Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)

The Bill aims to make it easier for the Garda to investigate white collar crime and complex crime cases. It deals with a range of offences relating to banking, investment funds and financial services activities and its provisions will also have benefits in wider criminal investigations.

There is a great deal of frustration and anger in the country about the lack of movement on the prosecution of fraudulent activity in the banks. Why it took more than 13 months for anyone to be arrested and questioned about the goings on in Anglo Irish Bank is a source of huge anger in our communities. We have also heard that the former chief executive officer of Irish Nationwide Building Society has still not repaid his €1 million retirement bonus, despite everything that had gone on in that institution. Too often in Ireland we have been good at bringing in regulation and very weak at enforcing it. This is at its most obvious in the banks and the banking fiasco that we have suffered through over the past three years and will pay for for many years to come.

In the words of the song, "an outlaw robs you with a gun and a banker with a fountain pen" but the bankers walk away with golden handshakes and massive bonuses. We need to change drastically the view among the establishment in Ireland that the only criminals are those who deal in drugs or those involved in violent crime or robbery. White collar crime is just as poisonous in society and has to be treated as such.

Transparency International's 2009 country study states:

Financial regulations, where they have applied to Ireland's financial sector, appear to have been enforced sporadically. Irish businesses have also lagged behind other countries in terms of their commitment to fraud and corruption risk management.

If this legislation contributes to changing these attitudes, then it will be welcome. However, the study also states, "legislation, new anti-corruption bodies and increased resources will not effect change on their own" and what needs to change is the "ambivalence that appears to be shared by many in positions of authority".

The Bill attempts to make it easier for the Garda to investigate white collar crime by ensuring information is provided in a timely, organised fashion and it also creates a new offence of not reporting a crime by individuals who may be aware of it. It also provides for the suspension of detention in certain circumstances, most notably between 12 midnight and 8 a.m. This provision is also welcome because we have to remember that any person being questioned should be subject to the presumption of innocence and we need to keep that in mind at all times. I understand this provision will apply for all suspects, except murder suspects, in Garda custody. Too often in the past, suspects have admitted crimes under duress that could have been caused by lack of sleep and exhaustion that have led to high profile miscarriages of justice. A miscarriage of justice in white collar crime is just as serious as any miscarriage of justice and should not be tolerated.

There is no shortage of legislation or regulation to prosecute white collar crime. As an eminent senior counsel stated at a recent Irish Criminal Bar Association conference, "the prosecutorial weapons are there, we are just choosing not to use them". This could be because of the sectoral aspects of the crimes under the various Acts that govern white collar crime such as the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud) Act 2010, the Companies Acts 1963, Central Bank Acts and financial services authorities Act. This results in a complex system for the Garda and the DPP to trawl through.

The other weakness in the system is the lack of comprehensive whistleblowers' legislation. This is provided for in the programme for Government but, as has been stated, it has been placed on the C list in the legislative programme. This Bill will not be as effective as hoped without adequate protection for whistleblowers. Such protection is provided in some legislation but again it is sectoral in effect. This Bill needs to be promoted on the list to ensure the fight against white collar crime can be effective. Simple legislation could cover the public and private sectors and ensure people who highlight crime in the public interest do not suffer for that.

I hope the legislation makes the investigation process easier but we also need to change the attitudes to white collar crime that exist within the community and the establishment.

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