John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

The proposed amendment is the third attempt to extend the scope of extra-territorial brokering controls beyond Irish citizens and companies. I thank Deputy Penrose for tabling the amendment, which takes on board the points raised by the Government in our previous deliberations, particularly with regard to the difficulty of finding an adequate legal definition to encompass non-nationals who reside in Ireland and who may engage in illicit brokering outside the State.

I assure the House that my Department and the Office of the Attorney General subjected this section to the closest scrutiny to determine if it was possible to expand the scope of extra-territorial controls. I regret that on foot of this examination the advice remains that this is a legally complex matter which could potentially open the door to a legal challenge to the legislation.

While the term "ordinarily resident" has a specific meaning for taxation purposes, it does not offer sufficient, solid legal ground to withstand argument. The scrutiny has, however, had a positive impact in that it resulted in the identification by the Attorney General of a potential problem with the section, as currently drafted. He correctly pointed out that extra-territorial brokering controls should only be exercised outside the European Union as each member state has a similar obligation to control brokering activities within its jurisdiction. Were Ireland to provide for a capacity to control brokering activities in another EU member state, it could somehow imply that we do not trust our partners to comply with their obligations.

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