Dan Boyle (Green Party)

The extension of legislation in the area of money laundering is to be welcomed and the fact that it fulfils our requirements in terms of the third money laundering directive is sufficient reason for it to be put on the Statute Book. Previous legislation has concentrated very much on the identification of the individual in opening bank accounts. While this has proven to be an inconvenience for many, it has been a necessary measure in terms of the wrongful use of bank accounts to channel the proceeds of crime and, in an Irish context, the use of such money for terrorist activities.

Not only is the legislation informed by the European experience through the need to transpose the third money laundering directive, there is also the fact that recent experience such as the raid on the Northern Bank in Belfast revealed a nest of intricate financial devices as well as an element of farce, much of which seemed to be linked to the constituency I have served in the other House, in terms of the individuals involved and the types of business activities being funded in that manner. Also, some peripheral players were eventually found burning much of the money in question, which I suspect does not even come close to money laundering.