Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

Amendments Nos. 3, 6, 8 and 9 deal with the definitions of various professional groups and the application of these terms within the Bill. The reason for including the definitions "barrister" meaning a practising barrister and "solicitor" meaning a practising solicitor is to clarify that the persons referred to are practising in their professions.

The amendments to section 40 relate to the reliance on the relevant third party to carry out customary due diligence. The amendments replace the references to "Law Society of Ireland" in sections 40(1)(a)(iv) and 40(1)(a)(vi) with "solicitor". The reference to a member of the Law Society of Ireland could have the effect of including persons who are members but not practising, such as myself and probably Deputy Flanagan, although I do not know about that. As the legislation stands, such persons could be relied upon under the third party provisions.

The inclusion of definitions for members of a designated accountancy body and the Irish Taxation Institute is due to the fact that the current reference to members could have the effect of including persons not subject to the regulatory regime, for example, students in those bodies. In addition, membership of such bodies is a criterion used in several importance sections. As a consequence, the definition of a relevant profession adviser has also been amended because it is no longer necessary to refer to the condition stated and these provisions will now be covered by individual definitions.

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