Vol. 411 No. 4
14 Mr. S. Barrett asked the Minister for Justice if he will outline the reason (1) for the delay in dealing with the increasing level of white collar crime and (2) increased powers and adequate resources have not been given to the Fraud Squad; if he intends transferring this responsibility to the Office of the Attorney General; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I do not accept that there has been any delay on the part of the Garda authorities in tackling so-called white collar crime. I am determined to ensure that all appropriate measures are in place to combat serious financial fruad and I have taken a number of steps to enhance the State's capacity to deal with such offences.
At my instigation, the Garda authorities initiated a wide-ranging review of the operations of the Fraud Squad last May with the intention of ensuring that the squad is fully equipped to deal effectively and expeditiously with all cases of fraud which come to its attention. As I indicated last Wednesday in my contribution to the Dáil motion of confidence in the Government, the report on the review of the Fraud Squad is now to hand and its recommendations will be given effect. These recommendations include, restructuring the squad to allow for the establishment of special teams to handle serious and complex cases of fraud, significantly increasing the strength of the squad, improvements in training of the members of the force attached to it, and strengthening the links between the squad and external professional bodies such as the professional accountancy bodies.
I have also been active in bringing forward new legislative proposals which are highly relevant in this regard. The Criminal Evidence Bill, which will provide for the admissibility in evidence of business and administrative documents, including computerised records, will be published in the next few weeks. Moreover the Law Reform Commission are putting the finishing touches to their examination of the law relating to dishonesty in general. The commission's examination of this area of the law includes consideration of offences of larceny, false pretences, fraudulent conversion, false accounting, offences relating to computers, conspiracy to defraud, forgery, counterfeiting and related matters. The Government's intention is to introduce whatever legislative changes are necessary to modernise the criminal law in this area and to make it as effective as possible.
As indicated in the Taoiseach's reply to Questions Nos. 23 and 24 on Wednesday, 16 October last, the Government will look at all of the options for dealing with serious financial fraud including the establishment of a serious fraud office under the Office of the Attorney General.
Is the Minister aware that the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors took umbrage at the remarks by the Taoiseach and regarded his remarks as a vote of no confidence in the Garda Fraud Squad in so far as the Taoiseach said he was considering transferring responsibility for these matters to the Office of the Attorney General. Would the Minister please explain to me, if he intends giving additional powers to the Garda Fraud Squad, including I hope, appointing trained accountants to help them in the complex work, why he is considering setting up a serious Fraud Squad under the aegis of the Attorney General?
First, in relation to the availability of accountants, one of the matters which came up in the review, carried out by the Commissioner at my request, of the operations of the Fraud Squad was the question of a link and the establishment of a panel of accountants from which the Garda could draw expertise in the investigation of complex cases. That is already underway. So far as the question of a serious fraud office is concerned, and the effect this would have on the morale and confidence of the force, I can say that no issue of Garda morale or confidence arises. One of the specific elements of the new strategy being carried out is the enhancement of the capacity of the Garda Fraud Squad. The inclusion of a separate serious fraud office operating under the aegis of the Garda Síochána is obviously one option which could be looked at also. That was the suggestion made by the AGSI. It would of course be necessary to consult the Garda authorities on any such proposal but nothing is ruled out, nothing is ruled in. I am carrying out an examination of this on behalf of the Government at the moment and the decisions in relation to it will be announced at a later stage.
Deputy Barrett.
I have only got 15 minutes.
I am grateful to the Deputy for his conscientious approach to the matter. Question No. 15.
There are other questions I want to get to.
