asked the Secretary of State for Trade what estimate has been made of the loss of investment and jobs within Northern Ireland and other parts of the United Kingdom due to the export tax relief scheme of the Republic of Ireland
I have been asked to replyThe financial incentives in the Republic of Ireland, including the export tax relief scheme, are, as in the case of all EEC countries, regulated by the Commission. They are permitted to be relatively generous because the Irish economy, like that of Southern Italy, is industrially underdeveloped. Some mobile investment projects have been attracted to the Republic of Ireland by the incentives available, as was intended by the EEC policy, though it is impossible to say what part the export tax relief scheme played in those decisions. But I am satisfied that flexibility of the financial package available to investors in the United Kingdom, coupled with generous tax incentives for investment, a ready supply of trained labour, good transport and communications and an unrivalled range of financial services, make the United Kingdom as attractive as any country in EuropeSince the review of Northern Ireland's incentives on 1st August 1977, its package of financial incentives for the attraction of new inward investment, taken together with the facilities available from the Northern Ireland Development Agency, is now very competitive in terms of range, flexibility and financial value