Tom Barry (Cork East, Fine Gael)

I welcome the introduction of the Bill, which coming 60 days into the new Government shows its priorities and honours the commitment in the programme for Government. I agree with the previous speaker that it is unbelievable that the Opposition benches are empty and that only Government Members are speaking. It shows that our priority is to tackle white-collar crime. It should be remembered that Fine Gael-led Governments have a good track record in this area. In 1996 under the stewardship of the then Minister for Justice, Nora Owen, the Criminal Assets Bureau was formed, which has proved to be a major success.

It is evident that the Bill has been prepared sadly on the basis of experience. What we have seen in recent years with regards to white-collar crime is despicable. Many people in the banking profession acted with impunity and they seem to have absolutely no fear. The only fear these people may have is the fear of losing their personal freedom. The loss of money, while it might be an inconvenience to many of them, is temporary because money for many of them opened all doors - it even opened political doors. There was a certain acceptance of this loose behaviour with light-touch regulation - in fact one could argue no regulation at all. In some instances a celebrity-type status was conferred on these people. These were rogues and fraudsters who were being treated as if they were celebrities, which was unbelievable. Their behaviour did not seem to hurt anybody directly or impinge on the citizens as no grievous bodily harm was inflicted. However, unfortunately the consequences of their callous greed are now blatantly obvious in every household and business in the country. It is not a victimless crime. The victims are my generation and the next. It has more victims than we could possibly name and has absolutely destroyed the country. What was enough for these people? When did they have enough? Some people would say they had enough if they had three solid meals a day and a roof over their head, could rear their family and educate them decently, but for these people money was their god and they just never had enough - €1 million or €10 million, one could keep throwing it on but it was just not enough to satisfy their voracious appetite. However, time is up.

It is no wonder that the people are disillusioned with what has happened. They feel there have been a lack of accountability and a failure to address these demigods, a failure in accountability and a failure to get these people behind bars. People feel it has taken too long and while this is going on they look at their bank accounts and their circumstances and feel they do not have enough on which to live. Every person has been affected by this. However, the Bill sets things straight and is a move in the right direction.

Section 7 deals with suspended detention, which is a great idea. It allows those carrying out the investigation to pause and consider. They can go back and check it out, and bring on the investigation. It is obvious that they have been hitting a brick wall up to now and this is a major help to them. Section 3 lists the offences specified by order of the Minister namely:

(a) banking, investment of funds and other financial activities,

(b) company law,

(c) money laundering and financing terrorism,

(d) theft and fraud,

(e) bribery and corruption,

(f) competition and consumer protection,

(g) criminal acts involving the use of electronic communication networks and information systems or against such networks or systems or both, or

(h) the raising and collection of taxes and duties,

I have some concerns about the mention of competition and consumer protection. While it is vital to pursue vigorously white collar crime, there may be an overlap with competition law and this is a delicate area. The Schedule refers to: "19. An offence under Regulation 5 or 6 of the Market Abuse (Directive 2003/6/EC) Regulations 2005 (S.I. No. 342 of 2005)" and "29. An offence under section 65 of the Consumer Protection Act 2007." It is somewhat delicate because I am holding in my hand a copy of a search warrant for the Irish Farmers Association that was used a few days ago with regard to the price fixing of liquid milk in groceries.

It is the IFA's job to represent farmers and it is their right to look for a fair and honest price. Parties will always fight for what they believe is right. We must be cautious and ensure the legislation does not impinge on the right to represent.

Section 15(5) sends out a clear message on the withholding of information. It does even more in that it asks that information be presented in a clear, concise fashion. Presenting volumes of material on banking in such a way that makes it almost impossible to organise in a legible and orderly fashion puts the onus on the accused to sort out the documents.

Consider the famous electronic passwords. How many Irish people were aghast when passwords were not being released by certain bankers? It beggars belief that people could actually refuse to allow investigators access to passwords but the legislation will deal with this. The legislation specifies that information cannot be encrypted and must be in a readable format. Obviously investigators were given all sorts of mucked-up information to slow them down. The Bill needs to be tied in with the whistleblowers Bill to ensure people who give information honestly are protected and encouraged.

Section 16 deals with privileged legal material. The concept of privilege has been used to slow down and frustrate investigations. This is now being dealt with in a proper fashion because experienced people are to be allowed to assist district court judges. A case can be taken in the District Court rather quickly. If it is appealed to the Circuit Court, it will be dealt with within two to four weeks. The legislation will expedite cases rather quickly, which is a blessing in itself.

Evidential presumption comprised another method to slow down investigations. This has been addressed.

This Bill is tackling white-collar crime in a serious way. I look forward to the remaining contributions.

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