Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. I wish to clarify that the Government will not be accepting the amendments proposed by Senator Barrett.

We all need to restore confidence in the system. The points made by Senator Barrett are necessary and we are trying to restore confidence in accounting, auditing and oversight procedures. The legislation provides that the IAASA will have an independent oversight of the process which is a step towards restoring confidence. We need to ensure that there is no ambiguity about the quality of the audits and that they stand up to rigorous and independent scrutiny. Essentially, that is what the legislation is about in this instance.

I have just received a note for Senator O'Donovan's benefit. The Bill that he inquired about has been published and awaits Second Stage.