Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The next amendment is No. 243, which has been discussed with amendment No. 197. I call on the Minister of State to move the amendment.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 243:

In page 908, line 38, to delete "provision" and substitute "provision; and such a purchase may be so ordered notwithstanding anything in section 103".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 244:

In page 909, between lines 38 and 39, to insert the following:

“Application of section 1019 to PUCs and PULCs

1240. Section 1019 (official seal for sealing securities) shall apply to a PUC and a PULC as it applies to a PLC.".

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Amendments Nos. 245 and 261 are cognate and may be discussed together by agreement.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 245:

In page 911, line 36, to delete " "unlimited" " and substitute " "unlimited company" ".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 246:

In page 913, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following:

"(3) Without prejudice to any contrary provision of—

(a) the resolution for, or any other resolution relevant to, the reduction of company capital, or(b) the ULC’s or PUC’s constitution,a reserve arising from the reduction of a ULC’s or PUC’s company capital is to be treated for all purposes as a realised profit.".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 247:

In page 913, line 27, to delete "Section 1086 shall apply to securities of a PUC or a PULC as it applies" and substitute "Sections 1085 to 1087 shall apply to securities of a PUC or a PULC as they apply".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 248:

In page 914, to delete lines 11 and 12 and substitute the following:

"(2) Such other persons—

(a) being persons—(i) whom the directors admit to membership; or

(ii) who are admitted to membership, pursuant to provisions that the constitution may contain in that behalf, whether provisions that—

(I) provide a separate power to; or

(II) supplement or limit, or exclude,any power of the directors in that regard;

and

(b) whose names are entered in its register of members, shall be members of the PULC.".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 249:

In page 918, line 12, to delete "shall appear in typeset, and not written, form" and substitute ", and any date or dates thereon, shall appear in typeset form".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 250:

In page 918, line 18, after "signature" to insert "or of a date".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 251:

In page 920, line 10, to delete "licensed bank" where it firstly occurs and substitute "credit institution".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 252:

In page 920, line 10, to delete "licensed bank" where it secondly occurs and substitute "credit institution".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 253:

In page 925, line 19 to delete "provision." and substitute the following:"provision, and such a purchase may be so ordered notwithstanding anything in section 103.".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 254:

In page 928, line 16, to delete "section 85(2)(b)" and substitute "section 85(2)".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 255:

In page 937, line 1, after "limited," to insert "which is".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 256:

In page 941, line 8, to delete "shall appear in typeset, and not written, form" and substitute ", and any date or dates thereon, shall appear in typeset form".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 257:

In page 941, line 15, after "signature" to insert "or of a date".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 258:

In page 941, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following:

"(6) The documents and information referred to in subsection (2), and in subsection (3),other than paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection, shall be made available by the Registrar to the system of interconnection of registers.

(7) For the purposes of communications between registers (through the system of interconnection of registers) the Registrar shall assign a unique identifier to each branch which shall include elements to identify the branch as a branch in the State, to identify the number assigned to the branch in the register and other appropriate elements to avoid identification errors.

(8) On receipt of information, through the system of interconnection of registers, that an EEA company, that has established a branch or branches in the State, has been struck off the register in the state in which it is incorporated, the Registrar shall, without delay, delete from the register the documents and information delivered or notified under this section or any other provision of this Chapter in relation to the company but not in any case in which the company has been so struck off as a result of any change in the legal form of the company, a merger or division, or a cross border transfer of its registered office.".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 259:

In page 941, line 32, to delete "shall appear in typeset, and not written, form" and substitute ", and any date or dates thereon, shall appear in typeset form".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 260:

In page 941, line 39, after "signature" to insert "or of a date".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 261:

In page 964, line 10, to delete " "unlimited" " and substitute " "unlimited company" ".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 262:

In page 985, line 10, to delete "shall appear in typeset, and not written, form" and substitute ", and any date or dates thereon, shall appear in typeset form".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 263:

