Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am not in favour of adopting the amendments which propose unduly oppressive conditions on legitimate businesses. The suggestion that a majority of directors be EEA resident might particularly dissuade foreign direct investment companies from doing business in Ireland.

This is bad for Ireland and Irish commerce generally.

Second, section 137, which re-enacts existing law, ensures that companies that do not have at least one director who is resident in an EEA state must put in place a bond in the prescribed form that becomes payable to a person nominated by the registrar or the Revenue Commissioners. The purpose of the bond is to discharge any fine imposed on the company in respect of an offence committed by it and prosecutable by the registrar and-or for the purposes of discharging certain fines and penalties imposed on it by the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. The moneys can also be used to cover expenses that are reasonably incurred in the collection of said penalties. The bond cannot be used for any other purpose. Therefore, the amendments proposed do not achieve any legitimate policy goal. Their sole effect is to create an arbitrary restriction on non-EEA companies trying to do business in Ireland. It is on that basis that I do not support the amendments.