Topical Issue Debate

Polling Stations

Deputy Tony McLoughlin

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this issue with the Minister.

Last week's referendum saw almost 90% of primary schools closed to facilitate voting across Ireland. This has been the practice for years, probably since national elections began in 1922. The closing of schools results in the loss of a working day for students and a considerable inconvenience for many working couples who must arrange for child care on that day.

In the past there were few public buildings other than schools available in many communities to act as polling stations and it was understandable that these buildings would have to be used. However, times have changed and, thankfully, we have a wide variety of public buildings in our communities which could be provided at a minimum of cost, if that is the issue. Most small towns have a community hall, a parish hall, a community gym and other such buildings, which would be available and built with a modern finish to include facilities to ensure people with disabilities would have equal access.

I call on the Minister to ask returning officers to work towards compiling an audit of their current polling stations and to seek expressions of interest from local communities and local authorities on the supply of alternative public buildings to act as polling stations. In places where there are not suitable buildings, schools must still act as polling stations but I am convinced fewer primary schools would need to be closed for future elections and referenda if this proposal were considered.

I ask the Minister to also request returning officers to supply information on the number of full-time unemployed who act as presiding officers and clerks at polling stations. Are the people who carry out this work students or people who work in the schools that are closed on the day? Voters are concerned when they arrive at polling booths and see many people double jobbing, given the number of highly skilled and educated persons who are unemployed.

I urge the Minister to review this system within the next year.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Fergus O’Dowd)

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Hogan, who is unavoidably absent. I thank Deputy McLoughlin for raising this important issue which is of interest to all Members.

One of the duties that fall on a returning officer at elections and referenda is to provide a sufficient number of polling stations at every polling place for which he or she is responsible. Polling places normally will be a village or some other population centre. The returning officer is required to locate polling stations as conveniently as possible for use by the electorate in each polling place. Where, for one reason or another, a sufficient number of polling stations cannot be provided at the appointed polling place, the returning officer can arrange for polling stations at another location.

In selecting locations, the traditional approach has been to use schools. This is understandable given their central location in most communities, and especially so in rural areas over the years where a viable alternative to the local school would have been difficult to find. In these challenging economic times, it is also worth noting that the use of any school for the taking of a poll or counting of votes is free of charge where the school is in receipt of a State grant. Nonetheless, returning officers are not obliged to use schools. In guidance issued by the Department, returning officers are advised that they may hire a hall or other premises if they consider this would be a more suitable arrangement in a particular case. This is the case even if there is a school available for use in that area.

Returning officers must be also mindful of the need to provide access to polling stations. As the Deputy mentioned, they should be accessible for those with disabilities. The returning officer is obliged, where practicable, to provide polling stations which are accessible to wheelchair use. This has seen a shift to more modern buildings, including modernised schools, being used as polling stations where stricter building regulation requirements have addressed this issue.

Returning officers have good knowledge and experience, built up over many years, on the location and use of suitable premises, and they review that on an ongoing basis. In many cases, buildings other than schools are used. They have generally ensured that when it comes to elections and referenda, one should have the opportunity to vote in a convenient location.

As regards a special audit of current polling stations, what would be important is that the public representatives in a county, Dáil Deputies and others, would be in a position to identify directly with their returning officers where the issues arise locally. If Deputy McLoughlin were to copy the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government with the correspondence, if it was not being addressed to the satisfaction of the public, we would certainly deal with that issue.

The final matter Deputy McLoughlin raised relates to who is employed and how they are selected. I agree that there must be transparency and accountability and I would presume in the first instance a query to each returning officer would be the appropriate way to seek that information. That information should be available. The public has a right to expect that those who are unemployed, competent and qualified should be given priority if possible.

Deputy Tony McLoughlin

I thank the Minister of State for the reply.

This issue was brought home forcibly to me over many elections and referenda but particularly on this occasion, when there are many fine buildings in communities that contain all the necessary facilities that could have been used for this purpose. We should also consider the cost of child care since sometimes parents must try to accommodate arrangements at short notice, especially when two in the family are working. It is important to consider polling at weekends. This is what happens in most other European countries and worldwide. Perhaps we could consider that arrangement for the future. We could provide for elections or referendums on Saturdays or Sundays. Some schools will have to be used but there are many community halls and various other fine facilities that could be availed of as well. Polling at the weekend would eliminate that problem.

