Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

Before Committee Stage the Minister consulted with the Parliamentary Counsel and the Office of the Attorney General about a similar amendment which, on the face of it, appeared to raise a valid point. The proper citation for the Prevention of Corruption Acts is the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889-2005. However, the reference to section 1 of the Act changes everything. It is not the intention to allow data to be retained for the investigation of every offence under the Prevention of Corruption Acts. The only offence in respect of which data can be retained is section 1 of the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889, which created an offence for any member, officer or agent of a public body to corruptly solicit, receive or agree to receive and give a gift, loan, fee, reward or advantage. The maximum custodial penalty under section 2 of the Act is two years imprisonment.

Sections 1 and 2 of the 1889 Act were amended by section 38 of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995. It raised the maximum custodial penalty to seven years. This means the relevance of the inclusion of the Prevention of Corruption Acts in the Schedule is of persons being investigated for offences under section 1 of the 1889 Act, alleged to have been committed before the commencement of section 1 of the 1995 Act. For this reason, the reference to the Prevention of Corruption Acts, that is, section 1 of the 1889 and 1995 Acts, is correct, although there is at least one other correct way it could have been drafted. However, it would not be correct to refer, in the reference to the Prevention of Corruption Acts, to any Act after the 1995 Act, as the amendment of section 1 of the 1889 Act was in the 1995 Act. I realise the point I am making raises questions of a technical, drafting nature and, as I said at the outset, the amendment tabled by Deputy Sherlock seemed to be correct or at least raised a valid point, but the parliamentary draftsman has convinced the Minister that the reference in the Bill is correct.

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