Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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996. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to confirm the protocol under which Ireland opted out of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO); and the protocol and process involved should the Government decide it wants to join the EPPO, including confirmation of whether a Dáil resolution would be required. [29300/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The European Public Prosecutors Office (EPPO) was established in 2017 under the EU's enhanced cooperation measure to investigate and prosecute crimes against the financial interest of the European Union.

These crimes are as set out in Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the fight against fraud to the Union’s financial interests by means of criminal law, otherwise known as the PIF Directive. At that time, Ireland decided not to opt in to the EPPO Regulation under Article 3 of Protocol 21 to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), given that it represented a departure from our common law model of investigation and prosecution. However, Ireland has transposed the PIF Directive and the full suite of measures to investigate and prosecute PIF offences are available to Irish authorities under our domestic structures.

Ireland is a committed EU Member State and takes its obligations to protect the Union’s financial interests seriously. For this reason, the Minister for Justice established an Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG) in November 2022 to reconsider the issue of participation in EPPO. In October 2023, the Government noted the IAWG Report, in which it was recommended that preparations for opting-in to the EPPO Regulation under Article 4 of Protocol 21 to the TFEU commence and approved the drafting of the General Scheme of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office Bill. That work is on-going.

In the meantime, following the enactment of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023, Ireland is now cooperating effectively with the EPPO as a non-participating Member State.