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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 11 May 1993

Vol. 430 No. 5

Written Answers. - Register of Interests.

Ivan Yates

Ceist:

110 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Finance if, as a former shareholder of Greencore, he was advised of the details of recent payments by that company to two former executives in relation to a settlement concerning Sugar Distributors Ltd.; and if he has any proposals to ensure that, in future, executives of semi-State companies cannot be shareholders in their subsidiaries.

The Deputy will be aware that Greencore is a public limited company and as such is bound by Stock Exchange rules. Under these rules, a company is precluded from passing information to selected shareholders without making it available at the same time to all shareholders. Consequently the company was precluded from advising me, as an ordinary shareholder in the company, of the details of the settlement which was agreed by company management.

In relation to the second question raised by the Deputy, he will be aware that the Programme for a Partnership Government includes a commitment to enact an Ethics in Government Bill, which will cover,inter alia, the introduction of a register of interests for senior executives of State bodies. Such a register would obviously require a declaration of shareholdings, if any, by the persons to whom the register applies. It would be a matter for the boards of State bodies to determine the relevance of any declaration so made.
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