Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not propose to use the entire time as I do not wish to rehash a lot of what has been discussed already. I thank the Tánaiste and the Minister of State for coming here.

I wish to make a few observations and then I will ask a couple of questions. I welcome, as I think most people would, the formation of the authority. One of things that I would hark back to is the Anglo Irish Bank debacle regarding David Drumm and Michael Lynn around property and the whole vista that that presented in terms of the perpetrators of white-collar crime almost being seen to get away with it. For quite a long period that did a lot of damage to the State, in terms of showing that white-collar crime was a crime that was not being prosecuted and there was little fallout from such crime. I hope that when this authority gets into being it is far more adroit at dealing with such situations.

I would reflect what some of the other members have already said in terms of their concerns around staffing and the Tánaiste has already addressed some of those issues. I wish to discuss the overall structure, skills set and technology training.

I hope a great deal of focus will be put on this area because modern business largely comprises high-level technology platforms, particularly for international business, and the forensic accounting that is required is of a really high level. The Tánaiste has highlighted that many people are seconded from the private sector. We, along with the Garda, will have to consider high-level forensic accounting and ICT skill sets in the future. Otherwise, we will not be at the races in this regard.

There is also an issue at times with the appropriateness of the direction of the authority, and I am thinking specifically of the SME sector, which I worked in for quite a while. There is much regulation of private business. Company directors must be fully registered and use the correct names and PPS numbers associated with the directorships. That is all fine and well but it puts a great burden on small businesses which may not have a legal office to which they can direct issues. As somebody who was in that space, I know that when a business owner gets messages from the Department and Revenue and potentially from the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement regarding the director's requirements, it puts a great burden on people who are struggling to get ahead. I hope there will be some balance in regard to the SME sector in the Bill. Perhaps in future we need to think about a different structure of corporate policy for small businesses, understanding they do not have access to all those resources that businesses do.

The Minister of State highlighted the status of examinership-lite. This will be a fundamental issue for business in the coming months. I listened intently to the Tánaiste's comments to the effect that he wants to give certainty to business. That should be a prerequisite, and the sooner it is done, the better. Many people have used up their savings and their businesses are closed, some of them because they do not have access to the CRSS. People will be falling over and it is not fair to nail them to the floor because their business models have failed in these times. Something in this legislation has to accommodate that, whether it is examinership-lite or something else.

In the main, I do not think the Tánaiste or the Minister of State needs to add much to what I have said. We welcome the Bill. The authority needs to be properly funded and resourced, and the necessary skill set and technology must be pre-eminent in it. Otherwise, we will not keep pace with where modern business fraud is going.