Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 180: To ask the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied that technology and procedures available to the banking and financial services sectors are adequate to identify and deter money laundering or theft by electronic means; if his attention has been drawn to national and international concerns in this regard; if he has issued instructions or received reports on the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4094/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Irish legislation on money laundering is set out in the Criminal Justice Act, 1994, as amended. Primary responsibility for legislation in this area rests with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. This legislation and relevant regulations made by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform implemented the EU Money Laundering Directives of 1991 and 2001 in Ireland. The procedures for the prevention of money laundering in the financial system primarily involve the requirement on financial institutions (and other designated bodies) to identify their customers, to have adequate anti-money laundering procedures in place, including staff training, to keep records and to report suspicions of a money laundering offence to the Garda Siochana and to the Revenue Commissioners.

The Financial Regulator requires all institutions which it supervises to comply with the anti-money laundering legislation and relevant sectoral guidance notes, and to have in place the necessary procedures and controls to ensure such compliance. The adequacy of such systems is reviewed by the Financial Regulator in the course of its ongoing supervision of institutions and requirements for improvement are advised to institutions as necessary. Furthermore, in accordance with its legal obligation under Section 57(2) of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994, the Financial Regulator is obliged to make reports to the Garda Siochana and the Revenue Commissioners where in the course of its supervision it suspects that an institution has breached the relevant money laundering provisions of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994.

The Garda Siochana and the Revenue Commissioners regularly receive reports from financial institutions and other designated bodies where they suspect that a money laundering offence is being or has been committed. All such reports are investigated and progressed as appropriate by the relevant authorities.

The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), the international standard setting body in this area published a report in 2006 on Ireland's systems to combat money laundering and terrorist funding. Ireland is one of a number of countries evaluated to date in the FATF Third Round of Mutual Evaluations. Its overall ratings are comparable to those obtained by the other countries evaluated.

The revised FATF Money Laundering recommendations of 2003 — the standard against which Ireland's compliance was assessed — have been embodied in the 3rd EU Money Laundering Directive which came into force in December 2005 with a transposition deadline of December 2007.

Ireland opted to be evaluated early in the 3rd Round of Mutual Evaluations because this would be of considerable assistance in planning the transposition of the 3rd EU Money Laundering Directive into Irish Law. Many of the FATF recommendations on which Ireland is currently assessed as either partially compliant or non-compliant will be addressed in the transposition into Irish Law of the 3rd EU Money Laundering Directive. These include additional measures in relation to customer due diligence, measures relating to the identification of foreign politically exposed persons, the strengthening of the sanctions for breaches of money laundering rules and the regulation of non-financial entities.

On publication of the FATF report my colleague the Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform and I jointly undertook to examine the Report's recommendations thoroughly and gave a commitment to further strengthen Ireland's anti-money laundering mechanisms. The process of reviewing and updating the Irish legal framework to meet both our domestic needs and international obligations is under way. As regards theft by electronic means I understand that there are regular contacts between the Garda Siochana and the Banking and Financial Sectors regarding the security of their systems.