Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 8:

In page 88, line 35, after "Where" to insert "the board of directors of".

The purpose of these amendments is for clarification. The Bill, as it stands, has been interpreted as meaning the board of directors must be registered with the Companies Registration Office. That is not the intention of this section, which is drawn from existing law, Regulation 6(3) of the European Communities (Companies) Regulations 1973, SI 163 of 1973. It provides that where a company chooses to appoint a person to fully bind the company on its behalf, such a company must notify the registrar in the CRO, who will register the person as the company's registered person. Where a company revokes such an authorisation, the person will be considered as a registered person until the registrar is notified in the prescribed form of this revocation.

The purpose of such a provision is to reduce red tape for companies that wish to authorise a registered person to have full authority to exercise any power of the company. This will save banks and other third parties from having to search through the minutes of the company's board meetings to check whether a person is authorised to bind the company. This authority is limited by any power of management of the company exercisable by its board of directors or where this Bill requires a power to be exercised otherwise.

See this speech in context