8.—(1) The Minister may give the Agency such general policy directives as he or she considers appropriate to be followed by the Agency in the exercise of its functions.

(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 or her under subsection (1) to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas within 21 days after it has been so given.

(4) The Agency 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.

(5) In this section “industrial undertaking” includes an undertaking ancillary to industry and a service industry (within the meaning of the Act of 1986).