Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----that there will not be any additional costs for SMEs due to the passage of this Bill. I reassure them that, as Minister of State with responsibility for this matter in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, my commitment is to reducing bureaucracy and unnecessary red tape and making it even easier to do business here in Ireland. We heard statistics earlier from a competitiveness perspective on how easy it is to do business in Ireland, but I agree there are barriers. We need to remove them where applicable.

I agree with Deputy McGrath that SMEs are the backbone of our economy. In fact, as a group they comprise the largest employer.

Regarding consultation, which was raised a number of times, I chair the SME and entrepreneurship task force, which presents a great opportunity for consultation with the sector.

Let me refer to the remarks of the Deputies who are not present so they will have my comments on the record. Deputy Quinlivan should note that this Bill will support the work on corporate accountability and the work of our corporate enforcement agency. The budget for this year was €11.1 million, which represents an increase of 14% year on year.

I am happy to look at Deputy O’Rourke’s individual case. When I visited the National Ploughing Championships only last week, it was fantastic to see that so much innovation is happening in the agri-tech sector. This was very visible in both the local enterprise office tents and the Enterprise Ireland village. I was really pleased to see that.

Deputies Nash and Ó Murchú mentioned the need to have safeguarding legislation. I am aware they have a particular issue in their constituency. I cannot necessarily comment on it as it is not part of my brief as Minister of State, but I hear what they are saying about online arrangements and their concerns in this regard. In drafting this Bill, great attention has been paid to the conduct of meetings and ensuring there are safeguards. These go as far as voting rights, which is really important.

The Companies Act 2014 bestows the privilege of limited liability for companies, and in return for the privilege companies must adhere to the duties set out under the Act. Therefore, because of this Bill, the CEA, IAASA and the CRO can continue to be adaptive to changing business practices, responsive to policy in their roles of oversight, supervision, regulation and enforcement, and have the necessary powers to deliver on their statutory functions.

I assure the House that supporting SMEs is a major priority of mine and of the Government. Members might be interested to know that the SME test was applied to this Bill. The outcome, as I explained to Deputy Healy-Rae, indicated no additional costs to and burdens on SMEs. In fact, the opposite was shown. This Bill will see SMEs benefit from pro-enterprise reform, such as the amendment of the SME audit exemption.

The Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, looks forward to working with the House during Committee and Report Stages of the Bill, which, as I mentioned, was developed with strong stakeholder engagement and the support of the Oireachtas committee. I hope there will be cross-party support to ensure we get this Bill enacted as soon as possible. I hope my comments have dissuaded certain Deputies who said they would vote against this Bill to instead support a Bill that is pro-SME, pro-enterprise and pro-jobs.

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