Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 February 2023
114. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the early experience with the small company rescue scheme is showing it has the capacity to allow viable businesses restructure arrangements in order that jobs and livelihoods can be sustained. [8135/23]
View answerThe Companies (Rescue Process for Small and Micro Companies) Act 2021, which provides for the Small Company Administrative Rescue Process, came into effect on 7 December 2021. The legislation was developed in close collaboration with stakeholders, via the Company Law Review Group, to ensure that the Process reflects a fair balance of interests of parties affected by corporate rescue.
I am pleased the Process, which provides an accessible and cost-effective restructuring process for small viable companies experiencing temporary financial problems, has been welcomed as a valuable addition to the State’s restructuring toolkit for our small company sector which accounts for over 98% of companies and employs in the region of 788,000 people.
My Department is monitoring the usage of the Process and to date, 24 small companies have availed of the Process. The decision to enter the Process is a matter for individual firms and their respective advisers. The availability of the Process as a means to restructure can also encourage creditors to engage constructively with viable companies in distress, diminishing the necessity to enter into it.