Given the current climate it is vital to try to give as many people as possible employment. I visited many polling booths during the last polling day to see many young people. I believe more unemployed people could be employed on that day. It would be an experience for them. I realise returning officers will counter that they need people who have experience. Some people involved have been retired for many years. We should look after young people who are unemployed or seeking employment. I thank the Minister of State for his reply.

Deputy Fergus O’Dowd

I thank the Deputy for his comments and I assure him I will bring them to the attention of the Minister. I agree that priority must be given to unemployed people where possible. Obviously, there must be some experienced staff but there is no reason young unemployed people or older unemployed people should not be able to do all the jobs done in any polling station in the country.

Planning Issues

Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan

I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to discuss this matter. I have no wish to be disparaging towards the Minister of State but it is disappointing the Minister responsible is not present to address this matter. I was appalled to read the recent report from the Comptroller and Auditor General which identified the shortcomings of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, its financial management, its planning functions and the management of the business of the board. It was appalling to read of the lies those involved told the Department. The authority bought a site for €431 million in the knowledge that its value was €220 million and without any analysis of the benefits or costs of the site. There was no regard for other issues relating to certain planning decisions they made. Two members of the board of the DDDA were directors of Anglo Irish Bank and another was a director of the Bank of Ireland.

A parliamentary question asked of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, as he was known then, requesting his views on any conflict of interest which would inhibit the Dublin Docklands Development Authority from making balanced planning decisions in the docklands area. The question was put by Tony Gregory to the then Minister, Dick Roche, on 4 November 2004. What could have been avoided had the matter been dealt with then? Part of the answer stated: "It is difficult in a relatively small city to select people with the talent and the time and who are willing to give service to the public through these boards." We know the type of service they have given to this city and country. That is not to take from the current chairperson and the work she has been doing.

The involvement of communities is important. I was born in and I continue to live in one of the docklands communities, like Deputy Kevin Humphreys, although we are on opposite sides of the Liffey. There have been problematic relations with the communities but there have been positive relations with the communities as well. I hope and call for the residents and the communities to be involved, consulted and included in any replacement structures. Will anything happen to the people who told such blatant lies? I hope the idea of winding down the DDDA will not allow them off the hook.

Deputy Kevin Humphreys

I thank the Minister of State. Like Deputy O'Sullivan, I am disappointed the Minister, Deputy Hogan, is not present. I hope the Minister of State will carry back the message loud and clear. I concur with what Deputy O'Sullivan has said but I will not concentrate on the negatives because too often we concentrate on the negatives. In its early years the Dublin Docklands Development Authority was an important structure and made considerable changes in the docklands communities on the north and south sides. Nevertheless, the authority has questions to answer. I call on the Minister of State to bring this to the Cabinet and to discuss the need for a full debate on the matter. A Topical Issue debate is too limited to cover what is an important issue for the city and the country. This is an area of strategic importance for job development.

I have serious concerns that we will miss out on many of the benefits. Let us recall the early years when the DDDA was set up. It had a social regeneration remit for the docklands area. Previously, some 35% of all docklanders left school at 11 years of age, a total of 55% left school at 15 years of age, only 10% sat the leaving certificate and only 1% went on to further education. Last year, some 60% of docklanders sat the leaving certificate examination. This is a tangible result. The docklands area is now close to the national average, only 2% below it, for attendance at third level education. This is a credit to the teachers and the principals in the community but it is also a credit to the social regeneration bodies and the community councils involved in education initiatives to bring up the standards and results to the national average. We must consider these and other positive aspects which have delivered during the existence of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. Unfortunately, it lost its way toward the end.

Some 300 high-end job placements at the IFSC came through a placement service. Along with the late Tony Gregory, I served on the community council responsible for this initiative. We worked with the business sector and the placements came through the authority. These people are now role models in their communities. They have shown the value of education and that there are real jobs at the end of an educational process, which jobs pay good salaries. I call on the Minister of State to take the message back to the Minister, Deputy Hogan, that he should not throw the baby out with the bath water. This area can create jobs and it can be an engine for growth. We must consider a mechanism for getting the docklands area in Dublin moving again. There must be full community involvement and there must be real and tangible community gains.

