Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 510: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if it is his intention to introduce legislation to require the disclosure of the report submitted by the liquidator of an insolvent company under section 56 of the Company Law Enforcement Act 2001; if he introduces such legislation, if he will indicate the reason this report should be confidential; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11431/08]

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Section 56 of the Company Law Enforcement Act 2001 requires the liquidator of an insolvent company to provide a report to the Director of Corporate Enforcement in the form prescribed by Regulations. There are no legal requirements on liquidators in relation to the disclosure or non-disclosure of such Reports or their contents and, accordingly, it is a matter for liquidators to determine whether to release all or part of a report to relevant parties.

However, it has generally been the practice of liquidators not to disclose the reports. It is understood that this approach by liquidators reflects a number of concerns including, inter alia; a concern that disclosure of the reports could compromise proceedings that liquidators may be taking, or contemplating taking, against officers of the company; a concern that a practice of disclosing reports could constrain liquidators' confidence in providing comprehensive, open and candid reports to the ODCE.

The right of a liquidator to withhold a Section 56 report from the directors who were the subject of the report was considered in the case of Re Silken Construction Limited. The High Court Judgement of 14 November 2003 confirmed that liquidators are entitled to maintain the confidentiality of their reports and an Order for Discovery was allowed only in relation to the provisions in the report that would enable a company director to enhance his own case or save costs in defending a restriction application.