Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will take the sections together.

I have previously advocated the view that it is within the remit of the accountancy profession to engage in an awareness campaign informing the public of the advantages of engaging the services of only fully qualified and properly regulated accountants. Similar public awareness campaigns have been run, for instance, in relation to electrical contractors, and they have proven successful.

It is worth restating that the primary objective of the Companies Bill is to ensure that Ireland has a company law code that will enhance its international competitiveness, help improve ordinary business and make it easier for companies throughout the country to establish and operate.

On a technical drafting matter, this amendment would be ineffective, as it would impact on others - for example, as the Senator has mentioned, those practising as accounting technicians or as turf accountants. It also fails to cover all details which would be required in terms of qualifications, standards and so on. For those reasons, it would not be appropriate to support the amendment. The accountancy profession is in general adaptable and agile, and is able to respond to new market opportunities and directions. That is to a great extent because it is not tied down by layers of regulation. There are detailed statutory provisions relating to auditing and, to a lesser extent, insolvency practice. The Competition Authority holds the view that this is the way things should stay. Additionally, my Department is committed to reducing the level of Government-imposed red tape on business. To this end, significant progress has been made by my Department in reducing administrative burdens by 25% in areas including company law. If this amendment is supported without proper consideration being given to its impact, it could have an adverse consequence for business by creating an additional layer of regulation and, in doing so, would fail to advance consumer protection. For those reasons, we do not support the amendment.