Results 7,021-7,040 of 20,382 for speaker:Brian Stanley

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: How does Enterprise Ireland have oversight over that if a significant part of the investment goes out of the State?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: One figure I saw - I do not know if it is correct - is that over the past ten years in the region of €480 million has been invested in venture capital. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: What is the largest single investment?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: How is the decision made on selling the equity in the investment? At what point does Enterprise Ireland do that? What considerations are involved?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: Enterprise Ireland retains the investment until the company decides otherwise. At that point, is the return on the State investment fruitful?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: I understand the divvying out. The question I am asking is if it is a beneficial or fruitful return.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: I get that. The specific question I am asking concerns the point at which it is sold. Is the return generally fairly good?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: What is the value of investments written off in the past three or five years? Does Enterprise Ireland have a figure for that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: How many companies are we talking about?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: Does that total figure include companies that were merged?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: There have been claims that companies have been bought for a nominal fee, such as €10 or €1. Where they were bought by another Enterprise Ireland-funded company, they are not counted as investment losses. Is that the case? Explain how that works. Where there is a write-off and the company is bought by another Enterprise Ireland-funded company, what happens?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: It does not just disappear. One company, as was widely reported in the media in 2008, had unpaid debts to several suppliers. It is reported they are still not paid. Revenue won a significant claim of €250,000 against the company for payroll discrepancies. There were Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, cases. In 2019, it went into examinership. Enterprise Ireland, I understand,...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: In a case where a situation like that arises, would there be some red flags waving or orange lights flashing at the point where Enterprise Ireland is doing its due diligence?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: In other words, does Enterprise Ireland have to take risks?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: I do not want Mr. Sherry to do so.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: That is what I am trying to establish. If there are orange flags, does Enterprise Ireland sometimes have to take the risk?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: The company's track record and annual financial statements would be examined diligently.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: Is the agency improving in that regard? Problems will arise when Enterprise Ireland is dealing with so many companies. Many things are beyond arm's reach. Enterprise Ireland only has a certain amount of control once it makes an investment. Do our guests feel Enterprise Ireland has improved over the past five or ten years and does not find itself in a situation where it funds companies and...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: Is that happening?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion (23 Mar 2023)

Brian Stanley: I understand that.