Results 241-260 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I do not want the Minister of State or Senator O'Toole to think I was suggesting that a lot of work had not been put into the Bill. I accept that Senator O'Toole has put a huge amount of work into it. However, last year the Taoiseach launched a consultation paper on better regulation and said all laws in the future should be subjected to a regulatory impact analysis. That criticism was...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I will bow to Senator O'Toole's knowledge and experience. However, he is incorrect in regard to one issue. In all other countries these regulations apply to companies quoted on the Stock Exchange in which the public can invest. They provide protection for investors. However, this is the first time these stipulations will have been placed on private companies, whatever their size. I will...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I understood the point made by Senator O'Toole who has been actively involved in this. It is not appropriate to have a Bill called the Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill without defining the term "accountant". When Senator Coghlan said a turf accountant could be regarded as an accountant, I realised the intricacies of this. Some 40 years ago the State determined an establishment could...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I move amendment No. 2: In page 8, subsection (2), line 8, to delete paragraph (e) and substitute the following new paragraph: "(e) the Institute of Directors;". The authority is very heavily weighted in favour of the public sector and non-business members. With the exception of the two IBEC nominations, there is no place here for company directors, despite the fact that sections 26, 40 and...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I understand the Minister of State's comments and I know his intentions are correct, but I must not have made my case or else it has been misunderstood. Senator McDowell talked about consumers and a very high portion of consumers are board members, yet board members are likely only to be represented by the two IBEC nominees. If this is to be driven by users of the system, surely board members...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister of State pointed out that a future Minister is "empowered". The members listed include the Irish Business and Employers Federation, the ICTU, the Irish Association of Investment Managers, and the Irish Stock Exchange. Those I have highlighted include the Pensions Board, the Central Bank of Ireland, the Revenue Commissioners and the Director of Corporate Enforcement. It is heavily...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: Amendment No. 24 states that "the Supervisory Authority may delegate some or all of its functions and powers under sections 23 to 26". Since the word "may" is used, there is no guarantee that delegation will happen. The authority may decide to delegate only to a committee and not to the board itself. If I am interpreting the Minister of State's point properly, he is incorrect.

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I feel strongly that my case has not been understood. There is an imbalance in that only two of the 15 board members will be from the private sector. These are the people who depend on the survival of their companies, yet we will be loading the board representatives from State companies and people who do not have to be successful at the end of the year. I do not understand that. The Minister...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: No, but I would like the Minister of State to reconsider the position before Report Stage tomorrow. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Government amendment No. 3: In page 8, subsection (2), line 9, to delete paragraph (f) and substitute the following new paragraph:

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I move amendment No. 21: In page 25, subsection (3)(b), lines 24 and 25 to delete ", or may be,". I suggest the deletion of the words "may be" and "may arise" in the subsections to which the amendments refer. It seems astonishing that the supervisory authority will be given power to act if it thinks there may be a problem. It is stronger than that because the term "appears" is used. A...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I am sorry the Minister of State feels that way, because I believe the terms used in the Bill are over the top. It would be different if the term "appears" was not used in the first line of both subsections. I would have thought it correct to use the term "it appears to the Supervisory Authority that there is a question of whether the annual accounts comply with the Companies Act". However,...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: My point relates to the use of the terms "it appears" that something happened or that "it appears that it may arise". I agree with Senator Maurice Hayes's suggested wording. If the authority formed the opinion that it, may arise, I would be satisfied. The current wording seems far too extreme and it raises the possibility that someone with a suspicious mind, who would not have to prove...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I move amendment No. 32: In page 43, to delete lines 15 to 53 and in page 44, to delete lines 1 to 46 and substitute the following: "(2) Subject to subsection (3) and subsection (14) the board of directors of a public limited company shall establish a committee of directors to be known as the Audit Committee. The responsibilities of audit committees shall be determined by a Code of Practice...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: Yes. As a State, we are saying we want to protect shareholders, which are probably family businesses. I do not understand it and believe it is unfair, particularly to Irish based companies. I can think of a number of companies to which it applies. It should not apply to family businesses or private companies. I mentioned that I had said on Second Stage that I understood that many of the big...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: It is bad law.

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I do not know but can picture many of them. The review committee on auditing referred to public interest companies, not private companies. That is different and adds a cost. The Minister of State's amendment No. 33 includes the words "establish and adequately resource". That cost will be imposed on the private company competing with other companies not subject to such a stipulation. We are...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I am interested in the figure of 100 because I did not know the number. We are passing a law which will apply to those 100 companies, each one of which is competing with others which are not subject to this regulation. We are setting a standard which does not apply in any other part of the world and which other countries do not intend to introduce. We are saying it will apply to Ireland...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I know but they must explain in their accounts the reason they are not doing so. That is the same as a qualification. A private company which goes to a bank and wants to borrow money will be asked for its annual accounts, which will include a qualification. Companies will have to do it and adequately resource it. That is the same as making it mandatory. Why are we setting standards in Ireland...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: No, but I hope the Minister of State will reconsider it for Report Stage. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I move amendment No. 40: In page 45, to delete lines 18 to 23 and substitute the following: "(a) is, or was at any time during the year preceding appointment to the committee, an employee of the company concerned, or (b) is an executive chairperson of the board of directors.". I refer to the difficulty faced by companies, particularly if compliance legislation is enacted, in recruiting...