In page 985, line 16, after “signature” to insert “or of a date”.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 264:

In page 993, to delete line 20.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 265:

In page 999, lines 20 and 21, to delete “a company to which section 1401 applies” and substitute “a migrating company as defined in section 1400”.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Amendments Nos. 266 and 275 are related and may be discussed together.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 266:

In page 1002, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following:“(6) Regulations made under section 3(3) of the Act of 1990 prescribing, for the purposes of the definition of ‘alternative body of accounting standards’ in section 260(4A) of the Act of 1990, bodies having authority to lay down standards of the kind referred to in that definition, and which regulations are in force immediately before the commencement of this section, shall continue in force as if they were regulations made under section 12 for the purposes of subsection (4) and may be amended or revoked accordingly.”.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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In the context of the relevant section, where lies the proposed review of the term "accountant" and the protections that are necessary in that regard? This matter was raised on Committee Stage and the Minister, Deputy Bruton, undertook to instigate a review. The section to which amendment No. 266 relates would probably be the most suitable in the context of clarifying the matter.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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An amendment has not been tabled on this issue.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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We did not table an amendment because the Minister committed to undertake a review. When we met him after Committee Stage, he stated that the entire issue would be reviewed and that he would consult the relevant bodies. As far as I recall, the various political parties were represented at that meeting which took place last November. We did not table an amendment for Report Stage but we will table one for Committee Stage in the Seanad. However, I had understood that the accountancy bodies were to be consulted by the Minister on this matter. What is the position in that regard?

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Without being pedantic, I am not sure which section would be relevant to the matter to which the Deputy refers.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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In the context of amendment No. 266, we are discussing "Regulations made under section 3(3) of the Act of 1990 prescribing, for the purposes of the definition of ‘alternative body of accounting standards’". We are, therefore, dealing here with accounting standards.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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The review is ongoing. In recognition of the fact that consultation took place on the matter, I wish to read some information into the record of the House. The accountancy profession is, in general, adaptable and agile and is able to respond to new market opportunities and directions. This is, to a great extent, because it is not tied down by layers of regulation. There are detailed statutory provisions relating to auditing and, to a lesser extent, insolvency practice. The Competition Authority holds the view that this is the way things should stay. New regulations should only be introduced where there is clear evidence of market failure or very damaging consumer harm. That has not been established as the position here.

When the matter was reviewed by the Department at the time of drafting, the view was taken that there was no case for introducing a system of regulation for the profession generally. On the contrary, it was felt that introducing such a system would put at risk the flexibility of the profession and its ability to respond to client needs, be it in traditional areas such as tax advice or management accounts or in emerging fields such as succession planning. New layers of regulation could also stultify further growth and innovation. Having examined the issue from the standpoint of the principles of better regulation, the Competition Authority concluded that there was no public interest case requiring legal protection of the term "accountant". In response to the concerns of the industry, however, the Minister has agreed to consult fully on the matter. I am informed that the review will happen this year but we do not have a definitive timeline in respect of it. However, I am not sure whether it was agreed that the review would be completed in advance of the conclusion of the deliberations on this legislation. Perhaps Deputy Calleary has a different view to offer in that regard.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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It would be appropriate for it to be concluded in advance of the Seanad's deliberations on the legislation. If it is not, then we will have no option but to table an amendment. There is a lacuna in that the term is not protected. Chartered Accountants Ireland recently submitted some important evidence in respect of this matter. It would only be fair if the review was completed before the Bill goes to the Seanad in order that all of the relevant information would be available to the Members of the Upper House. We will table amendments on this issue in the Seanad regardless of whether the review is completed. Our window for taking action will close as soon as the legislation is taken in the Upper House.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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The Bill has by and large been dealt with up to now on the basis of a consensual approach and I am mindful of the need to conclude our deliberations on it. I take the point the Deputy is making with regard to tabling an amendment in the Seanad. In fairness, the Minister, Deputy Bruton, committed in good faith to carry out and conclude a review by the end of the year. All parties involved will be consulted. I hope we can expedite the review and that any matters relating to it will not delay the implementation of the legislation

