Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

I welcome this Bill, which proposes a number of sound, common sense amendments to company law. It is a pleasant change to come in and welcome amendments to the law.

The amendments are designed to increase Ireland's attractiveness as a place to invest and they entail the considerable improvement of our competitiveness. It is vital that Irish companies can compete in international markets while remaining competitive and participating more efficiently in international commerce.

Previously, I thought we were only losing low skilled jobs in the international market and that was where my concerns lay. I heard, however, on the radio yesterday of financial analysts, whom we would consider as highly skilled, seeing their jobs moving to India. An analyst here can earn more than €50,000, while in India he can be paid €10,000 and is considered exceptionally well paid. Such high skilled jobs can also leave the country. Before our concern was outsourcing — Fruit of the Loom in Donegal was a prime example. It destroyed our clothing trade and we lost many jobs in Buncrana.

In Cavan-Monaghan, the furniture trade was a major employer for many part-time farmers, with secure jobs available for many years. Now, that trade is being outsourced as well and more often than not, people from Monaghan have decided to move to areas with lower cost bases. These concerns affect us. One would have thought that it was only major multinational companies that would suffer at such a time, but small indigenous industries have also suffered. Effectively, they have decided to move manufacturing and purchasing to overseas locations, merely assembling the furniture in Ireland. Many of the big employers have disseminated their workforce.

The shoe trade was another major employer in north Monaghan but many of the shoe factories are closing because of cheap imports. Quality does not always matter; these manufacturers are producing a top quality item but they find it difficult. On a larger scale, beef is being imported into the country that does not undergo the same type of testing as our own produce. It is imported because it makes a profit and is attractive to the consumer, never mind the quality assurance procedures.

The exemption limits in the Companies Auditing and Accounting Act 2003 are totally inadequate and must be increased to a realistic level from the current level of €1.5 million. That sounded like a lot of money once upon a time but we are now dealing in euro and wages and costs have increased. The proposal to increase the exemption thresholds to the maximum permitted of €7.3 million for turnover and €3.65 million for balance sheets is progressive, although I would be concerned about those figures eventually becoming inadequate. The maximum permitted might be increased further down the line. We must look at our nearest neighbour. The British Government has already increased these thresholds, placing us at a competitive disadvantage, especially since we share a border with Northern Ireland. That is relevant to us and makes a lot of sense.

The standards of auditing are undergoing profound change, which has contributed to the need for a realistic adjustment of audit exemption levels. I know someone close to me in an auditing department and he is not the most popular person there. He went from website design to auditing and the greetings he gets have changed.

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