Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 18:

In page 24, to delete lines 32 to 36 and substitute the following:"(a) in subsection (2)—

(i) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

"(aa) that other holding undertaking holds more than 90 per cent of the shares in the lower holding company and the remaining shareholders in, or members of, the lower holding company have approved the exemption,",

and

(ii) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “more than 50 per cent but not more than 90 per cent” for “more than 50 per cent".".

Sections 22 and 23 relate to the exemption of certain holding companies from the obligations to consolidate financial statements. This section is concerned with companies registered within the EEA while section 23 is concerned with companies registered outside the EEA. Both sections make a distinction between the two scenarios. The first is where the holding company owns more than 90% of the shares in the lower company. The second is where the holding company owns more than 50% of the shares of the lower company. However, when these provisions are inserted into the Companies Act 2014, there is an overlap because a company that owns more than 90% of the shares also owns more than 50% of the shares. The amendments clarify that the second scenario refers to a holding company owning more than 50% but not more than 90% of the shares.