Ciarán Cannon (Progressive Democrats)

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 amendments are necessary, of which this is one. Section 194 of the Companies Act 1963 requires that directors disclose to their boards any conflicts of interest in respect of contracts or proposed contracts and that a book of these declarations be kept by the company. The Bill proposes to amend the 1963 Act by providing that the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement should have the power to ask for this book and by making it an offence not to present the book when asked for. The penalty in the 1963 Act for refusing to present the book is £100, which we suggest is far too small and does not act as a deterrent. We suggest this be increased to €10,000.