Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the various Members of the Dáil for contributing to the debate, which has been largely positive. I again thank those Members who sit on the Oireachtas committee that facilitated the waiving of pre-legislative scrutiny, enabling us to bring this Bill to the Dáil before the summer recess.

I acknowledge that Deputy O'Reilly had to leave but I will reply to some of the questions she raised. She mentioned the issue of costs. The costs will depend on whether any element of an application has to be referred to court. The Bill also requires that process advisers' fees be notified to the directors of a company in advance of the appointment of a process adviser. The fees are also notified to the creditors of a company as part of the provision of information concerning proposed rescue assistance. The creditors are entitled to question this and to object to any part of the plan, including the process adviser's fees. Protection is, therefore, secured.

Regarding whether a plan can be produced more quickly than within the 49 days specified, I do not believe it can because there are minimum requirements for notice during the various stages of the plan's preparation. If the required notice for each stage is given, there are only two weeks left at the end for the process adviser to bring forward a restructuring plan. To be fair, an adviser would need that time. That is the reason the time limit was set at 49 days.

With regard to virtual meetings, the Deputy may have missed it but there is an amendment included which allows virtual meetings to take place. With regard to liquidations, the Department is working on guidance for employees which will explain, in plain English, their entitlements with regard to redundancy and liquidations as part of the plan of action, to which the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has signed up. That will make sure that people can navigate this technical area and access the information they need. Reference was also made to the Duffy Cahill report. As I have said, a plan of action has been established and this is being supported by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. As Deputy Catherine Murphy acknowledged, there are some minor amendments with regard to enhanced information and ensuring that employees can sit on that governing body. That is being addressed as part of this Bill.

Deputy Ó Murchú raised some of the same issues as Deputy O'Reilly but he also highlighted the issue of insurance. I agree with him wholeheartedly. It is an issue on which I was very vocal when I was on the far side of the House. To be fair, a lot of work has been done on this issue over the last 12 months. The judicial guidelines have been implemented. As the Minister of State with responsibility for the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, I will say that, in the period since the guidelines were introduced, some 540 cases have been adjudicated by PIAB and there has been an average reduction of in excess of 50% in the awards being issued. In some instances, the reduction has been as high as 74%. The action plan on insurance reform will go to Cabinet before the summer recess and an outline of every action point, and where we are with it, will be given.

I thank the Deputy for acknowledging the small business aid scheme. The Minister of State, Deputy English, and I spearheaded that in the Department to ensure that businesses that inadvertently fell through the cracks were protected. I am glad that scheme seems to be working pretty well.

A couple of Deputies mentioned the perjury legislation. I, too, will mention the former Senator, Pádraig Ó Céidigh, who was instrumental in ensuring that legislation was enacted. He deserves acknowledgment for that. The Government was happy to ensure this was enacted a number of weeks ago.

I do not and cannot accept the criticism that this legislation is rushed. It was examined by the Company Law Review Group, CLRG. Some 12 months ago, we asked it to examine this as part of a programme of work and it did so. People involved in that process included practitioners, businesses, unions and academics. Subsequent to that, a lot of work was done by the officials in my Department and the Office of the Attorney General. Subsequent to that, we went out for public consultation. We got 17 substantive submissions on this legislation.

Work continued on ensuring that the legislation was robust and constitutionally sound. The Bill is not totally new. It is based on existing law. We are simply streamlining existing law and no one will be any less protected.

It is interesting to note that Deputy Catherine Murphy complimented the examinership process that was done over a period of a week when the Dáil returned from recess. It was okay, internationally recognised and good for the Goodman Group but, after a year's preparation, it is stated that we are rushing a Bill that will give protection to small and micro companies.

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