James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for their contributions and for their generous support for this motion. I will address two particular points that were raised. One related to the GDPR. As has been said to me in the past, the GDPR is meant to be a guide rail, not a locked door. Sometimes people use it as a locked door and a reason for saying "No". It can be the bane of all politicians' lives when it is cited sometimes.

With regard to privileged immunity refers, this motion relates to a law for the entire European Union. I cannot think of any examples here in Ireland but, as I understand it, there are examples in other countries where people were perhaps given immunity from prosecution. What we are setting out here is that where immunity is given, there has to be a clear pathway to lifting that immunity in appropriate circumstances. It is perhaps an issue in other countries but it is important that, across the European Union, that protection is there so immunity can be lifted.

I thank the House for facilitating this motion and thank my colleagues for their support. As I mentioned in my opening remarks, corruption negatively impacts society, individuals and businesses. It undermines democracy and the rule of law and allows organised crime, terrorism and other threats to human safety and security to flourish. Corruption, by its nature, is difficult to quantify but even conservative estimates suggest that it could cost the European economy around €120 billion per year, which is an extraordinary figure. Corruption remains a key concern for people across the European Union. A Eurobarometer survey conducted this year found that seven in ten Europeans believed corruption was widespread in their country. Some 35% of companies in the European Union see corruption as a problem when doing business in their countries. I am very heartened by the fact that 92% of Irish companies surveyed said corruption was not a problem for their business. That is one of the highest levels in the European Union but nonetheless we can never rest on our laurels and clearly, 8% do believe it is a problem. All these figures show that more needs to be done at an EU level as well as at a national level.

We need to ensure all forms of corruption are criminalised in all member states so people can be held responsible for such offences and so those offences incur effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties. All of this will be important in strengthening public trust in Government and institutions. Looking at Ireland's performance in an international context, the Transparency International corruption perception index ranked Ireland as the tenth least corrupt country in the world in 2022. This is an improvement on 2021, when we ranked 13th, and a big improvement on 2020, when we were ranked 20th, but I want us to continue to climb those rankings. Ireland has a very strong record but we can always do more.

Opting into this directive shows our ongoing commitment to tackling corruption in all its forms and co-operating with our EU and international partners to do so. Ireland opting into this proposal will ensure we are at the table with our European partners and can be involved in the detailed discussions. Opting in under Article 3 will allow Ireland to fully take part in the adoption and application of the proposed measure and to influence the content of the directive that is being agreed. Failing to opt in at this stage would weaken Ireland's ability to influence the evolution of this proposal. Not opting in under Article 3 would also present risks to Ireland's reputation and the perception of Ireland's commitment to tackling corruption at both a national and a European Union level. For all these reasons, I commend the motion to the House.

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