SELECT COMMITTEE ON ENTERPRISE AND SMALL BUSINESS debate -
Tuesday, 18 Apr 2000

Vol. 3 No. 16

Business of Select Committee.

Chairman

Before we resume consideration of the Copyright and Related Rights Bill, 1999, I wish to advise the committee that Deputy Conor Lenihan has resigned his position as Government Whip of this committee. I pay tribute to him for his support and commitment as Whip to the committee over recent months and wish him well in his new position as Whip to the Committee of Public Accounts. Deputy John McGuinness has been appointed as Government Whip to this committee.

I wish to advise the committee that the Insurance Bill, 1999, has been referred to the Select Committee by order of the Dáil of 11 April.

Mr. O’Flynn

Will there be any other meetings apart from Select Committee meetings? The reason I ask is because of the serious allegations which appeared in the Irish Examiner yesterday regarding the Competition Authority and the matters highlighted on cartels operating in the buildings material industry and the oil industry. I, respectfully, suggest to the committee that we should consider asking members of the Competition Authority to come here to explain the difficulties on these matters and the resources required.

Chairman

I do not have a problem with that and I agree that we should have a meeting with them. Perhaps the Clerk to the committee will make contact with the Competition Authority to see if it could send representatives to attend the next meeting of the joint committee and Members can be informed accordingly. As the House is not sitting on 2 May, the date which was scheduled for the next meeting of the joint committee, perhaps the Whips will consider the earliest date available for that meeting in light of the fact that 2 May is not suitable. As we also need to discuss the issue of grocery orders with the Competition Authority, the Whips might arrange an appropriate date and time to have such a meeting.

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Tom Kitt, and his officials Mr. Jack Thompson, Mr. John Rutledge and Ms Patricia Phillips. I propose that, as agreed, we will, perhaps, suspend the meeting at 4 p.m. until after the Order of Business. We can review our position at 4 p.m. Is that agreed? Agreed.