Mr. Ciaran Mullooly:

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for the invitation to attend the meeting and extend my appreciation to the clerk and the committee members. It is not the first time I have been invited. Regrettably, due to a clash with a plenary two weeks ago in Strasbourg, I was not able to take part on the previous occasion. I am very pleased to be here today and I am particularly glad that the committee is dealing with these issues.

I have a question or two for the Department which I will put in a moment, after a brief introduction. Members will know that this process is part of a new process from the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, entitled simplification, implementation and enforcement. Since I joined the European Parliament last year there have been a number of measures across various committees focused on issues such as this. I would describe them as generally being measures to try to ensure that the member states, businesses, enterprises, local authorities and regional groups will all be able to engage on a more simplified basis with the Commission. This is one of the big bugbears, as the committee members know. I am particularly conscious of it in Brussels and Strasbourg, because in recent months, chief executives from local authorities from throughout Ireland have been with us here in Brussels, speaking about the general process of funding, be it under regional development, employment or otherwise. The general consensus is that there is a significant problem with red tape and over-complicated procedures. I would go so far as to say that a number of the chief executives of local authorities have said to me that their advice to their staff is not to apply at all for European Union aid. That, to me, is an unacceptable position because it reflects very poorly on the level of complication that has come into the procedures. That is why I generally appreciate the efforts that have been made, not just in the area of enterprise, but in the general area of regional development, to improve the situation.

Regarding this legislation, I have been involved in a number of committees which have had an opportunity to comment on the legislation. Having listened today, I agree with many of the members' conclusions and I welcome the legislative proposal that intends to reduce the reporting burden for companies in the scope and limiting the trickle-down obligations on smaller companies, in particular. As the committee will know, it is expected that the process to approve a final legal text will take some time. This is still going on here. The last meeting I attended was still talking about reviewing the text involved. In the intervening period, I have been contacted by a number of enterprises, in Ireland and here in Brussels, with a view to teasing out a couple of issues.

One of the principal issues was mentioned by one of the previous speakers from the Department. This is the issue of mid-caps and the definition of this term, which has been chosen by the Commission.

Perhaps Mr. Forde from the Department would answer this question. Is he satisfied that there is a fixed definition for "mid-caps" in the legislation as it stands?