Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It gives me great pleasure to congratulate Deputy English on his appointment as Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills and at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation with special responsibility for skills research and innovation. I know how dedicated he is, as I have had the pleasure of being a member of the Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation when he was the Chairman. I have said before that I think he should have been promoted before now, but it is better late than never. I have complete confidence in Deputy English in his role as Minister of State and I am delighted about his appointment.

I congratulate all the civil servants who, together with various Ministers, worked on this complex Bill over the past 12 years. The Bill brings company law into the 21st century and it is no mean feat that we have the Bill before us. The essential objective of the Bill is to improve Ireland's competitive position as a location for business investment.