I will respond to the last part of the Deputy's question first. The director will be required to report annually to the Minister. In relation to policy issues, the Minister remains accountable to the Oireachtas and to the public through it. We have not begun to draft the legislation yet but I envisage that a residual power will be held by the Minister like that which the Minister has in relation to the Competition Authority, for example. I envisage that the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement will work very much like the Criminal Assets Bureau. It is envisaged that seven members of the Garda Síochána will work on the director's team on a full-time basis, whether they work in the office with the director or elsewhere. That is necessary.
In all, it will cost about £2.5 million per year to run this office and the Government has agreed to make that money available. We hope to have the legislation before the House after the summer because it is urgent in the context of all the inquiries and what has come to light. The Companies Registration Office is writing to 500 companies per day. That is the first step in the striking off procedure. Some 11,000 companies, an enormous number, have been struck off since last autumn.
It is important to enforce company law and corporate governance is important, particularly for an enterprise economy. We need to provide the resources to deal with this issue. We also need to depoliticise the inquiry area, which is not satisfactory. This should be done on an independent basis by an officer who has full responsibility in this area but, of course, the Minister will have to have residual powers on how that will work. I envisage that it will be similar to the Competition Authority but we have not yet begun to draft the legislation and I need to consult with the Office of the Attorney General on that matter.