Written Answers Nos. 231-246
233. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if the Companies Registration Office has collected more than €215 million in late filing fees alone since the fees were substantially increased to the current levels in October 2001. [20190/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra234. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if companies are consistently late each year with their statutory filings; if the Companies Registration Office currently takes in on average €10 million per annum on late filing fees representing in or around 10% of companies that are late; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20191/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra236. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if the current compliance rate with the CRO filings is in excess of 90%; and her views on whether the true figure for compliance is probably nearer 97% if the CRO takes into account the average of 6,000 companies that are involuntarily struck off the register each year for non-filing of their returns. [20193/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 233, 234 and 236 together.
The Companies Registration Office (“CRO”) receives late filing fees, which are paid by companies which have filed their annual return late, or by companies which have been struck off the register for non-filing and are subsequently re-instated to the register by filing all outstanding returns which are late. These moneys are returned directly to the Exchequer upon receipt.
Since 2001 a total of €231,734,854 has been received by the CRO in respect of late filing of annual returns. In 2016 the CRO received just over €10 million in late filing fees. In 2017 it received just over €8 million.
At present over 93% of Irish registered companies meet their filing date obligations. In 2017 5,420 companies were struck off the register for failure to file annual returns.
235. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if the Companies Registration Office has properly assessed the relevance and usefulness of the current statutory filing requirements for the micro company since the commencement into law of the provisions of the Companies Accounting Act 2017. [20192/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Companies (Accounting) Act 2017 commenced on 9 June 2017 and transposed the 2013 EU Accounting Directive. Along with other amendments to the Companies Act 2014, the 2017 Act introduced the concept of a ‘micro’ category of company, to exist alongside small, medium and large companies.
The obligation on a micro company is to file financial statements annually with the Companies Registration Office (CRO). The CRO is the central repository of public information on Irish companies and business names. The CRO’s Mission Statement is: “to oversee the highest possible rate and quality of annual return filing on the part of companies in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions and to ensure that information on companies published in turn by the CRO is timely and accurately reflects the information provided by those companies.”
The Government is committed to ensuring that the Companies Act 2014 continues to deliver a robust yet competitive corporate regulatory framework for business in Ireland. Consequently, the provisions of the Companies Act 2014, including the recently introduced provisions of the Companies (Accounting) Act 2017, are under continuous review.
237. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if the Companies Registration Office has a strict zero tolerance policy with regard to companies that are late by more than nine months with their statutory returns and that they immediately enter the integrated enforcement environment and will be listed for strike off. [20194/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Companies Registration Office (CRO) takes a number of measures which are designed to help companies and their directors to comply with their statutory obligations to file annual returns. Letters are issued to companies in advance of their annual return date to notify them that their annual return date is imminent. If a company fails to file on time, it will receive a further letter from the CRO warning that they have missed their deadline to file annual returns and advising them to file as soon as possible. If a company still does not file it will receive an enforcement warning letter indicating that in the absence of filing of annual returns within 10 weeks of the letter, enforcement action will be commenced against the company. The Registrar is empowered under the Companies Act 2014 to prosecute or to strike off the companies for non-compliance. If the company is selected for strike off, a statutory strike-off notice is issued. This will indicate that in the absence of filing of the outstanding returns, a notice of impending strike off will be inserted in the CRO Gazette within 28 days. 28 days after that notice has appeared in the CRO Gazette, the company will be struck off the register, unless all outstanding returns have been filed. If a company is selected for strike off, the CRO is required by legislation to send only one warning notice. The CRO is not required to issue notification and reminder letters and this course of action is undertaken to help companies to comply with their statutory obligations. Companies who have been struck off the Register are over 1 year late in the filing of their annual returns.
238. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if the Companies Registration Office, in addition to having wide and strong powers to impose substantial late filing fees and to strike companies off the register for non-compliance, can also impose additional on-the-spot fines; and if the CRO has utilised this enforcement mechanism to assist in CRO compliance as an alternative to the removal of the statutory audit for very small micro companies and small companies. [20195/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra239. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if the Companies Registration Office has strong and wide-ranging additional powers to prosecute both companies and individual company directors in the District Court for non-compliance with their statutory obligations; and the plans of the CRO in this regard. [20196/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 238 and 239 together.
Section 343 obliges companies to make an annual return to the Companies Registration Office. The requirement for a company to file its annual return on time is an important transparency measure. The financial statements and other information that accompany the annual return provide important safeguards for third parties such as suppliers, creditors and employees by giving access to financial information in relation to a company. It is important that this information is provided on a timely basis to be meaningful.
