Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

The amendment seeks to permit account information or account monitoring orders to be made relating to financial institutions in the European Union outside Ireland and to financial institutions in Ireland which are not in the district of the District Court to which the judge is assigned. Under section 12(2), applications for account information and account monitoring orders may relate to financial institutions in the State or in an EU member state. It follows that orders made on foot of such applications will relate to such institutions. The amendment, therefore, is unnecessary given the provision in section 12(2). The advice given to me is technically correct. Otherwise, we would give district court judges a type of universal jurisdiction, which is not what is contemplated.