Gay Mitchell (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 164: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment her views on European Commission proposals to make cross-border mergers more straightforward. [30414/03]

Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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The Commission proposal for a directive on cross-border mergers of companies with share capital, COM (2003)703, which was published on 18 November 2003 is aimed at facilitating cross-border mergers of commercial companies under favourable conditions in terms of cost and legal certainty.

Under the chairmanship of an official of my Department, Ireland has initiated EU Council working group discussions on the draft directive on cross-border mergers and provision has been made to continue to have meetings to progress this issue throughout Ireland's Presidency.

From our experience of the very limited utilisation of the third EU company law directive, which governs national mergers and which forms the basis for the company law provisions of the cross-border mergers proposal, implemented in Ireland by SI 137/1987, and based on responses to consultation taken with interested parties, it seems that interest in, and likely recourse to, the facilities proposed in the draft directive, by operators in Ireland will not be significant.