Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In its report last October, the Law Reform Commission recommended a corporate crime agency. I was my party's justice spokesperson and I remember at the time a key contribution was made by Remy Farrell, a senior counsel. He was heavily critical and stated it had never been a better time for white-collar crime. He referred to the dramatic under-resourcing of a range of agencies, including the ODCE that had one accountant at the time, which was shocking, the Garda bureau of fraud investigation and the Garda computer crime investigation unit. It was a mockery when we consider our State was brought down and made bankrupt by the reckless behaviour of people in the white-collar sector. It astounding that in 2014, six years after the State collapsed, we had completely under-resourced the agencies responsible for ensuring proper regulatory oversight of the various business sectors. One of the strong recommendations of Remy Farrell and others at the time was the need for one agency under one roof where all of these matters would be dealt with. This is why I need a very strong understanding of why the Department is proceeding in this direction and not with the Law Reform's Commission's recommendation for a corporate crime agency.