Results 3,061-3,080 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accountancy) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (29 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I move amendment No. 5: In page 26, between lines 1 and 2, to delete ", or may be," As I spoke about this yesterday, I need not repeat myself. It basically says that the supervisory authority may give notice to the directors where "it appears to the Supervisory Authority that there is, or may be, a question whether the annual accounts comply with the Companies Acts." Yesterday I used the term...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accountancy) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (29 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: In light of the Minister's words, I am happy to withdraw the amendment.

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accountancy) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (29 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accountancy) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (29 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I move amendment No. 8: In page 44, to delete lines 4 to 50 and in page 45, 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 as...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accountancy) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (29 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I thank the Minister of State for his clarification. While reading the Bill last night, I realised that there is a possibility that the position could be misunderstood. I had taken one view but, after reading it, I realised another view could be taken. I appreciate the Minister of State's understanding of my concern and his investigating the matter. It needs some rewording, although I am not...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accountancy) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (29 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I move amendment No. 9: In page 46, to delete lines 18 to 27 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.". It is hard to recapture the enthusiasm we displayed yesterday in making the case in respect of this amendment.

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accountancy) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (29 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I thank Senator White. There is a difference involved here and the first situation deals with five years rather than one. There are very valuable people who may have served a company and who may have left and become non-executive directors. They may be exactly the kind of person one wants on an audit committee because they are no longer working for the company and are outside it. Five years...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accountancy) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (29 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: Not at all.

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accountancy) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (29 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I would like the Minister of State to have accepted an amendment in the Seanad. I am somewhat envious of the Lower House getting all the kudos for having amendments accepted. I would have liked the Minister of State to have agreed, even if it was only splitting the difference—

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accountancy) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (29 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I missed the new subsection (7) to which the Minister of State referred, but I will give consideration to it now. I appreciate what the Minister of State has said and I am happy to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Amendment No. 10 not moved.

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accountancy) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (29 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I second the amendment. I have a real difficulty with the compliance statement for a number of reasons. I would like to give the Minister of State what I regard as practical advice. If we want to make it more possible for people to stay within the law, I would like to find a way to overcome this issue. Yesterday, Senator O'Toole spoke about the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, in the...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accountancy) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (29 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: It is exactly relevant. It is section 43 which deals with compliance. It is the item about which I have spoken, and I am grateful for not having been interrupted when I spoke on it at some length. It is exactly that point we are debating in the House today.

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accountancy) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (29 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I urge the Minister of State to give serious consideration to this amendment, which I second. This is probably my last opportunity to speak on it because I realise now that my name is not down as a proposer. I have a real concern that there is an anti-business attitude to legislation brought before the House and that this is another example. I voiced this concern when I talked about the fact...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accountancy) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (29 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: It has nothing to do with individuals.

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accountancy) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (29 May 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I congratulate the Minister of State on his success in passing the legislation through the House and thank his officials for their work on this difficult and intricate Bill. I am impressed that the amended Bill was brought before the House this morning as this required considerable hard work. Senator Henry received a telephone call at 11 p.m. last night asking if she would second my...

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

Feargal Quinn: I am not sure whether I should make this point on section 1. Why was this sweeping and complex legislation not subjected to regulatory impact assessment, of which I was not aware until recently? The OECD report on regulation, published in March 2000, strongly recommended that all Irish legislation and regulations should be subjected to regulatory impact assessment before being enacted. That...

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...