Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am not in favour of this amendment. The drafting in this amendment is not very clear. I surmise that the Senators are trying to capture the Company Law Review Group's pending report on the protection of employees and unsecured creditors. The use of the words "the recommendation" and "intended actions" implies to me that the Senators intend to capture the Companies Act 2014 itself rather than the contents of this Bill only. Nevertheless, I remind the Senators that the Company Law Review Group's reports are published annually, pursuant to section 962 of the Companies Act 2014. These reports are laid before each House of the Oireachtas within two months of the Minister receiving such a report. In addition, all of the CLRG reports are publicly available at www.clrg.org. Senators can also find the two-year work programme for the CLRG on this website.

Turning back to the amendment, I am not in favour of imposing time limits on legislative reviews. Some legislative amendments are justifiable because experience demonstrates that a provision does not provide the intended impact. As a case in point with section 599 of the Companies Act, we have no judicial commentary to guide us in understanding whether there are any actual limitations in the manner in which the provision is currently constructed. One must be wary of unforeseen consequences. That is why I believe that we are fortunate to have an expert group whose input I have requested. When commenced, this Bill will be integrated into the Companies Act and subject to the same oversight as the Companies Act 2014 generally enjoys. I see no reason a separate report is necessary or desirable in these circumstances. I am not in favour of this amendment. In essence, the CLRG will publish a report and forward it to me. Within two months, I will bring it before the Houses of the Oireachtas.