I thank the Cathaoirleach for the opportunity to comment because I was obliged to leave the Chamber on Committee Stage and I was unable to comment on an amendment in my name which related to section 15.
I plead with the Tánaiste to give further consideration to the amendment in question before the Bill is taken in the Dáil because it was designed to take account of situations where large Irish companies, such as the Kerry Group, CRH, Elan, etc, conducting worldwide operations which, in the course of trading, acquire bona fide businesses in other jurisdictions that do not trade in Ireland. As I understand it, these companies are obliged to notify these acquisitions to the Minister under current legislation and will be obliged to notify the Competition Authority once the Bill is enacted. This seems nonsensical and it is difficult to imagine why the authority needs to have any scope for review of a transaction that has no impact on competition in this State. It imposes additional burdens on the companies concerned and places an additional administrative burden on the Competition Authority.
In the interests of improved competitiveness and increasing efficiencies, it is imperative that the Tánaiste recognises and caters for this situation. I suggest that Irish businesses which operate in an international environment should be free to conduct business without any unnecessary administrative shackles. I notice that—