Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Okay. It was reported recently that Ireland's rating in the corruption perception index has slipped. We have gone backwards, which is clearly not good. There is a perception - I will not put it more strongly than that - among the people we meet when we are able to be out and about, canvassing or knocking on doors about the extent to which white-collar crime is happening. I have to be straight - this perception extends to the extent to which people perceive that the State is ignoring it. People feel that someone who goes to work in a suit is less likely to be prosecuted, etc. That is the perception that people have and it is genuinely held. Does Ms McNamara believe the general scheme as outlined can ensure that our National Consumer Agency can rigorously tackle white-collar crime to the point where people are reassured? There is no point in sitting here pretending that people think everything is all right and every piece of white-collar crime is coming across the desk of the relevant person and being investigated. There is a perception that a certain amount goes on that is never tackled. Does Ms McNamara have confidence that the powers proposed in this Bill will make a real and substantial difference in the area of white-collar crime? I have spoken to the ODCE, which describes the people it deals with as litigious and having deep pockets. We know who these people are. They are not small-time operators. As Ms McNamara has said, they are bidding for big contracts and we are talking about serious money. I am conscious of the perception and I appreciate that rigorous action must be taken to address that. I would be interested to hear whether it is Ms McNamara's position that the powers proposed in the Bill are sufficient?