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Amendments Nos. 267 and 268 are related and may be discussed together.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 267:

In page 1014, to delete lines 29 and 30 and substitute the following:

“1408. (1) In addition to their application to Part 11, sections 1411 to 1420 shall apply to insolvency proceedings dealt with in Part 10.”.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 268:

In page 1015, to delete lines 9 to 14 and substitute the following:

“1410. The purpose of sections 1411 to 1420 is to re-enact the European Communities (Corporate Insolvency) Regulations 2002 (S.I. No. 333 of 2002), apart from their provisions in so far as they relate to insolvency proceedings.”.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 269:

In page 1018, line 2, to delete “licensed bank” and substitute “credit institution”.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 270:

In page 1019, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following:

“Application of sections 114 to 116 to bodies corporate generally

1423. (1) In addition to its application where the company firstly referred to in subsection (1) of it is—

(a) a private company limited by shares; or

(b) by virtue of any of Parts 16 to 24, any other type of company, section 114 shall apply to a body corporate that is not a company, and the foregoing reference in subsection (1) of it to a company, and the other relevant references in that section, shall be read accordingly.

(2) In addition to their application where the company firstly referred to in subsection (1) of either section is—

(a) a private company limited by shares; or

(b) by virtue of any of Parts 16 to 22, any other type of company, sections 115 and 116 shall apply to a body corporate that is not a company, and the foregoing reference in subsection (1) of section 115 or 116 to a company, and the other relevant references in either such section, shall be read accordingly.”.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 271:

In page 1020, line 28, to delete “licensed bank” and substitute “credit institution”.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 272:

In page 1024, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following:

“

No. 46 of 2013

Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013

Sections 2 to 7

".

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 273:

In page 1027, lines 13 to 15 to delete all words from and including “debentures;” in line 13 down to and including “shares.” in line 15 and substitute the following:

“debentures; and

(c) costs of research.”.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 274:

In page 1029, to delete lines 22 and 23 and substitute the following:

“6. Prepayments and accrued income”.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 275:

In page 1071, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following:

“(3) As provided for in section 1392(6), the Companies Act 1990 (Prescribed Alternative Accounting Standards Bodies) Regulations 2005 (S.I. No. 382 of 2005) and any regulations amending those regulations shall continue in force and may be amended or revoked under section 12 accordingly.”.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Amendments Nos. 276 to 278, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 276:

In page 1074, line 29, to delete “and”.

This is the case because there is a possibility that an existing private company limited by shares will have been struck off in recent times and will only come to be restored to the register after the end of the transition period.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 277:

In page 1074, line 32 to delete “Part 17.” and substitute the following:“Part 17; and

(c) the references in section 30 of the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 to section 311 or 311A of the Act of 1963 or section 12 or 12B of the Companies (Amendment) Act 1982, or to a particular provision of any such section, shall be read as references to Chapter 1 or, as appropriate, Chapter 2 of Part 12 or, as the case may be, the corresponding provision of either such Chapter.”.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 278:

In page 1074, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following:

“Provisions as to status of companies restored to register, having been struck off under former enactments

12. (1) Without prejudice to any specific provision in this Act in that behalf and the subsequent provisions of this paragraph, the provisions of this Act that shall apply to a company—

(a) struck off the register under any former enactment relating to companies (within the meaning of section 5); and

(b) subsequently restored to the register, whether under—

(i) the former enactment referred to in section 745(3);

(ii) Chapter 2 of Part 12; or

(iii) section 30 of the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011,

shall be those applicable to the type of company that corresponds to the type of company to which the company belonged before it was so struck off.