Deputy Fergus O’Dowd

I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I regret that the Minister is not present and I must stand in the bearna baol. I will ensure the Deputies' views will be clearly and absolutely brought to the attention of the Minister and his Department.

When Deputy Ross was a Senator, he and I sat on the Joint Committee on Transport, as it was known. We called in representatives from CIE every month for several months to discuss an issue arising from an audit. We found this to be a useful mechanism. I accept totally that this is a short debate and I will not take up too much time with it. We found that bringing in the relevant people before the committee and questioning the auditors was useful. Accountability to an Oireachtas committee can be useful. I am unsure whether that is a helpful suggestion but I will bring the request for a full debate to the attention of the Minister.

The Minister, Deputy Hogan, announced last Thursday that the Government has decided to wind up the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, DDDA. When making the announcement, the Minister emphasised the decision had been made following consideration of a special report prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the authority's 2011 annual report and financial statements, both of which were also published last Thursday.

Elements of the special report make for grim reading, especially those relating to the authority's assessment and decision-making processes leading to its decision in 2006 to become involved in the purchase of the former Irish Glass Bottle site, an episode which has cost the authority €52 million, aside from the associated reputational damage. While it is naturally welcome to note the annual report shows the authority having recorded a small surplus, its first in a number of years, the future financial outlook for the authority presents a very different picture.

The reality emerging from both the 2011 financial statements and the special report is that the authority's financial position will inevitably remain very challenging in the short to medium term, given the economic downturn and stressed state of the property market from which the Dublin Docklands Development Authority has historically derived its main revenues.

Taking all of these factors into account, the inescapable conclusion is that a stand-alone authority is no longer viable, financially or otherwise. It is for these reasons that the Government decided that the Dublin Docklands Development Authority should be wound up at the end of a transitional period of up to 18 months. A new executive board, chaired by the Dublin city manager, Mr. John Tierney, has been appointed for this transitional period, during which the authority will finalise some important ongoing business which needs to be brought to completion. In parallel with this, the Government will finalise the appropriate arrangements for ensuring a continued, concerted focus on the Dublin docklands initiative.

It is crucial to note in terms of the concerns raised by the Deputies that while the Dublin Docklands Development Authority is to be wound up, the Government remains fully committed to the ambitious and visionary docklands regeneration concept where many opportunities for renewal remain, both on the north and south sides of the River Liffey. For this reason, the decision to wind up the authority should be seen not as an end of the regeneration story but the closing of one chapter which the Government is committed to ensuring will be followed by the opening of a new chapter in the rebirth of this core area of the capital city, as the Deputies correctly noted.

Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan

I acknowledge the positive aspects of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, including the educational scholarships and other supports provided for communities on the north and south sides of the River Liffey. While the East Wall district received funding for a community centre, people in the North Wall district, the parish of St. Laurence O'Toole, would respond differently because their district was left without the school it was promised by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. On the other hand, the south side of the River Liffey was not left with the monstrous memorial to the excesses of the Celtic tiger on the North Wall quay, namely, the building that was intended to house Anglo Irish Bank's headquarters. The docklands community had to fight hard for everything it received.

I note the Minister of State did not once refer to the local communities which made up the docklands area, which took second place to speculators and developers at times. Although there are seven places for community representatives on the council, only five of them have been filled as two long-serving community members have not been reappointed. What is the position on these appointments? Representatives of the south side hold three of the five community places, while the north side has only two representatives. The decision to allocate only one place for a community representative on the board must be addressed. I ask the Minister of State to bring these issues to the attention of the Minister.

Deputy Kevin Humphreys

While I welcome the Minister of State's statement that further regeneration will be considered, regeneration without social inclusion is meaningless for local communities. Our communities must be reinvigorated and job opportunities provided in local areas. Initiatives taken in the docklands area have been rolled out throughout the city. The senior citizens forum, for example, which started on the south and north sides of the River Liffey has expanded throughout Dublin and plays a positive role.

The docklands area is important not only to the capital but also the country. Growth will come to the area because new companies want to locate in it. We must ensure young people in the area are trained and educated to be able to avail of the opportunities that will arise in the area. This will only be made possible through community involvement which requires us to listen to and invest in the community. The best investment that can be made in the docklands area is in education. It is vital that we have strong community involvement and a focus on education and social regeneration. We must not lose this focus as a result of the abolition of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.

