Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to speak on the Bill. The Financial Action Task Force recommendations include more transparency on ownership and control of companies, trusts and other legal persons; the clarification of rules on customer due diligence to ensure better knowledge of customers and better understanding of their business; the expansion of provisions dealing with politically exposed persons to cover national and international organisations; including tax offences as a predicate offence to money laundering; and more effective international co-operation. Deputy Ross mentioned flowery and vague language which is difficult to understand. Surely these recommendations are prerequisites and we should already be co-operating.

This week Ireland will chair a meeting on this issue and I wish the officials well in this regard. We have been exposed around the world as being weak in this area, and our financial crisis has surely laid bare any illusions of Ireland being a compliant country with strong laws. We have two Irelands, one for the rich and big business and another for PAYE workers and small businesses. The latter groups used to be the middle class, but have now been corralled into desperate poverty, penury and destitution while those in the Ireland which wrecked the country, who amount to fewer than 100 and possibly fewer than 50 or 60 people, have not yet been fully arraigned and brought before the courts. We hear talk about charges being brought and I do not know how many thousands of documents have been filed in the Garda investigation.

We have had no proper investigation of the banking crisis. The Ansbacher accounts were mentioned and the most recent financial crisis probably started much earlier than 2007 or 2008. We have had no meaningful investigation whatsoever because we are protecting senior people of past administrations. It must be the same for the current administration because it promised everything including burning the bondholders-----

See this speech in context