Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

We need to be very clear about overall macroeconomic policy and what we are about in Ireland in terms of the general mix, foreign direct investment and so on. Any regulation has wider effects than perhaps was initially intended and we need to keep this in perspective. All companies operating in Ireland are free to establish and organise themselves in the most suitable form for promoting and running their businesses provided they comply with national and European Union legislation.

On the issue of reporting and disclosure of accounts as referred to in the Senator's amendment, the requirements regarding company accounts reflect those of the fourth and seventh EU company law directives. These requirements were given expression in the Companies (Amendment) Act 1986 and the European Community (Companies: Group Account) Regulations 1992, as amended. These essentially provide that multinational companies with Irish subsidiaries may file annual returns with audited accounts for the financial affairs of the parent and subsidiary undertakings as a whole. It would be inappropriate to compel one specific sector, as Senator Quinn has said, to disclose commercially sensitive information publicly. If such disclosure were required generally in the economy, it might discourage foreign direct investment, as many multinationals might want to establish elsewhere. I am sure Senator Coghlan would not want to do that.

Many concerns operating in Ireland at present choose to register as unlimited companies which, depending on whether they are public or private enterprises, have fewer disclosure requirements. The Senator's amendment seeks to depart from these principles by allowing the Competition Authority to decide unilaterally to audit and then publish, or part publish, the accounts of multiple retailers in the grocery sector. It would be highly inappropriate to include such an amendment. The Competition Authority already has extensive powers to acquire information to exercise its enforcement functions under the Competition Acts. This extends to requiring relevant financial information from firms in all sectors. However, the authority is not permitted, nor should it be, to publish or disclose commercially sensitive information. The function of the Competition Authority is to ensure that competition is in place and that nothing is inhibiting it. The publication of commercially sensitive information by the authority would undermine its relationship with business and compromise its powers and ability to enforce competition law.

Interestingly, the Senator's amendment makes a distinction not just between firms in different sectors but also between companies within the same sector of the economy. If one reads the amendment carefully, especially its definitions of multiple retailer, retailer, supplier and wholesaler, any grocery retailer operating more than three outlets could have its accounts published by the authority. However, franchise operators such as ADM Londis, BWG or Musgraves, which operate hundreds of stores, in essence would be exempt. That is somewhat glaring and I do not believe the Oireachtas could pass an amendment that, in essence, is a discriminatory provision and, as such, is difficult to justify. For those reasons I cannot accept the amendment. Some of the broader issues require reflection as well.

The main concern of the Small Business Forum, SBF, was that payments should issue more quickly from larger companies. We are still looking at that recommendation from the SBF to see whether it might be accommodated. Legislation has been passed to facilitate this, although the SBF people argue that this has not been effective. However, this particular amendment as tabled by the Senator does not meet that requirement and could do damage.