Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Go raibh maith agat as an gcur i láthair cuimsitheach a thug tú ar an reachtaíocht thábhachtach seo ag an Céim seo. I welcome the Minister and thank him for what was a very comprehensive and extensive rundown on the legislation at this stage. Whether in public life or in business or commerce, corruption has, unfortunately, been a part of the history of this State. The number of financial transactions investigated by the Garda nearly doubled between 2006 and 2014, which is quite a workload. There may be a number of reasons for this, including an increased focus by the Garda and, in that context, we need to ensure it and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, ODCE, are properly resourced to carry out this important work. Other factors could include ambiguous tax laws, the loophole created by section 110 of the Taxes Consolidation Act or the light-touch regulation approach.

Sinn Féin will support the Bill on Second Stage. Senator Ó Céidigh raised a number of important suggestions that are worth examining in terms of amendments as we move forward with the legislation. The Bill gives effect to the fourth money laundering directive and is a welcome step in terms of transparency, regulation and ensuring financial institutions, states and individuals measure up to the objectives of the Bill. In that regard, the State is late in its implementation of this measure, as noted by the Minister and others, so I will not labour the point, although he might refer to the questions posed to him by Senator Clifford-Lee. I am worried about the fact we are facing a fine from the EU and I would like to have an update on where proceedings stand and whether there is the likelihood of additional fines moving forward.

The Bill provides for due diligence of customers and puts an onus for risk assessment on financial institutions to carry out business-wide and individual assessments, which I believe is a positive step forward. Another step in the right direction is a key provision in expanding the remit of An Garda Síochána’s financial intelligence unit, which receives information from designated persons about suspicious transactions. The Bill also focuses on people in the political and judicial systems prone to being bribed in their own countries and abroad.

I would like to ask how the Bill covers the area of gambling and gaming. The Minister touched on this but he might expand on it in his summing up of the issues. In particular, he might outline his understanding of the extent of criminal organisations using gambling and gaming to launder money. What obligations has the Government or the law placed on the gambling and gaming industries to prevent them being used further? This is an important issue that needs to be tackled.

I would also like to raise concerns about what is known as "shadow banking", which has been described as the "dark side" of financial services. The Oireachtas finance committee will soon deal with the markets in financial instruments directive, MIFID, legislation, which relates to all of this. In November, as was mentioned, a Russian bank defaulted on €500 million of land loans made through a Dublin office. Lawyers, bankers and accountants generated €284 million in fees from hundreds of special purpose vehicles last year. The growing use of such entities by foreign groups has come into sharp focus as investors track risks relating to US sanctions.The International Monetary Fund and the Financial Stability Board have warned about our exposure to such defaults and shadow banking. Is this State risking its economic reputation by marketing Dublin as a hub for shadow banking? Does the Bill adequately deal with this murky area? Are there enough safeguards in the financial services and institutions to ensure we are not exposed moving forward?

I note there is an obligation under Article 31 of the fourth anti-money laundering directive that states shall apply a full public register to beneficial ownership of trusts as per the directive. Although the Government ran a public consultation which discussed the matter of a fully public register of beneficial owners, I am concerned it is not fully implementing the EU laundering directive and that it is making use of an exemption that means it does not have to apply a full public register of beneficial owners as per the directive. Is that the case and, if so, why? I ask that the Minister would ensure this directive is implemented in full and is transparent. Tackling money laundering and other associated criminal activities is a very important task for the reasons I, my colleagues and the Minister have outlined. For that reason, Sinn Féin will be supporting the Bill.