Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Thank you, Chairman, for making committee time available to further progress the Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Bill 2021. We had a very good debate on Second Stage in the Dáil. My strong impression at the time was that, in general, Deputies are very supportive of the legislation and want to see it enacted as soon as possible.

This is a landmark first step to strengthen and transform the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement into a statutory and independent agency. The Bill puts a strong framework in place for the new corporate enforcement authority and places it on a firm footing so that it can hit the ground running.

There is also a serious Government commitment that the new authority will have all the necessary human resources required, both Civil Service and members of An Garda Síochána, to pursue breaches of company law. The views of the director were sought, and arising from his assessment, the necessary steps have been taken to ensure the new authority will have effectively a 50% increase in headcount. There will be more steps to take in future to continue to enhance the powers of the authority such as through the actions arising from the Hamilton implementation plan. We will keep resourcing under constant review.

I hope we will have the continued support of Deputies and Senators as we proceed through the two Houses of the Oireachtas. I would very much like to get this legislation enacted as soon as possible as it is my objective to establish the new authority in January 2022.