Mr. Oliver Gilvarry:

The prospectus is an information document, published before a company issues securities on the general market. Under the existing framework, the threshold was €5 million and any issuance under that amount was not subject to the requirements of the prospectus framework as set out in Europe, though it was subject to Part 23 of the Companies Act, which deals with local offers and which gives certain protections. The rationale for increasing it to €8 million and allowing discretion at European level was to make it easier for smaller businesses to raise money. Big corporates were able to access the markets but this left smaller entities relying on bank financing. The increase gives smaller businesses a choice. They do not have the same level of disclosure requirements as a company such as CRH but a company that has a track record of a number of years can issue debt securities or equity. Balancing that is the fact that we have increased certain protections. People who invest in these companies do not get the full framework of the prospectus regulation but they will get disclosure of a company's track record over recent years, and information as to whether someone was guaranteeing a product, at what level they were doing so and who he or she was.