Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

If I miss any specific questions that were raised, I will come back to them. I took note of them all.

I thank everybody for their good wishes. I will pass them on to Aideen later. I am not sure she would have expected her name to be bandied about in the Seanad today but that is the price one pays for being married to a politician. She will welcome the good wishes, but I am not sure she will welcome her name being mentioned in the Seanad. I thank all for their good wishes, which I appreciate.

I also thank Senators for the positive commentary on the Bill before us today. Many speakers rightly pointed to the significance of the SME sector to the economy. Depending on the report one reads, the number of people directly employed in the sector ranges from 800,000 to 1 million people. It is crucially important to the economy. That is the reason I prioritised this piece of legislation when I was appointed Minister of State. That is also the reason it was a priority in the programme for Government. Some have asked why it did not come in years ago and why it has taken so long, while others have asked why it is being rushed.

The Company Law Review Group initially examined the matter. That body has the necessary expertise from a legal perspective in insolvency and company law, but there is also representation from the trade unions who ensure employees have a voice in the negotiations. We conducted public consultations and we received approximately 20 substantive submissions on the matter. The process was also aided by the good work of my officials and the Office of the Attorney General.I again thank the Oireachtas committee for waiving pre-legislative scrutiny to ensure this Bill came before the Oireachtas before the summer recess. It is so important that this Bill is enacted because we are talking about ensuring that viable businesses have the opportunity to restructure in a cost-efficient and timely way. It is about protecting viable businesses and giving them the opportunity to restructure in a cost-efficient and timely way. While the existing examinership process is internationally recognised as a very good one, the cost of it is prohibitive for many of our smaller businesses. This will no longer be the case.

I take issue with one point mentioned, which was that businesses were not supported but were neglected and thrown to the winds by the Government. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Government did not take decisions to bring in restrictions lightly. It took decisions to bring in restrictions based on public health advice to protect the public health of our citizens. In doing so, a range of supports were put in place, such as the CRISS, the restart and the restart grant plus schemes and the wage subsidy. In July of this year, various bodies representing industry requested that certainty be given to those schemes and that is what has happened.

We now want to ensure that we come out of that. It is true that we were unable to meet a deadline, or an aspirational date, given a number of weeks ago. However, in the last two weeks, representatives of the hospitality industry, whether they were vintners, publicans, hoteliers or restaurateurs, worked collectively with Government and officials, for which I compliment them, to bring about a workable solution to ensure that as many people as possible can go in to premises and these businesses can reopen in a safe environment. That goes to show the determination on this side of the House to protect public health and to also ensure that we protect jobs and businesses. That is the sole aim of this legislation.

A number of queries were raised. Senator Mullen mentioned the protection of creditors because some creditors are themselves small businesses. There is a provision within the legislation that if a creditor is unhappy with a decision he or she can appeal it in the courts, so creditors are protected.

Senator Currie mentioned virtual AGMs. These are a temporary measure brought in as part of the Covid Bill in 2021, which has been extended to the end of this year. SCARP will also benefit from that Bill until the end of this year. At this time, a decision has not been taken to make virtual AGMs permanent because there are questions about whether shareholders are afforded the same adequate scrutiny they receive at a physical shareholders' AGM. Virtual AGMs have been extended on a temporary basis until the end of the year while further analysis is conducted. They are there until the end of the year, but we will have to make a decision on whether to further extend them before the end of this year.

I compliment Senator Garvey on the work she is doing. In our Department, we are working with an SME task force to ensure there is a one-stop portal where businesses can go in future to ensure they are acutely aware of all the supports that are available. The Senator is right in stating that there are many supports out there. Some supports have even helped people to diversify into new areas and businesses. I was surprised and struck by how many businesses took an opportunity from the challenge. Some businesses have done better in the past 18 months and more luck to them.

Senator Gavan mentioned timeframes. The 49-day timeframe was deemed to be fair since adequate notice periods have to be given to creditors and the process adviser must be given adequate time to do his or her work and bring forward a restructuring plan. If there is no need to go to court, 49 days is the outer time limit. If things are not complicated, there is nothing to say that the process cannot be concluded within a shorter timeframe.

Senators Gavan and Wall raised the issue of employees as creditors. Under the SCARP process, employees have the same protections they have under the examinership process. There is no difference or dilution of employees' rights in this process as is the case in the examinership process. Both Senators also raised, as did Senator Byrne, the issue of collective redundancies. The Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy English, and I have been working on this issue for the last 12 months. I acknowledge the contribution of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, which has been working with us. We published a plan of action on collective redundancies in June of this year. Some of the suggestions in that plan have been included in this Bill but the key element of the splitting of company assets is under review at the moment by the CLRG. It is envisaged they will report back to us in the autumn of this year. It is my firm intention that the recommendations that emanate from the CLRG will be implemented in a timely fashion.

Senator Carrigy acknowledged the announcement today of 60 jobs in Mullingar. It is a very positive development and it goes to show that there is an emphasis on ensuring investment in the regions. The regions benefit from these types of job announcements because they offer a whole suite of incentives for businesses. Mullingar is a good place in which to work and live, with many amenities, and it also has all the necessary infrastructure that is present in any other part of Ireland. It is a very welcome development in Mullingar. I assure Senator Carrigy that the Industrial Development Agency, IDA, plan launched in January of this year placed a major emphasis on ensuring that 50% of all new IDA investments under the lifetime of its 2021-24 plan will be concentrated on the regions. We are determined, as a new Government, to ensure balanced regional development. I assure the Senator that Longford is foremost in my mind, as it is in his. I have no doubt we will also have good news for Longford in the not-too-distant future. If we in the Department can be of any assistance in rolling out his scheme, which is a very good scheme and I wish him luck with it, we will be only too happy to help.

I again thank Senators for their contributions today and for contributing so positively to the scheme. This scheme will make a real difference to our small and medium-sized enterprises that are viable but, because of the hugely challenging trading environment they have had to endure over the past 18 months, need an opportunity to restructure. This Bill will give them the opportunity to come out from under a shroud of debt, to restart, save their businesses and, just as importantly, save jobs that are reliant on those businesses. I understand we are bringing the remaining Stages of this Bill through the Seanad tomorrow so, hopefully, we will be able to conclude it in advance of the summer recess.