Under section 874 Companies Act 2014, the Registrar of Companies may deliver a notice to a company or person if the Registrar has reasonable grounds for believing that the company is in default in the delivery, filing or making to the Registrar of a return or similar document required under the Companies Act 2014.
A defaulting person or company must, within the period of 21 days following the issue of a notice of on-the-spot fine by the Registrar to that person or company:
- Remedy the default by filing the outstanding annual return(s), and
- Make to the Registrar a payment of the amount set out in the notice.
The defaulting person or company would be prosecuted if the terms of the on-the-spot fine notice are not complied with within the 21-day period.
To date the Companies Registration Office has not utilised this enforcement mechanism as other measures available to it under the Companies Act 2014 have proved to be effective. The measures available to the CRO where a company is in default of its statutory obligations to file are a Court Order under section 797 Companies Act 2014; prosecution under section 865 or involuntary strike-off under Part 12 Chapter 1.
240. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the Company Registration Office's plans with regard to the strong and additional wide ranging powers contained in the Companies Act 2014, in particular with regard to the 714-day warning notice under section 79 that can be sent to the CRO before the Registrar of Companies is entitled to bring a section 797 application before the company and the respondent company directors in the High Court as an alternative to the loss of audit exemption. [20197/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraSection 797 of the Companies Act 2014 provides that the Court may order compliance by a company or officer who has failed to comply with a provision of the Act and has failed to remedy this default within 14 days after the service of a notice requiring the default to be remedied. Section 797(3) provides that the Court may make the Order only on application by one of the following: a member, creditor, the Director of Corporate Enforcement, or the Registrar. Section 797(7) provides that nothing in this section shall prejudice the operation of any enactment imposing penalties. I understand that the Registrar has not, to date, taken an action under this section of the Companies Act 2014.
241. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if she has taken into consideration the peak-time filing deadline of 28 October each year that clashes with the revenue income tax returns deadline of 14 November 2018 and the consequences for accountants with regard to the role of the accountant in assisting the vast majority of companies with their statutory filings. [20198/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra242. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if a sizeable number of applications made on notice to the Registrar of Companies for the section 343 waiver has raised the mental health issues of accountancy practitioners in dealing with a highly stressful environment of satisfying the statutory requirements and meeting deadlines with taxation and CRO matters. [20199/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 241 and 242 together.
Companies can have an annual return date of up to 9 months after their financial year end. Thereafter companies have up to 28 days to file their annual return with the Registrar of Companies and up to a further 28 days to file their accompanying financial statements.
These are final deadlines and therefore it is open to companies, and their accountants where they engage such a service, to submit this information at any time before this date. In this way it is possible for companies and their accountants to manage the deadlines facing them with regard to their statutory obligations.
Furthermore, I am proposing to simplify the filing process further in the Companies (Statutory Audits) Bill 2017 by changing the current two-step process to a single step and giving companies up to 56 days to file their annual return and financial statements. This means a company with a 31 December year end can file its annual return and financial statements any time before 26 November.
Where a company makes an application to the Court for extension of time to file an annual return it may include any information it considers is relevant to the application on the affidavit to the Court. It is a matter for the Court to determine the cases brought before it under section 343 of the Companies Act. The Registrar of Companies does not collate information in relation to accountancy practitioners on the basis set out in the Deputy’s question.
243. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the reliefs available to companies and or accountancy or other practitioners with regard to the expected new statutory deadline of 1 November 2018 expected to be introduced shortly with regard to the mandatory e-filing of details of the beneficial owners of companies and industrial and provident societies and co-op’s introduced on foot of SI No 560 of 2016 and the provisions of the 4th EU anti-money laundering directive. [20200/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince 15 November 2016, the European Union (Anti-Money Laundering: Beneficial Ownership of Corporate Entities) Regulations 2016 (Statutory Instrument No. 560 of 2016) has required all corporate and legal entities to hold adequate, accurate and current information on their beneficial owner(s) in their own register.
Article 30.3 of the EU Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4AMLD) specifies that Member States are to ensure that such beneficial ownership information is held in a central register.
The Department of Finance is currently working with the OPC on drafting a Statutory Instrument for the establishment of such a central register, which is expected to be made in the coming months, by the Minister for Finance.
Technical work to launch this register as required by the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive is at an advanced stage.
244. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health the amount of superannuation contributions paid by nurses of all disciplines in each of the years from 2015 to 2017, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19681/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra245. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health the amount of public service pension reduction, PSPR, deductions paid by nurses of all disciplines in each of the years from 2015 to 2017, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19682/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra246. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health the amount of pension payments received by nurses of all disciplines in each of the years from 2015 to 2017, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19683/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 244 to 246, inclusive, together.
I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly on this matter.
