Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I can agree with everything the Senator said. The difficulty is that these were not ready for drafting at the time the Bill was debated in the Seanad. That highlights the importance of the Seanad and our parliamentary system in that we can introduce amendments from time to time and have a discussion on them.

The reason behind this is to ensure the companies that will avail of the transition this legislation will allow need this measure quickly for accounting purposes. This legislation must be passed by the end of the year to allow them prepare their accounts on solid ground, so to speak, knowing what they have to comply with. For that reason it is critical we get this legislation through the House. Introducing this amendment is of key importance to ensure the companies that will avail of the changes in accounting practices will also be some of the companies that may avail of the proposal in this amendment. That is the reason for it. It was not ready at the time of drafting but we can now have the discussion on it in the context of Committee Stage.