Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The collapse of the longest running criminal trial in history, involving charges against Sean FitzPatrick, former chairman of Anglo Irish Bank, represents a damning indictment of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, ODCE, but also reflects poorly on the Garda and indeed on the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. In essence, the State's capacity to investigate serious white-collar crime has been shown to be inept, negligible, wasteful and virtually redundant. It raises fundamental questions about the continued existence and effectiveness of the ODCE and makes it an imperative to consider alternative mechanisms to deal with white-collar crime in this country.

This has been, by any measure, a catastrophic systemic failure. The reputation of the ODCE is in shreds. There was a nine-year investigation that cost tens of millions of euro. Documents were shredded and the method of taking witness statements was fundamentally flawed. The judge described them as statements by committee. The ODCE was trying to build a case rather than investigating a case impartially and independently. There was a high degree of coaching and cross-contamination in the preparation of statements. The statement-making process involved negotiations between investigators and solicitors A&L Goodbody, and resulted in witness statements included in the book of evidence that had been drafted entirely by people other than the witnesses themselves.

In the judge's words, the statements of Mr. Bergin and Mr. Kelly were scripted, coached, and contaminated by the views of others, including the ODCE. They were cross-contaminated in every significant detail from start to finish. Significantly, the ODCE accepts this criticism. There had been missing evidence, evidence of innocence had not been pursued and so on.

The handling of this case shatters public confidence in the prosecution of white-collar crime in this country. The jury never got to make the call because of the shambolic handling of the case. This raises fundamental questions. Given the gravity of the case and what it reveals, will the Taoiseach ensure that the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, comes before the Dáil to make a statement on the case and take questions? Can the Taoiseach confirm that the Minister has received a report from the Director of Corporate Enforcement in respect of this case or that she has sought such a report from him? Has the Government considered this? Let us be straight; there were indications of how this case might turn out for quite some time. All the issues have now been revealed in the public domain. It seems that the Government must have considered these matters at some stage. What is its response?

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