Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

The purpose of these amendments is to allow the Minister to make regulations under this Act for the purpose of implementing the EU market abuse directive, market abuse regulation and supplemental directives. It is recognised that it can be particularly difficult to sustain and prosecute an allegation of market abuse, so much so that the new EU directive focuses on administrative sanctions rather than requiring member states to have criminal sanctions. In the case of Ireland, such administrative sanctions will be provided for in the transposing regulations.

While that is the case, it is considered that the criminal sanction regime that was provided for in Part V of the Companies Act 1990 should be retained. It had been intended to make these regulations under the European Communities Act 1972. However, section 3(3) of that Act states that regulations under section 3 shall not create an indictable offence. Consequently, for legal certainty it is proposed to use the power in the new section 29 and under the European Communities Act 1972 to transpose the market abuse directive.

Amendment No. 5 gives the regulation making power to the Minister. Amendment No. 6 creates the penalty that can be imposed for a person found guilty of an offence in this context. Amendment No. 4 is a consequential amendment. I commend these amendments to the House.