Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This amendment relates to the manner in which a majority of limited partners shall be calculated by reference to the value of contributions made by them at the time in the investment limited partnership. The structure of the investment limited partnership is not based on one partner, one vote. That is the essence of this Bill. People can invest different amounts into an investment limited partnership, so the essence of this legislation is that the majority should not be calculated based on one partner, one vote, but should be based on their contributions.

If I could draw the analogy, it is a bit like a person who has shares in a company. Every single shareholder does not have an equal vote. It is based on the number of shares that shareholders own in the company. It is not a mutual society like a building society where everybody has one vote. In trying to explain it, I would say that the situation is more akin, although not exactly, to shareholders at a meeting. Some people have more shares than others, and therefore get more votes at an AGM.

The structure of the investment limited partnership is not based on one partner, one vote. It is based on the contribution of partners, as outlined in the partnership agreement, which is clearly stated. When a person agrees to invest in a partnership, he or she knows the agreement being entered into, which is based on the size of his or her contribution. That determines the person's relative position rather than it being a mutual partnership in which every person has one vote. It is based on the person's contribution and is therefore akin to the situation of a company shareholder and the number of shares that person holds in a particular company. On that basis, I cannot accept the amendment.