(2) Without prejudice to subparagraphs (3) and (4), where any of this Act’s provisions, as applicable to a particular type of company, operates differently by reference (however the matter is expressed) to the length of time that has elapsed after the provision’s commencement, then the reference in subparagraph (1) to the provisions of this Act that are applicable to a type of company shall, in the case of that particular provision, be read as a reference to that provision as it is applicable to a company of the type concerned at the time of the particular company’s restoration to the register (and then at a future date, as the case may be, as it is so applicable at that future date).

(3) If the company’s type, before being so struck off, was that of a private company limited by shares and the date on which the company is restored to the register under Chapter 2 of Part 12 or section 30 of the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 is subsequent to the expiry of the transition period (within the meaning of Chapter 6 of Part 2), then, subject, in the case of a restoration under section 739 or 742, to any direction or order of the court under section 743, section 62(1)(a) and (b) shall apply in relation to the company notwithstanding that the company was not an existing private company within the meaning of that Chapter 6 and, accordingly, the company shall, on the date of its restoration to the register, be deemed to be a private company limited by shares to which Parts 1 to 15 apply and the other provisions of section 62 shall apply to it with any necessary modifications.

(4) Subparagraph (3) shall similarly apply (where the company’s type, before being so struck off, was that of a private company limited by shares) if, by virtue of subsection (3) of section 745, the former enactment referred to in that subsection applies to the application for the company’s restoration but with the modification that the reference in that subparagraph to a particular provision under which the application for restoration is made, or to a particular provision under which a direction or order of the court is made, shall be read as a reference to the corresponding provision of the former enactment concerned.

(5) If in any respect any difficulty arises during the period of 20 years after the commencement of Chapter 2 of Part 12 in bringing into operation that Chapter as it relates to a case falling within any of subparagraphs (1) to (4), the Minister by regulations do anything which appears to be necessary or expedient for bringing that Chapter into operation as it relates to such a case.

(6) The Minister’s power to make regulations under subparagraph (5) extends to removing difficulties in cases in which a private company limited by shares was—

(a) struck off the register under any former enactment relating to companies (within the meaning of section 5); and

(b) restored to the register under—

(i) the former enactment referred to in section 745(3);

(ii) Chapter 2 of Part 12; or

(iii) section 30 of the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011,

and, before the date it is so restored, there has elapsed a length of time that, in the Minister’s opinion, represents a substantial portion (or greater) of the transition period (within the meaning of Chapter 6 of Part 2).”.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 279:

In page 1082, line 8, to delete “LIMITED” and substitute “COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE”.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 280:

In page 1082, to delete lines 25 to 28 and substitute the following:“The following Regulations shall apply to the company:

1. The number of members with which the company proposes to be registered is 4.

[In addition to the immediately foregoing words, the following sentence may be included:-]

The provisions of the Companies Act 2014 are adopted.

*See section 1175(5).”.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 281:

In page 1088, to delete lines 17 to 20 and substitute the following:

“The following Regulations shall apply to the company:

1. The number of members with which the company proposes to be registered is 5.

[In addition to the immediately foregoing words, the following sentence may be included:-]

The provisions of the Companies Act 2014 are adopted.

*See section 1232(6).”.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 282:

In page 1091, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following:

“

Remedy in case of oppression

Section 213

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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This has been a gargantuan task thus far. I wish to extend my gratitude and that of the Minister, Deputy Bruton, to everyone who has been involved in the process. It has been a collaborative effort. I thank the Members opposite for their role in bringing the legislation to this point. I thank the people to my right, who, to be fair to them, have done Trojan work in putting all of the Schedules together. It has been a mammoth task.

