Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 May 2024
263. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he is aware that directors of a company (details supplied) have 37 directorships; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22727/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere is a responsibility on company directors to ensure that they adhere to the requirements of company law. In this regard, section 142 of the Companies Act 2014 (the 2014 Act) limits the number of directorships that an individual can hold at a particular time to 25.
There are exceptions to this general rule and section 142 provides that in reckoning whether an individual has 25 directorships, the following directorships are not included : public liability companies; companies in respect of which a certificate under section 140 of the 2014 Act is in force; companies that hold licences under section 9 of the Central Bank Act 1971 or fall within any provision (in so far as applicable to a private company limited by shares) of Schedule 5 of the 2014 Act. Finally, if an individual is a director of a holding company and a director of a subsidiary of the holding company, then those two directorships count as one.
An individual not adhering to the limitation requirements of the number of directorships is committing an offence and is liable to prosecution. Furthermore, any appointment of an individual as a director in breach of these requirements is void.
Identifying situations where a director may be in breach of this requirement has been problematic due to variations in director information provided to the Registrar of Companies (e.g. where individuals register as directors using different versions of their name or with different addresses). This potential for duplication has been addressed with the requirement for directors to provide PPSN details on filings with the CRO from June 2023 onwards.
