Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 8:

In page 6, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following:

"7.—(1) The amendments effected by section 6 shall apply as respects—

(a) a financial year of a company that commences not earlier than the commencement of that section, and

(b) subject to subsection (2), a financial year of a company that ends not earlier than 2 months after the commencement of that section (not being a financial year to which paragraph (a) applies).

(2) In cases falling within subsection (1)(b), section 6 shall have effect as if, instead of the subsection (2) inserted by that section in section 33 of the Companies (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1999, there were inserted the following subsection in that section 33:

"(2) In cases falling within section 7(1)(b) of the Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2006, a notice under subsection (1) may be served on the company not later than 1 month before the end of the financial year to which the notice relates."

Deputies will recall that during the exchanges on Committee Stage on the amendments which I tabled to section 6 of the Bill, I said that I intended to review the provisions to ensure that in deleting the former section 6(2), I had not inadvertently removed a necessary provision. At the time I had emphasised that I wished the availability of the significantly increased thresholds which I was introducing for balance sheet total and turnover to enable companies to avail of the exemption from audit, to be available at the earliest opportunity, consistent with protecting the rights of members of companies who would be entitled to object to their company availing of the exemption to do so. I believe that this was also the purpose of the amendment tabled by Deputy Quinn.

Amendment No. 8 will insert a new section after section 6 to deal with application and transitional arrangements. Effectively the new section provides that under subsection (l)(a), the new thresholds will apply to all financial years of companies that begin after section 6 and this new section come into effect. Under subsections (l)(b) and (2), for the current financial year of companies, if there is more than two months to run before the year finishes, a company can avail of the increased thresholds in the current year. In the period before the end of the financial year, members holding 10% or more of the voting shares can object to the company availing of the exemption, and they would have to signify such an objection at least one month before the end of the company's current financial year.

It will be clear, therefore, that a company with less than two months between the commencement of these provisions and the end of its current financial year will not be able to avail of the increased exemption thresholds until its next financial year. I remind Deputies that section 6 and this new section will come into operation on the passing of this Act and hopefully it will be ready for 1 January 2007. I commend the amendment to the House.

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