Several issues were raised by Deputy Calleary, in particular the accountancy issue. That is something we are trying to grapple with in good faith. I appeal for it to be seen in this light in terms of how the Minister, Deputy Bruton, will deal with the review. I hope we can continue in the same vein in terms of expediting this legislation as quickly as possible. I do not mean to be verbose but it is a landmark legislative project and has involved many years of detailed and comprehensive work by the officials in my Department, the Company Law Review Group and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. We extend our gratitude to everyone involved.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I join the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, in paying tribute to everyone who has been involved in this work of 12 or 14 years. I pay tribute to all who have served on the Company Law Review Group and all the officials involved. In recent months in particular they have been remarkably helpful with briefings. I pay tribute to the predecessors of the Minister of State, many of whom saw this through, as well as to the various chairmen of the enterprise committees. I remember coming to the House in 2007. At the first meeting of the enterprise committee in 2007, Deputy Willie Penrose, who was chairing, advised us to clear our diaries for the first quarter of 2008 because the Bill would come through at that stage. I thank him and Deputy Damien English, who guided this through the committee very well.

The point I made earlier today in respect of resources is important. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is in the Chamber now. He may wish to note that this is how public service reform should be done. The resources to disseminate the requirements of this Bill need to be given to the relevant agencies because they are considerable. It is a sea change. As I said earlier, we have seen how lacunae and gaps in company law legislation have let this country down. We have put a good deal of work into ensuring that those gaps are remedied. It would be a major loss if, for the want of resources relating to information, that work went to naught. I congratulate everyone, including the Minister of State for being the person responsible for getting this legislation over the line, finally, after 12 years.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Ba mhaith liom míle buíochas a ghabháil le gach duine a ghlac páirt sa tasc ollmhór seo agus gabhaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire Stáit as é a bheith críochnaithe, sa Teach seo ar aon nós. The issue of modernising company law has taken in many people and many different views. It has seemed like an impossible task, looking back on it. However, it has been done by people paying attention to detail and it has taken a vast amount of effort as well.

We take the view that the Companies Bill should have been an opportunity to solve several major problems that are affecting society. I understand the Government has probably taken the view that this is separate to those problems and that those particular problems should be dealt with elsewhere. We take the view that where an opportunity exists, we should take it and ensure we fix the problem.

Some of those problems come about with regard to the lessons we have learned concerning regulation since the crash. I believe opportunities have been lost with this Bill in that regard. The robustness of the compliance statements and responsibilities have not been to our liking. Some of the unions and ICTU have indicated their concern that companies will gain more legal personality and that this may conflict in future with citizens' rights and protections.

The idea of Irish-registered non-resident companies is problematic, as is the difficult and wrong tax problem that is affecting the level of funds that comes into this State and the reputation of the State internationally. This is one of the biggest problems the State is facing with regard to loss of revenue and loss of reputation. We would have preferred to see these issues dealt with in the Bill. I have already remarked on compliance.

We took the view that there are several issues with regard to the winding up of companies. We have seen in the past 18 months especially a large number of employees who have been on the wrong side of businesses and companies which have wound up. Every day we see unscrupulous companies - they are by far in the minority but they exist none the less - which use company law to aid their efforts in reducing their exposure to fulfilling their rights to employees. We believe employees are insufficiently protected and we would prefer to have seen this reflected in the Bill. The opportunity remains for the Government to address some of these problems and we hope it will consider these and the Sinn Féin proposals in the Seanad.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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I was tempted to call a vote on the Bill but it would be a little unfair. The Bill makes progress.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Deputy Wallace should say that again.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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No, do not.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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The Bill makes progress, although not as much as I would have liked-----

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Wallace is correcting the record.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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-----but then it is difficult to get everything one wants in life, irrespective of where one is.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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That is true.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Deputy Wallace is rather philosophical.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy Calleary pointed out that the Bill has closed certain gaps, and it has done so, but not all of them, unfortunately. I believe it will probably be revisited in the coming years and that is perfectly doable. The race to the bottom in how we structure much of our business activities will be addressed in the coming years and I believe that changes will have to be made.

Deputy Tóibín made the point that our reputation has not really done well when it comes to how we have dealt with some of the multinationals which have invested more money in avoiding tax than anything else. This, too, will become an issue in the years ahead. There is a vast amount in the Bill, there are plenty of good things in it and I welcome it.