Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

In my earlier reply I neglected Deputy Howlin's amendment which proposes a penalty of 10% of turnover. While initially this seemed attractive, I was advised that companies, as we are all aware, have wonderful ways of having various types of sub-companies, and it could be an onerous task to discover which company is employing who at a particular time and establish the turnover of that specific company. I am taken by the principle of linking the penalty to the capacity of the company to pay, which is what Deputy Morgan also stated with regard to large companies. Having considered all the arguments, and particularly having examined the number of successful prosecutions possible under the new legislation, I can assure Deputy Morgan that there will be successful prosecutions in many cases. Having considered this carefully since Committee Stage, in any case, I can envisage that €3 million is a substantial penalty that is likely to work as well as any other amount as a deterrent and seems entirely appropriate in these circumstances.

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