Deputy Fergus O’Dowd

I thank the Deputies for the views they expressed, specifically on the importance of education. I note also the statistics provided in this regard. I assure Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan that her comments on the importance of community representation in filling the vacancies on the council will be brought to the attention of the Minister.

I fully understand the decision to wind up the Dublin Docklands Development Authority is a critical one and concur with the Deputies on the importance of placing community involvement and regeneration at the heart of this process. This will make the Dublin docklands a living community and ensure good interaction between those who live and work in the area.

Deputy Kevin Humphreys

Will the Minister of State revert to us on the possibility of arranging a full debate on the issue?

Deputy Fergus O’Dowd

While I presume that is a matter for the Whips, such a debate would make sense. Having matters discussed in committees can also be enlightening as it allows us to extract information from people who may not otherwise volunteer it.

Community Employment Schemes

Deputy Brian Stanley

Following the announcement of cuts to community employment schemes in the budget, a campaign against the proposed cuts was launched by supervisors and participants in the schemes and trade unions. The Minister gave a commitment to complete a review of community employment schemes by the end of March and stated on a number of occasions that individual schemes would not close and that additional funding would be provided for those schemes which required it. According to SIPTU and those involved in community employment schemes, additional funding is not being provided and projects are not being given the funding they need to remain open.

The 60% cut in the funding available for education, training and materials, from €1,500 to €500, has major implications for community employment schemes. I understand it may be possible for participants to source a further €500, but we do not have much information in this regard. Six months after the budget announcements and nearly three months after the review was to be completed - I am informed it has been completed - its findings have not seen the light of day.

Community employment schemes must also contend with the troika sponsored review of labour activation measures. To date, there has not been significant engagement with community employment schemes or the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The indications are that the financial review has not shown that the Government cuts can be achieved because there is little in the schemes that can be cut. Will schemes be closed if they are considered unviable?

The decision to slash funding available for education, training and materials has killed off the chance of progression or involvement in education or training for participants in community employment schemes. This was one of the main benefits of such schemes.

We are informed that the troika review includes a proposal that participation in community employment schemes be restricted to one year, with the exception of persons with a disability where participation should be restricted to two years and persons engaged in drug rehabilitation where participation should be limited to three years. Will the Minister of State indicate whether this recommendation has been made?

The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, must come clean and state clearly, as she promised to do, what are the contents of the financial report. When will we have sight of the report and when will Deputies be able to debate it? Will the Minister of State give a commitment that Government representatives will engage with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on this matter?

Deputy Fergus O’Dowd

I thank the Deputy for his contribution. I will respond on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection who is, unfortunately, not present. I will bring the Deputy's views to her attention.

The financial review of community employment schemes is very near to completion. The review has proved to be a valuable exercise for both the schemes and the Department. Given the volume and breadth of the data being returned, the review has taken longer to complete than originally envisaged. This has allowed more time for schemes to engage with local officials in the finalisation of their respective budgets and the Department to bring forward improvements to the overall operation of the community employment programme which will improve the budgetary position for schemes.

As the Deputy will appreciate, the review is of interest and importance to the many individuals involved. Accordingly, the Minister is not in a position to provide an outline of its content prior to its publication. However, it is important to note that savings can be made in the operation of community employment schemes.

Owing to the current economic circumstances, the Department has had to find significant savings in the budget for 2012. However, the allowance grants for supervisors are unchanged, as are working hours for staff employed under community employment schemes. There will also be no decrease in the number of community employment scheme places allocated in 2012.

While no final allocations of materials and training grants have been made pending completion of the financial review, the existing commitment to the financial support of schemes will continue to apply. The Department is committed to supporting community employment scheme participants and sponsors in continuing the valuable contribution the programme makes to individuals and communities.

The findings of the separate labour market activation schemes policy review will also inform the Department's decisions on the community employment programme. The Minister will ensure stakeholders will be able to contribute and respond to the findings of the review. I take on board the Deputy's point with regard to SIPTU and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

Deputy Brian Stanley

I welcome the commitment given by the Minister of State on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection that there will be no decrease in the number of community employment places allocated in 2012. That is important because most of those schemes provide vital services. The delay in the report is causing problems and is unacceptable. Despite the fact there is a commitment to financial support to keep schemes going, schemes are running into trouble and it is important we have the opportunity to debate the report.

