Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom mo chuid ama a roinnt leis an Teachta Cullinane agus an Teachta Buckley. Cuirim fáilte roimh an mBille seo. Beidh Sinn Féin ag tacú leis. Tá sé i gceist againn leasuithe a mholadh ar Chéim an Choiste ós rud é gur dóigh linn gur féidir an reachtaíocht a láidriú. Tá go leor foráil a d'fhéadfaí a dhéanamh nach bhfuil sa Bhille faoi láthair. Ba chóir go mbeidís ann ionas go mbeidh an reachtaíocht seo mar uirlis níos fearr agus muid ag dul i ngleic le caimiléireacht agus iompar mar sin.

We will be supporting this legislation. It brings current laws on corruption up to date and consolidates them. It also implements a number of international and EU obligations upon the State. There are absences from the legislation, items that we have flagged over a number of years. We will return to them on Committee Stage and I will identify some of them during my contribution. The Bill aims to clarify and strengthen corruption offences in this jurisdiction and those from outside it but acting within it. It provides greater clarity on trading in influence offences, which is overdue. I raised this under questions on promised legislation six or seven weeks ago, so I welcome the fact that the Minister has brought it before the House relatively speedily.

Whether in public life or in business or commerce, corruption has been part of the history of our State.

We have had tribunals of inquiry investigating various issues, including planning corruption, zoning controversies, bribery, corporate fraud, significant Government contracts awarded in a process subsequently found to be biased and defective, unexplained payments, and a banking crisis in which nobody paid the price for their actions. Against that background, we have also had people who played a brave role in taking a stand against corruption, in highlighting it and in whistleblowing.

The State's attitude towards corporate fraud and corruption, however, has been casual and slack. Although not exclusively confined to white-collar crime, to date it appears the Government has been most passive in this area. The Bill recognises little has been done in this area since Fine Gael took office. I hope it will address such cultural issues, particularly in institutions and sectors where questionable practices almost appear to be the norm.

My opinion was reflected in a study, conducted by EY in June 2017, where 47% of Irish employees interviewed believed bribery and corrupt practices were widespread, while 22% stated they would be prepared to act unethically to improve their career progression or remuneration package. These figures are notably higher than the western European average, where 33% of those who took part saw bribery and corruption as widespread. A significant proportion of Irish employees suggested their concerns relating to fraud or corruption led them to consider resigning. However, 56% of respondents who considered leaving a company ultimately stayed. That figure was 19% higher than the average across all the regions surveyed. Future career progression was cited as the main reason for not reporting fraudulent practices while fear for personal safety followed.

This is a culture which must change. It goes right to the top of many institutions, be they public or private, throughout the State. To state otherwise would be to be blind to the past. The Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, ODCE, is in need of a serious overhaul. It has brought no prosecutions and achieved no convictions in this State over the past two years. Only 43 prosecutions have been brought by the ODCE in the past decade, a shockingly low amount over this time, especially given the context of what happened since 2007. It has also recently come to light that the most senior Garda position in the ODCE has been vacant since September 2016. Why is this the case? It would be welcome if the Minister could shed light on this.

In addition, the annual reports of the ODCE show that almost €6 million in its allocated funding has been returned to the State over the past three years alone, including €2.7 million in 2016. In the same year, no prosecutions or convictions were achieved by the agency. That simply is not good enough. There is clearly a requirement for an overhaul of the agency as well as more investment in it. I do not have to tell the Minister that the one matter which most frustrated the population over the course of the recession was that while people suffered, some grievously, it appeared no one would be brought to justice for the banking crisis. We did not see the level of court cases that were brought in the US or in other jurisdictions, where corrupt, immoral and reckless to the point of wrongdoing practices took place. We did not see the people who many felt were responsible brought to justice. This may have been due to deficiencies in legislation. It was also because of the under-resourcing of and lack of support for the ODCE.

The issue of the fraud and theft in tracker mortgages was in many ways related to serious wrongdoing on the part of the banks, right up to criminal behaviour. The ODCE was charged with ensuring compliance with company law and bringing to account those who breached it. These statistics paint a worrying picture of the effectiveness of this agency and of the policing of white-collar crime. I welcome the overhaul of this office announced two weeks ago, as it was long overdue. The Bill should support and complement such an overhaul. However, it will require amendments and additional legislation.

I note the overall package of actions on white-collar crime, launched to much fanfare. While elements of it are welcome, there are absences too. There is no dealing with the issue of reckless lending. There is little about individual accountability, beyond what the EU already recommended, and the consolidation of mostly already existing offences. Even issues raised by the Central Bank, like the need for a new offence of giving misleading information to the Central Bank, was not addressed, which is disappointing. It could and should have happened. My colleague Deputy Pearse Doherty noted:

It will not bring about the cultural and legal changes the State needs. Today's plan simply would not have prevented the banking crash or even seen any more of its perpetrators held accountable in a court.

That is the standard by which we should measure actions on white-collar crime. The legislation on multi-party or class actions debated last night would be relevant in holding such bodies or individuals to account.

Many of the sections relate to consolidation of existing legislation, which is positive in dealing with piecemeal provisions, and enacting EU directives. I welcome this, although there are some absences. New provisions, such as sections 7 and 8, recommended by the Mahon tribunal, relate to an act carried out by officials for the purposes of obtaining a gift corruptly or the giving of gifts.

Section 17(4)(c) provides for the prohibition of a person from seeking public office for a period of up to ten years following conviction on indictment for certain corruption offences. This prohibition will not apply to a person seeking to be elected to the Dáil, Seanad, European Parliament or a local authority. That covers nearly all public offices.

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