;

(f) to survey possibilities of further industrial development and advise the Minister thereon;

(g) to advise the Minister on steps necessary and desirable for establishing new industry and for the expansion and modernisation of existing industry;

(h) to give on request advice and guidance to persons contemplating starting new industry or expanding existing industry;

(i) to provide such assistance of a technical or advisory nature to developing countries as the Minister may consider appropriate; and

(j) to advise on any matter relating to industrial development referred to it by the Minister.

(2) The provisions of subsection (1), paragraphs (b) and (d) shall not apply to the Shannon Customs Free Airport.

(3) The Authority shall, in the exercise of its functions, act in accordance with policies set out for it from time to time by the Minister.

(4) The Authority may in the exercise of its functions have regard to the extent to which an industrial undertaking will serve to promote national objectives for regional development.

12. —(1) The Authority may, without prejudice to its general responsibilities under this Act, perform any of its functions through or by any of the members of its staff duly authorised by the Authority in that behalf.

(2) The Authority may, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, delegate its grant making powers to a board or committee constituted by the Authority or to any of its members or to any member of the staff duly authorised by the Authority in that behalf.

(3) The terms and conditions of every delegation made by the Authority under subsection (2) or under section 4 of the Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited (Amendment) Act, 1970 , as amended by section 6 of the Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited (Amendment) Act, 1983 , and by section 9 of and the Fourth Schedule to this Act shall be subject to the approval of the Minister.

(4) The Authority may, as it thinks proper, from time to time constitute boards or committees for the purposes of this section and dissolve any such body.

(5) Membership of a board or committee may include persons who are not members of the Authority or its staff.

13. —(1) The Minister may give the Authority such general policy directives as he considers appropriate having regard to the provisions of this Act.

(2) A directive under subsection (1) shall not apply to any individual industrial undertaking or to giving preference to one area over others in regard to the location of an industrial undertaking otherwise than as part of a general review of industrial policy for the country as a whole indicated in the directive.

(3) The Minister shall cause any directive given by him under subsection (1) to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas within twenty-one days after it has been so given.

(4) The Authority shall comply with any directive given to it under this section and shall set out the directive in its annual report and shall include in its annual report an account of the actions which it has undertaken to give effect to the directive.

[New]

14. —(1) In each financial year there may be paid by the Minister to the Authority out of money provided by the Oireachtas grants of such amounts as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may sanction to enable the Authority—

(a) to meet its administration and general expenses, and

(b) to discharge the obligations or liabilities incurred by the Authority under this Act or any repealed enactment or otherwise.

(2) The aggregate amount of grants made by the Minister to the Authority under subsection (1) (b) (other than grants to which subsection (3) applies) shall not exceed £700,000,000.

(3) The aggregate amount of grants made by the Minister to the Authority to enable it to meet its obligations or liabilities arising from guarantees under this Act, section 37 of the Industrial Development Act, 1969 and sections 2 and 3 of the Industrial Development Act, 1977 in respect of principal and interest shall not exceed £125,000,000.

(4) In relation to a guarantee under this Act in money in a currency other than the currency of the State the amount of the guarantee shall be no greater than the equivalent in currency of the State, at the time of the giving of the guarantee, of the amount so guaranteed.

15. —(1) The aggregate amount of grants made by the Authority and of payments made by it under sections 16 and 31 or the corresponding provisions of any repealed enactment, after the commencement of this section, shall not exceed the aggregate limit specified in section 14 (2).

(2) The aggregate amount of money guaranteed in respect of principal and interest by the Authority under this Act, section 37 of the Industrial Development Act, 1969 and sections 2 and 3 of the Industrial Development Act, 1977 and outstanding and of payments made by the Authority in respect of principal and interest on foot of guarantees under any of these sections shall not at any time exceed the aggregate amount specified in section 14 (3).

16. —(1) For the purpose of providing or facilitating the provision of sites or premises for the establishment, development or maintenance of an industrial undertaking the Authority may—

(a) acquire any land either permanently or temporarily and either by agreement or compulsorily;

(b) acquire (either permanently or temporarily and either by agreement or compulsorily) any easement, way-leave, water-right or other right whatsoever over or in respect of any land or water;

(c) terminate, restrict or otherwise interfere with (either permanently or temporarily and either by agreement or compulsorily) any easement, way-leave, water-right or other right whatsoever over or in respect of any land or water;

(d) construct, adapt and maintain buildings and other works;

(e) provide services and facilities in connection with land;

(f) sell, lease or otherwise dispose of land vested in it;

(g) make grants to aid persons to—

(i) acquire land,

(ii) construct and adapt buildings and other works, and

(iii) provide services and facilities in connection with land;

(h) do any act or thing which may be necessary for or incidental to the doing of anything which the Authority is by the preceding paragraphs authorised to do,

if the Authority—

(i) considers that industrial development will or is likely to occur as a result, and

(ii) is satisfied that the undertaking conforms or will conform to the criteria set out in subsections (3) and (4) of section 21 or section 25 (2).

(2) The provisions of the Second Schedule shall apply to the exercise by the Authority of its powers under this section.

(3) Nothing in subsection (1) shall be construed as affecting the operation of section 130 of the Transport Act, 1944 .

17. —No stamp duty shall be payable on any instrument under which any land, easement, way-leave, water-right or other right whatsoever over or in respect of the land or water is acquired by the Authority.

18. —(1) The Authority may accept a gift of money, land or other property on such trusts and conditions as may be specified by the donor.

(2) The Authority shall not accept a gift if a condition attached by the donor to the acceptance of the gift is inconsistent with the functions of the Authority.

19. —(1) The Authority may, with the consent of the Minister given with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, borrow temporarily by arrangement with bankers or otherwise such sums as it may require for the purpose of providing for current expenditure.

(2) In this section “current expenditure” includes expenditure by the Authority in the exercise of any of its functions, whether of an administrative or of a capital nature.

20. —The Authority may, out of money at its disposal, from time to time engage such consultants or advisers as it may consider necessary for the discharge of its functions.