The Minister of State has indicated the Department will engage with the unions on the process. They certainly have complained about it. I ask him and the Minister to do all they can to ensure the survival of the mainstream community employment schemes. Surely it is better to get people to do work that is socially useful and to receive training at the same time during a recession, enabling them to move back into employment, rather than passing the time away.

There is a particular problem with the drugs rehabilitation projects in inner city areas. Although I do not represent an inner city area, people from those areas have come to us about these problems. I would like the Minister of State to bring that information back to the Minister for Social Protection and ensure that is protected.

Deputy Fergus O’Dowd

I assure the Deputy his comments will be brought to the attention of the Minister. I accept all the points he made, especially when he spoke about people who need special rehabilitation. The schemes are very useful to help these people along. The Minister will be made aware of his views.

Job Losses

Deputy Willie O’Dea

The job losses in Cork represent a quarter of the Pfizer jobs force in the county. Our first thoughts must be with the workers who are displaced. It is incumbent on us and on the Government in particular to ensure those workers get the best possible deal. They are going out into one of the worst labour markets in the history of the country. It will be very difficult for those generally well paid workers to gain alternative employment, especially in this country.

The fact Pfizer has decided to reduce its workforce in Cork by one quarter is pretty ominous for a number of reasons. First, I am very familiar with the Pfizer company because it has a major plant in my constituency which has been one of the mainstays of employment in the mid-west for decades. It is a very progressive company that usually does not let people go, and its pay and conditions are among the best in the industry in Ireland. Second, most of the jobs going in Cork are high-end jobs, involving highly educated and skilled people. This is not the traditional fall-out where some manufacturing company moves to a cheaper jurisdiction, as happened with part of the Dell plant in Limerick. Third, the job losses in Cork are inextricably linked with the fact that the patent on Lipitor has expired. The Minister will be aware this phenomenon will have a devastating impact on employment in the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland, which employs more than 25,000 people in well-paid jobs. This is the start of a trend as quite a number of patents are due to expire which will have a devastating impact on employment in the pharmaceutical industry.

The Minister will also be aware of newspaper reports on the decision of Atlantic Homecare to apply for examinership. The company has made a proposal to the High Court involving a restructuring which will lead to the loss of a certain number of jobs. We all hope the application to the High Court will be successful, an accommodation with creditors will be reached, and the job losses will stop at what has been announced. However, I thought it was very significant that in the explanation of its decision, the company emphasised the fact it was caught by unavailability of legislation to deal with upward-only rent reviews that had been historically agreed.

In the recent general election, the current Government parties faithfully promised that upward-only rent reviews, be they present, past or future, would be legislated out of existence. They said they had legal advice to this effect. Since the election, some of the victims of upward-only rent reviews have got legal advice of their own which is very compelling. I would love to see the Government's legal advice and I would particularly like to see the advice the Labour Party claimed it had available before the election.

Atlantic Homecare joins a long list of companies - Xtra-vision, Golden Discs and Arnotts, to name but a few - that have thrown people out of the workforce and onto the industrial scrapheap because they were unable to renegotiate upward-only rent review clauses that had been agreed before the recent legislation that banned such rent from that date. Has the Government been considering the impact on employment of the lack of a remedy for upward-only rent reviews? Has it any proposals to deal with the situation?

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Deputy Richard Bruton)

I thank the Deputy for raising these matters. The expiry of the patent on products manufactured by Pfizer has, unfortunately, resulted in the announcement of the loss of 177 positions in Cork this week. My thoughts are, obviously, with the workers and their families. All the applicable supports of the State will be made available to the workers if they are needed.

I have spoken to the company about the situation. These two quality plants in Cork will still employ more than 500 people and will be adapting to achieve operational excellence and deliver competitive manufacturing for the company. The company has also confirmed Ireland remains a key strategic location. Factoring in this decision, Pfizer will still employ almost 4,000 people in Ireland across eight locations. In September 2011, the company announced a €145 million investment in its Grange Castle site to develop a new site to expand the Irish manufacturing process for an invasive pneumococcal vaccine.

