Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 October 2013
304. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide a list of the Acts or specific provisions of Acts under his Department that have not yet been commenced; if it is intended to commence the provision in each case; if so, when; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40602/13]
View answerIn the time available for response to this question, my Department has identified the following provisions of legislation, which have not yet been commenced.
Under the Industrial Development Act 1993, Forfás is the overall employer of both its own staff and those of Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland.
The Industrial Development (Enterprise Ireland) Act, 1998, made provision for Enterprise Ireland (Sections 18, 19 and 20) and IDA (Sections 36, 37 and 38) to assume the role of employer, subject to Ministerial Order, should this become necessary at some time in the future. The Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) Act 2003 (Sections 19, 20 and 21) made similar provision for SFI to assume the role of employer. These sections have not been commenced.
The following Sections of the Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) Act 2003 have not been commenced: Section 19, which concerns the powers of Science Foundation Ireland to employ its own staff; Section 20, which concerns arrangements for when staff of Forfás are seconded to Science Foundation Ireland; and Section 21, which concerns arrangements for superannuation being administered by Science Foundation Ireland for its employees. As Forfás continues to be the legal employer of all staff in a number of agencies under the aegis of my Department, including those of Science Foundation Ireland, it has not been appropriate or necessary to commence these three sections in the 2003 Act.
With the proposed integration of Forfás into my Department, it will be necessary to establish these agencies as employers of their own staff on the dissolution of Forfás. These matters will be addressed in the context of the forthcoming Industrial Development (Forfás) Bill which will dissolve Forfás and transfer its functions to the Department of Jobs and Enterprise.
In relation to the Dangerous Substances Act 1972, provisions relating to explosives which did not commence are:
Part II of that Act, Section 7 (1) and the Schedule to that Act in so far as they refer to the Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act 1854, the Explosives Act 1875, the Customs and Inland Revenue Act 1883, the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 and the Revenue Act 1909; Section 7 (2) of that Act, and any other provision of the Dangerous Substances Act 1972, to the extent that the provision is applicable to or for the purposes of explosives within the meaning of section 9 (1) of that Act.
It is not intended that Sections 48 and 49 of the Consumer Protection Act 2007 will be commenced as the Attorney General has advised that the provisions are inimical to the maximum harmonisation nature of the Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices which was transposed into Irish law by the Consumer Protection Act 2007.
Section 109 of the Company Law Enforcement Act 2001 would enable the Director of Corporate Enforcement to levy fines for company law breaches subject to summary prosecution. It is proposed that the Company Law Enforcement Act 2001 will be repealed by the Companies Bill. Following enactment of this Bill, consideration will be given as to the timing of the commencement of the provisions in the Act.
Section 31 of the Investment Funds, Company and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2005 has been partially commenced. The Section has not been commenced as regards the repeal of existing market abuse laws as they relate to unregulated markets. A proposal for an EU Regulation, extending the Market Abuse Directive to new markets, is currently under negotiation at EU level by the Department of Finance.
Section 62 would allow Directors acting for more than one company to send a single notification to Companies Registration Office regarding a change in his or her name or address. To implement the provision will require software development, in addition to Orders specifying forms to be used and fees to be applied, before it can be commenced.
Section 72 has been partially commenced by the Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2005 (Section 72) (Commencement) Order 2012 (S.I. 449/12).
Sections 9(2)(l), 15(2), 26, 29(5), 34, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 and 59 of the Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act 2003 have not been commenced or given effect to date but, provisions with equivalent or broadly equivalent effect , are being included in the Companies Bill 2012.
