asked the Minister for Finance when persons and/or firms found within the last three years to have been contravening customs regulations on an extensive scale involving fraud and possible forgery are likely to be prosecuted.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Contravention of Customs Regulations.
26.
I cannot appropriately make any general statement on the lines contemplated by the Deputy.
The enforcement of the penal provisions of the Customs laws is vested in the Revenue Commissioners who are empowered, in their discretion, to initiate legal proceedings against offenders or, alternatively, to dispose otherwise of the matters involved, in particular by the acceptance of suitable compromise penalties.
Would the Minister indicate what the position would be if the Attorney General, in his private capacity, acted in defence of such a firm? It is likely to happen and it has happened.