Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 8, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following:

"(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), an order or orders under that subsection may appoint different days for the coming into operation of section 31 so as to effect the repeal provided by that section of an enactment specified in it on different days for different purposes.".

As the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Michael Ahern, mentioned on Second Stage, the European Union has adopted a new directive on market abuse covering insider dealing and market manipulation on regulated markets. Part 5 of the Companies Act 1990 contains the existing law on insider dealing which implemented an earlier EU directive. These provisions apply where share dealing facilities are provided by a recognised stock exchange. Currently, the Irish Stock Exchange is the only such recognised stock exchange.

Part 4 of the present Bill paves the way for the transposition of the new EU market abuse regime. Section 30 enables the Minister to make regulations to transpose the relevant EU directives. Section 31 provides inter alia for the repeal of Part 5 of the Companies Act 1990. Section 37 allows for the Minister to apply the new Irish market abuse law to non-regulated markets. Any such application must be by way of provisional order that must be confirmed by an Act of the Oireachtas.

Currently, the Irish Stock Exchange operates the official list — the regulated market — on the recently launched Irish enterprise exchange, IEX, which in EU terms is not a regulated market for the purposes of certain EU directives emanating from the EU financial services action plan. It was always the intention to apply the market abuse regime to the IEX using the powers in section 37. However, it will be necessary to examine the proposed transposing regulations to be made under section 30 to see what modifications may be necessary in the application of the full market abuse regulations in the IEX. This will take some time.

In the meantime, it is considered undesirable to have no statutory prohibition on insider dealing applying to the IEX market. This amendment to section 2 will allow for the deferment of the repeal of part 5 of the 1990 Act in its application to the IEX market until the section 37 order can be made. The amendment is practical and sensible and I ask the House to accept it.

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