Vol. 436 No. 3
1 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice if her attention has been drawn to the activities of a company (details supplied) that engages in alleged bogus sales of furniture; and the action, if any, she proposes to take in the matter.
The company referred to by the Deputy was registered in Ireland on 13 September 1993. An occasional trading licence for the sale of furniture was issued to the company by the Department of Enterprise and Employment. The Garda authorities have informed me that they are not aware of any alleged criminal activity by this company. If the Deputy or any other person has information relating to any such activity, it should be brought to the attention of the Garda so that the matter can be investigated.
I would add that as I entered the House I became aware of a story which, as Deputy Mitchell probably knows, made front page headlines in one of this evening's papers in which the information is different from that which I have given. Lest Deputy Mitchell or somebody else accuse me of misleading the House, I wish to state that the information I have given is based on Garda information given to me at 4.25 p.m. yesterday. That information has not been corrected or changed in any way in the meantime despite the fact that inquiries were made by my office. Before I left my office I ordered an immediate inquiry with the Garda Commissioner's office to ascertain the true and factual position.
Why is the Minister not aware that the Garda is investigating this matter, about which it has received around 40 complaints involving Wicklow, the Tara Towers Hotel, the Greasham Hotel, Drogheda, Athlone, Sligo, Roscommon, Salthill and Ennis? Complaints have been received from a wide section of the community, including the Minister's constituency. The information from the Garda contradicts what the Minister said in the House.
As I said, I am greatly concerned about the information I received and the information that is now available and has appeared on the front page of one, if not both, of this evening's newspapers. I will quote directly from the Garda report which arrived in my office yesterday evening and which has not been corrected by the Garda since. It states:
"No complaints have yet been made and no breaches of the criminal law detected".
Is the Minister aware that the Law Reform Commission, in its report on dishonesty, dated 28 September 1992, and the Government advisory committee on fraud, which reported in December 1992 recommended the setting up of a national bureau of fraud investigation because the Garda are aware of scams which they cannot act on until the perpetrator has bolted? Is the Minister aware that the Garda often suspect institutions of taking money on fraudulent grounds but cannot act until a complaint is made? When will she implement the findings of the special advisory committee and the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission?
The report referred to by the Deputy is a very lengthy and worthwhile one and a number of elements of it have been implemented by the Garda since its publication. I will bring the report to the attention of Government in the very near future with a recommendation that the remainder be implemented.
In view of the fact that the Minister is unsure as to her information I do not intend to pursue the matter here but rather I intend to submit a Private Notice Question to allow the Minister to check the information and report back to the House on it.
