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Company Law

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 April 2014

Tuesday, 8 April 2014

Questions (261)

Gerald Nash

Question:

261. Deputy Gerald Nash asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will make any amendments to company directors legislation to ensure a more robust response against company directors who are prosecuted and convicted for failing to remit contributions to a pension scheme having deducting them from an employee's pay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16059/14]

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Written answers

Part 14 of the Companies Bill 2012 brings together the various compliance and enforcement provisions of company law, with the aim of providing greater transparency and making compliance and enforcement easier. The Bill provides for offences and creates sanctions for breaches of Company Law only and therefore, the specific behaviour described by the Deputy is not provided for in the Bill. However, the Bill re-enacts existing law by providing for automatic disqualification of a director for a period of five years or such other period as the court may order, where a person has been convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty or an offence on indictment in relation to a company. A person who contravenes a disqualification order shall be guilty of a category 2 offence and the period of disqualification shall be extended to a further period of 10 years or as the court may order.

The Companies Bill 2012 contains a new four-tier scheme of criminal offences in relation to company law (section 872, of the Bill as initiated). As a result of this categorisation and the introduction of uniform maximum fines and terms of imprisonment for offences, a number of existing offences will carry higher penalties under the Bill. In the case of the category 2 offence referred to above, this carries a penalty, (a) on summary conviction, of a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.

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