Legislation introduced to regulate auditors and accountants was described in the Dáil as a road map to ensure the highest commercial standards.
The Minister of State for Enterprise, Mr Michael Ahern, introduced the Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill, which arose from the Public Accounts Committee's inquiry into the DIRT tax retention controversy.
One of the most controversial sections of the Bill, which was passed in the Seanad, will be amended during its passage through the Dáil.
The section will require auditors to report their clients to the Director of Corporate Enforcement if they fail to produce a compliance statement.
Mr Ahern said the requirements were "entirely reasonable and should not create difficulties for directors who are committed to due diligence in the execution of their duties as directors". He was not imposing "draconian" requirements on company directors but would be making some amendments to the section.
However, the opposition cautioned against too much regulation. Fine Gael's spokesman on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Phil Hogan, had the feeling that the legislation could "constitute an avoidable bureaucracy that will solely benefit professions and civil servants, while costing businesses time, money and effort".
The audit review group's report and the legislation should ensure that "our country can hold its head high" because of good practices and standards of auditing that would protect the taxpayer from "wilful neglect".
But he questioned the need for another supervisory body and said the Bill could be going "a little too far".
Labour's spokesman, Mr Brendan Howlin, said although "rigid, enforceable and transparent standards" were something Labour supported, it had to be achieved without incurring the cost of overly cumbersome regulation which would impact on the nature, type and volume of business in the State, and without impeding the "migration of new business into Ireland".
