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

An account of the investigative failures identified by Judge Aylmer is being finalised. The purpose of publishing this account is to understand the factors that led to such mistakes being made and to ensure that appropriate steps have been taken to address these shortcomings.

On 9 March, Judge Aylmer granted approval to publish some of the transcripts of the trial, limited to the rulings of the court concerning investigative failures made on specific dates. The account is now being finalised on this basis. It is intended that the account will be published as soon as possible.

A key action in the Government's package of measures to strengthen Ireland's response to white-collar crime centres around the establishment of the ODCE as an agency. It is expected that the general scheme of a Bill to give effect to this decision will be published by the end of the second quarter of 2018, with publication of the Bill by the fourth quarter of 2018.

Changing the structure of the ODCE from an office to a statutory agency will provide greater autonomy to the agency and ensure it is better equipped to investigate increasingly complex breaches of company law. Sourcing of expertise and specialist staff, such as forensic accountants, will be enhanced under the agency model.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the new agency will be created in keeping with international best practice, including its internal controls, staffing, budget and corporate governance. My Department will engage with the OECD to seek its assistance in taking account of international best practice in the establishment of the agency.

The ODCE has played and continues to play a vital role in facilitating compliance and enforcement of company law. It has 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 of 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, entered a plea of guilty and was sentenced, in March 2018, to 18 months in prison, with the final six months suspended. The person was also disqualified from being a director for a period of five years.

Over the past ten years the ODCE has referred files in respect of a number of investigations to the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, on foot of which the DPP has directed a total of 214 charges on indictment.

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