Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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599. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of prosecutions taken and convictions secured in respect of illegal moneylending activity in recent years; the penalties that applied on those convictions; the penalties available in law on conviction; and when the most recent conviction took place for such activity in an Irish court. [32631/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that the regulation of money lending is provided for by way of a number of pieces of legislation. Legislative provisions relating to the regulation of money lending are provided for in the Consumer Credit Act 1995, which is the responsibility of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. Under the 1995 Act, unlicensed money lending is an offence. Persons who engage in money lending and who do not hold the necessary licence granted by the Central Bank are committing an offence under section 98 of the Act. A person who is guilty of an offence under the Act is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €3,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both. There are also a number of provisions in the criminal law which may be of relevance in particular circumstances, for example, sections 10 and 11 of the Non-fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997 and section 17 the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 provide for offences relating to harassment, extortion and demanding money with menaces. An Garda Síochána is the investigative agency responsible for the investigation of allegations of unlicensed money lending. These investigations are conducted at a local level. The Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation can and does assist in such investigations, as requested.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that prior to May 2013 there was no specific Pulse incident category available to capture investigations into unlicensed money lending but I am informed that the Pulse system has now been subsequently enhanced to reflect a new incident type to record such offences. I am further informed that details on any conviction related to illegal moneylending activity prior to this date would require a manual analysis of the Garda Pulse system which would require a disproportionate expenditure of Garda resources. I am also advised that since May 2013 there have been no prosecutions for illegal moneylending activities but An Garda Síochána has indicated that there are three investigations into illegal moneylending activities currently underway. Two investigations are still ongoing and in relation to the third investigation, a file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions seeking directions to charge. I would, of course, also encourage those who may have information concerning the operation of unlicensed money lenders in particular circumstances to make that information available to An Garda Síochána who will take all measures open to them to enforce the law in this area.

Under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service and the Minister has no role in the matter. Section 4(3) of the 1998 Act provides that the Courts Service is independent in the performance of its functions, which includes the provision of statistics. The Courts Service has indicated that it is not in a position to provide statistics relating to convictions on illegal moneylending activity. I have asked the Courts Service to review the position in that regard.