Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On 2 November last year, the Government published a suite of measures aimed at enhancing corporate governance, increasing transparency and strengthening Ireland's response to white-collar crime. The implementation of these measures is progressing across three Departments, namely, the Departments of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Justice and Equality and Finance.

With regard to my Department, since that publication was launched work on the development of the legislative framework for the establishment of the ODCE as an agency has commenced. It is expected that the general scheme of a Bill to give effect to this decision will be published by the second quarter of 2018, with publication of the Bill by the fourth quarter of 2018. The Companies (Statutory Audits) Bill was published on 6 November 2017. The Second Stage debate on that Bill took place on 23 January 2018 and Committee Stage is scheduled for 21 February 2018. The Company Law Review Group has submitted its report on corporate governance. This is currently being examined with a view to further enhancing the corporate governance provisions of the Companies Act 2014. The public consultation to seek views from stakeholders to inform the transposition of the shareholders' rights directive commenced ahead of schedule, with responses due back by 9 February 2018.

In parallel with the implementation of these measures, the ODCE has played and continues to play a vital role in undertaking its statutory functions, as set out in the Companies Act 2014.

The ODCE annual report for 2016 points to a number of key successes during the year, as follows: following the examination of reports submitted to the office by liquidators of insolvent companies, 90 company directors were restricted and 11 disqualified by the High Court; in keeping with the ongoing strategic shift towards the investigation of more serious indications of wrongdoing, five investigation files were submitted to the DPP; as an alternative to formal enforcement actions, cautions were issued to a total of 61 companies; 108 directions were issued to relevant parties requiring them to comply with their statutory obligations under company law; and the securing of the rectification on a non-statutory basis, of suspected infringements of the Companies Act 2014, in regard to directors' loans in 60 cases, to an aggregate value of €17 million approximately.

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In terms of prosecutions, the Director of Corporate Enforcement is only statutorily empowered to initiate summary prosecutions, that is, prosecutions of relatively minor offences in the District Court. More serious alleged breaches of company law are prosecuted on indictment in the Circuit Court and only the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, can direct that charges be preferred on indictment.

The ODCE has also been successful in recent high-profile white-collar crime prosecutions. In 2014, two individuals were convicted for the giving of unlawful financial assistance by Anglo Irish Bank for the purchase of its own shares. In 2016, an individual was convicted for fraudulent trading on foot of a plea of guilty. Also in 2016, another individual was convicted for failing to maintain a licensed bank's register of loans to directors on foot of a plea of guilty. In 2017, a person was arrested and charged with fraudulent trading based on an invoice discounting fraud and entered a plea of guilty.

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