Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)

I am glad the Minister and IDA Ireland are alive to the danger to employment in the pharmaceutical industry from patents expiring. A number of patents are due to expire in the next two years. This presents a real challenge to maintaining employment in the pharmaceutical industry which, as the Minister knows, is a source of lucrative employment, providing more than 25,000 well-paid jobs. It is also one of the areas the Government has targeted to build and increase employment in the country.

With regard to Atlantic Homecare, the Minister said the company has cited high rents as a factor and that he hopes this will be addressed in the course of the examinership. There is no doubt that it will be addressed in the course of the examinership. However, it is because of high rents that the examinership has had to take place, and the examinership has resulted in the loss of jobs. That is the reality.

The Minister may be aware that Atlantic Homecare was acquired by the Grafton Group, which is continuing to trade very profitably. It is a major deficiency in company law that if a company or group acquires another company, the main group can continue to trade profitably while choosing to put one of its units into examinership. That is a deficiency in company law that should be looked at by the Minister and the Government in the context of the forthcoming Companies Bill.

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