Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There is no problem returning to this on Report Stage for further deliberations, but we must acknowledge that unlimited companies function within the Irish infrastructure, serving many legitimate business purposes. They are a feature of company law across the European Union. Issues have been raised with regard to transparency, and perhaps we can provide more clarity in that respect for the next Stage.

Just as guaranteed and public limited companies are important for certain kinds of business, unlimited companies also serve an important purpose. I am not suggesting that anybody is necessarily seeking to remove them, but to do so would be a disproportionate act which could affect Ireland's competitive advantage. I do not know if it is possible to quantify the burden of cost but we can try to do some work on it between now and the next Stage of the Bill.