Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies who have contributed to this discussion and I welcome the broad support for the proposal. As my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, made clear, this proposes directive amends a directive we have already opted into, namely, EU Directive 2019/1153. The changes included in this directive are minor and practical and will enable us to participate more fully in and reap more benefit from the EU's anti-money laundering framework. The proposed directive was published by the European Commission together with significant anti-money laundering legislative proposals that are under active consideration. This proposal fell to be considered in the context of the wider changes envisaged.

As the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, explained earlier, there are clear reputational reasons for opting into this proposed directive. This opt-in will reflect on Ireland's status as a committed EU member state, our visible commitment to EU anti-money laundering framework and our reputation as an attractive and safe place to invest and in which to do business. Ireland's opt-in will be an important element for the smooth functioning of our national anti-money laundering framework as it requires that the information from the national centralised bank account registries be available through a bank account register's single access point at EU level, which is to be developed and operated by the European Commission. EU legislation and the financial action task force recommendations are frequently being updated to reflect new developments and to ensure they are still relevant. This process of continuous improvement is a feature of the regime and Ireland, together with all EU member states, continues to enhance our anti-money laundering framework.

Money laundering and terrorist financing are global issues. Criminals routinely move the proceeds of crime from one country to another and exploit inconsistencies and weak links. Accordingly, a coherent and global approach is needed and the EU has long had legislation in this area. Ireland and the EU share a strong commitment in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. There should be zero tolerance for illicit money as criminals will exploit all possible avenues to pursue their illicit activities to the detriment of society. We remain determined to ensure that criminals do not benefit from the proceeds of these crimes.

Targeting money laundering is central to fighting organised crime. Those who commit crime, such as drug trafficking, human trafficking and fraud, depend on hiding and converting the proceeds of those crimes. By pursuing those proceeds we can bring those responsible to justice and meaningfully reduce the incentive to commit the crimes in the first place. This proposal is in line with the action plan for a comprehensive EU policy on preventing money laundering and terrorist financing adopted by the Commission in May 2020. The action plan emphasises that the Union-wide interconnection of centralised bank account registries is necessary to speed up financial intelligence units, FIUs, and law enforcement authorities' access to bank account information and to facilitate cross-border co-operation. The EU's security union strategy also stresses that interconnection could significantly speed up FIUs and competent authorities' access to the financial information. For all these reasons and those outlined by the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, earlier, I again ask Deputies to support this motion and to support Ireland's continued engagement with the EU's anti-money laundering framework.

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