Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have had it reviewed by senior counsel and I would love to see the legal advice that claims it is legally unsound. The Bill is not unsound. If there are aspects of it that need to change - undoubtedly there are because we do not have access to the Office of the Attorney General - that is what the legislative process is for.

It must be incredibly frustrating for the owners of businesses that are insolvent and could be rescued to hear this kind of talk. As we know, the SME sector employs seven out of every ten people in the country. According to the Central Bank, approximately half of the loans currently outstanding in the SME sector, amounting to €25 billion, are in trouble. We know from the ECB that it is harder for small firms in Ireland to gain access to credit than it is for such firms in most of the rest of the eurozone. This means that, in the coming weeks, months and years, many more viable Irish companies that are insolvent, largely owing to legacy debt issues, will go to the wall. They do not have to but the Government is sitting on its hands.

My Bill is not a stab in the dark; it was compiled with the help of a solicitor, Mr. Barry Lyons, who has handled over half of the examinerships in the country. It is not based on wishful thinking and there is legal opinion on how sound it is. The Bill could easily be accepted by the Government this evening and changed, as required, by the Minister and the committee. Several members of the Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation said last night in the Chamber that they want the Bill to proceed beyond Second Stage. They want to get their teeth into it. The Taoiseach can wait for another report and set up an interdepartmental committee to see what happens but he should note that every single week we wait for a different version of the Bill to come through, viable companies and jobs will be lost. The alternative for the Taoiseach is to seize the opportunity, exploit the momentum, use my Bill as a structure and amend it as required. Why, if creditors, businesses and examiners are all saying we need this legislation to save jobs, will the Taoiseach not use the Bill as a template, allow it to pass this evening and change it as needed to prevent businesses that do not need to shut down from doing so?

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