Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

From listening to the discussion it is clear that white collar crime is not taken seriously in this country. It was said people are outraged. I do not think they are outraged; I think they are not surprised at what happened in this court case because they did not expect any other outcome. Working class people in particular did not expect anyone to be prosecuted for what happened.

I have several questions. Obviously, the ODCE is not fit for purpose but, in the interim, has the Minister any intention to increase staff or funding for this office? At what stage did the Minister become aware of the serious failings and problems within the ODCE in regard to this case? Due to the failure of the ODCE while under the Minister's Department, is she happy to keep it within the remit of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation or does she think it would be more successful under the watch of another Department? More importantly, if this case was so flawed and unsound, why did it take 127 days of a trial and millions of euro, which were no doubt wasted on legal services, to realise it could not proceed?

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