Results 61-80 of 3,664 for speaker:Ciarán Cannon

Seanad: Order of Business (14 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: Yesterday, the Leader rightly raised the issue of the punitive fixed interest rates that still are being applied to thousands of families nationwide. Last week, his colleague, Senator Wilson, highlighted the issue of the treatment of one such family by a lending agency, which bordered on terrorism. I asked the question last week, and will continue to do so until Members get a debate on this...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: It is not trickling through to families that are suffering such levels of indebtedness. We learned from the Monageer report yesterday that one such family's level of indebtedness was a major factor in driving them to taking the sort of tragic action they did. Second, it most certainly is not trickling down to the businesses that need it. I argue that every cent that has been invested thus...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: I move amendment No. 1: In page 4, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: "(5B) Failure to comply with subsection (5A) is an offence and a company shall be liable to a fine not exceeding €10,000.". As I pointed out the last time I had an opportunity to make a contribution on this Bill, Fine Gael welcomes the legislation and supports it in principle, but we feel a number of...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: I am concerned that every amendment proposed by us and Senator O'Toole will be fobbed off with the suggestion that it will be covered when the consolidation legislation is introduced. This is an opportunity to send out a strong signal. It gives discretion to a court to apply a fine of up to €10,000, it need not be the entire €10,000. The Minister should take this on board and send out...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: But not now.

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: By her own admission the Tánaiste is highlighting the urgency of this legislation. It is urgent because it serves to give the Director of Corporate Enforcement the powers he needs to police rogue directors and to engender real confidence in the public that we are tackling this issue head on. Is there any mechanism whereby within this legislation we can uniformly apply that new fine across...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: I move amendment No. 2: In page 4, lines 20 and 21, to delete "books or documents" and substitute "classes of documents". As the Cathaoirleach has pointed out, all these amendments seek to achieve the same outcome, that being to formalise and to clarify an existing power available to the director by providing that the director shall specify the books or documents to be produced where and...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: If the Minister is content the definition of "books and documents" does not in any way impede or hinder the director in carrying out his work and if the director and his office have looked at this legislation and he shares that opinion then we are content to withdraw those amendments.

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: I move amendment No. 10: In page 5, to delete lines 19 to 38. The Minister accused me of being somewhat exuberant earlier in my pursuit of-----

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: -----wayward company directors. We are trying to strike a balance here between giving the director the powers he requires to do his job properly and ensuring we do not unnecessarily obstruct the entrepreneurial effort of thousands of Irish business people and that is exactly how the second part of that balance is being struck with this amendment. The proposed extended power of seizure at...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: I thank the Minister for her response. The amendment we are tabling places an onus on the Director of Corporate Enforcement and his or her staff to be exact and definite in establishing what types of documents they need to remove from a company's premises. They have powers of separation under which they may enter a premises and deem which documents are pertinent to the case they are making....

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: On the premises.

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: I move amendment No. 11: In page 6, after line 47, to insert the following: "(vii) the constitutional rights of the company or the holder of the information, and (viii) the rights of any person, who is the subject of the information, under the Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2003.". This amendment attempts to award some protection to company directors, to the entity that is the company itself...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: Subparagraph (viii) of the amendment holds more importance for me. In the event that personal data are stored within company records, the Data Protection Acts should take precedence over this legislation. That is the most important provision of the amendment. I would like clarification on that.

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: I thank the Minister.

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: I never said the Minister was not nice.

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: I move amendment No. 12: In page 8, to delete lines 3 to 20 and substitute the following: "(2F) Where an extended power of seizure is exercised, it shall be the duty of the officer— (a) to carry out the determination or separation concerned as soon as practicable after its exercise, and in any event, within 3 months or such further period as is permitted by the Court, and (b) as respect...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: I thank the Minister for her offer of reflection and we look forward to the result of her deliberations.

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: We are about trying to strike a balance. We oppose the section and believe it would act as a major disincentive for people to get involved in entrepreneurial effort and a major disincentive for people to become directors of companies. The section, which amends section 40 of the Companies Act 1990, would appear to provide for directors to be held or deemed to have committed criminal offences...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Ciarán Cannon: However, if I were a director of a company with some 20 or 30 other co-directors, to hold me personally responsible for every action of every other director would place an unnecessary, unfair and unjust burden on me as a director. If that provision was in place and this section of the legislation was enacted, I would seriously question whether anybody would take the risk of being guilty by...