Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

Account needs to be taken of the all-encompassing legislation in this respect. Section 194 of the principal Act provides that it is the duty of a director to disclose his interests in contracts made by the company. If I was to accept this amendment, we would have subsections (5A) and (5B). This provides that if a company fails to comply with a subsection, the company and every officer of the company who is in default shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding €1,904.61, and if any inspection of production required thereunder is refused, the court may, by order, compel an immediate inspection or production. To that would be added the proposed subsection (5B), which provides that "Failure to comply with subsection (5A) is an offence and a company shall be liable to a fine not exceeding €10,000." The next section, section 6, provides that any director who fails to comply with this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding €1,904.61. This would mean that failure by a company to comply would carry a fine of €1,900, failure to comply with the same provision would carry a fine of €10,000 and failure to comply with it again would carry a fine of €1,900. It is the same offence, but acceptance of this amendment would mean it would carry two fines, one of €1,900 and one of €10,000. If I was to accept the amendment, I would be talking against myself on two occasions, as it were. Two fines would apply for the same crime. It is on that basis this amendment proposed by Fine Gael cannot be accepted. In this legislation the principal Act is being amended by inserting the subsection as set out in the section. Fine Gael is seeking an amendment of the section that provides for the amendment of the principal Act, which provides for a fine of €1,900 for one part of the provision, in terms of proposing a fine of €10,000 for the same part of the provision. On that basis, I am not in a position to accept the amendment.