Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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613. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 639 of 8 July 2014, her views on the low prosecution rates arising from reports pursuant to section 33AK of the Central Bank Act 1942 which are forwarded to An Garda Síochána; if she will provide the reason the prosecutions are so low; if she is considering a review of white-collar crime enforcement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32856/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, I do not have a direct role in the investigation or prosecution of offences and decision making in that regard is a matter for the relevant authorities, having regard to the applicable law and the evidence available in each case.

Insofar as the reports referred to by the Deputy are concerned, as I have previously advised, the majority of such reports received by the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation from the Central Bank are dealt with by the Central Bank following consultation with the GBFI in accordance with the Central Bank Administrative Sanction Procedure or other enforcement power, and this approach forms part of the overall enforcement and regulatory arrangements in force.

Since my appointment as Minister I have been reviewing a wide range of issues relevant to serious offending in all its forms, including financial and white collar crime and can assure the Deputy that I intend to continue to engage regularly with the Acting Garda Commissioner and Ministerial colleagues with a view to ensuring that the necessary resources, legislation, and other measures to respond effectively are in place. There is extensive legislation on the statute book addressing white collar crime and amendments to this legislation are considered in the light of the experience of law enforcement agencies in operating the legislation and in light of court rulings.