With your approval, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 100 and 101 together.
I have no statutory power to hold an inquiry of the kind requested by the Deputy or to prevent take-overs or mergers. I have, however, introduced in the Dáil today by long and short titles a Bill which will empower me to prohibit a proposed take-over or merger, or to require the division of an enterprise formed through a take-over or merger, where the arrangement restricts competition or endangers the continuity of essential supplies or services. I am also considering whether it is feasible to provide for control on grounds other than those I have mentioned.
I have no information about proposals for the take-over company mentioned by the Deputy to be taken over in turn by a similar major British consortium. As regards the reported agreement between the firm referred to in the Deputy's questions and a fertiliser firm, I note that the announcement of the agreement states that it "will place the two companies in a highly advantageous position to undertake major further expansion not only in Ireland but also in the broader European context". I would, of course, welcome this kind of expansion if it led to the creation of additional employment in Ireland.