The Deputy is correct that the expiry of patents is a problem for a number of companies. In the case of Pfizer, Lipitor was the biggest selling drug in the world by a factor of two. Virtually all of the API was in Cork, as was most of the formulation. Having other investments in the pipeline, Pfizer is itself adapting to the challenges of products going off patent. IDA Ireland has been working for many years to minimise the threat to jobs posed by products coming off patent and has been seeking to diversify Ireland's pharmaceutical base. Its strategy has been to win leading company investment and to diversify the breadth of operations over multi-product sites, including associated services and development of new compounds. Ireland has been enormously successful in attracting eight of the major global players and the world's number one biotechnology company to manufacture from Ireland. IDA Ireland has focused, in particular, on biopharmaceuticals, which represent the next wave of opportunity in the industry, and has been very successful in attracting leading companies, with the result that Ireland now has a globally leading biopharmaceutical cluster in the next generation of pharmaceutical products.

I have been informed by IDA Ireland that employment in their client companies is surveyed annually by Forfás in its annual employment survey. Between 2010 and 2011 net employment in IDA client companies in the pharmaceutical and healthcare services sector increased by approximately 1,400. This is in the context of an overall net gain in employment of 6,118 in 2011. In the first six months of 2012 alone, Ireland has won five major investments in the pharma and biopharma sectors with the capacity to create 1,175 new jobs. We are successfully anticipating the changes that are happening in this sector, as some products come to the end of their protected life and move on to others.

IDA Ireland has assured me that it will continue to seek to win new investments in the pharmaceutical industry and to win large scale investments in product development and capability to enable its existing client companies take on new product mandates.

The examinership at Atlantic Homecare is disappointing and reflects the difficulties facing some retail operators, particularly those with exposure to the construction sector. My thoughts are with the workers whose jobs are under threat at Atlantic Homecare. As has been publicly stated, the 13 store chain has been losing money for the last five years, with losses of €11 million last year. The company has cited high rents as a factor and it is to be hoped this will be addressed in the course of the examinership.

As Deputy O'Dea pointed out, the examinership process will last several months and the stores will continue to trade as usual during the process. The examiner will be preparing a plan for the survival of the business. The company is engaging with the trade union representing staff interests.

Deputy O'Dea raised this issue on previous occasions. He knows the legal advice to the Government is that the hoped for removal of upward only rent provisions from existing contracts could not be implemented by Government.

Deputy Willie O’Dea

I am glad the Minister and IDA Ireland are alive to the danger to employment in the pharmaceutical industry from patents expiring. A number of patents are due to expire in the next two years. This presents a real challenge to maintaining employment in the pharmaceutical industry which, as the Minister knows, is a source of lucrative employment, providing more than 25,000 well-paid jobs. It is also one of the areas the Government has targeted to build and increase employment in the country.

With regard to Atlantic Homecare, the Minister said the company has cited high rents as a factor and that he hopes this will be addressed in the course of the examinership. There is no doubt that it will be addressed in the course of the examinership. However, it is because of high rents that the examinership has had to take place, and the examinership has resulted in the loss of jobs. That is the reality.

The Minister may be aware that Atlantic Homecare was acquired by the Grafton Group, which is continuing to trade very profitably. It is a major deficiency in company law that if a company or group acquires another company, the main group can continue to trade profitably while choosing to put one of its units into examinership. That is a deficiency in company law that should be looked at by the Minister and the Government in the context of the forthcoming Companies Bill.

Deputy Richard Bruton

The situation is not quite as the Deputy projects. Rent is certainly cited as a factor in the examinership of Atlantic Homecare but the big factor is the collapse in revenue. That is clearly stated by the company, and is not untypical of many companies closely connected to the construction sector.

Deputy O'Dea raises a fundamental point of company law. To move from a system that allows the establishment of independent companies with separate businesses while having the protection of limited liability would be a substantial departure in company policy. A change of such major significance would have to be considered long and hard. We know that serial entrepreneurs set up different companies and are often very successful. The ability to establish companies and to have the protection of limited liability is something we give to entrepreneurs. I would not lightly enter into a commitment to accept the Deputy's point. However, I will have my officials look at the suggestion, since the Deputy is putting it forward.

Dáil Éireann debate - Thursday, 7 Jun 2012