Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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36. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she will extend the expiry date as provided under section 279(2) of the Companies Act 2014 to enable qualifying companies use the United States of America generally accepted accounting principles financial reporting standard here following the recent public consultation; if so, the timetable for this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39108/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Section 279 of the Companies Act 2014 provides that in limited cases for a particular transitional period, US Accounting Standards may be used by certain companies. This is conditional on compliance with Irish company law and is subject to the company meeting a number of qualifying criteria.

This transitional arrangement was first introduced in 2009 in the Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, and was later amended and extended in the Companies (Amendment) Act 2012 to run until 31 December 2020. Section 279 of the Companies Act 2014 re-enacts the 2012 provision with the same period.

A number of factors need to be considered before a decision is made on any possible extension. Accordingly, my Department conducted a public consultation on the matter in September and is currently consulting with the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority and the Department of Finance. I will consider the outcome of that process shortly, with a view to bringing a proposal to Government in the next few weeks. I am aware that the companies concerned wish to know the Government’s intention at the earliest opportunity.

If the deadline is to be extended, it will need to be done in primary legislation, which is ultimately a matter for the Oireachtas.