Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 May 2004
75 Mr. Kehoe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of recommendations of the Ansbacher report of 2002 which have been implemented; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13760/04]
View answerThe inspectors appointed by the High Court to Ansbacher (Cayman) Limited investigated the affairs of the company, drew conclusions based on the evidence before them that named individuals and companies may have breached certain laws and reported back to the court. Action on the conclusions drawn by the inspectors is a matter for the ODCE, the DPP, the Revenue Commissioners and the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland, as the case may be.
The report confirmed the concerns I had for some time about the extent to which companies and their officers complied with the requirements of company and other law. However, I did not wait for the completion of the report before taking action to ensure that any regulatory failures coming within my area of responsibility were dealt with. Accordingly, I introduced the following initiatives: proactive enforcement of the provisions of company law by the establishment and resourcing of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement; increased penalties and additional resources to ensure companies meet their filing obligations with the Companies Registration Office; better oversight and regulation of the accounting and auditing profession by the proposed establishment of the Irish auditing and accounting supervisory authority; establishment of the company law review group on a statutory footing to ensure that the provisions of our company law are appropriate to the needs of Irish society.
Following the commencement of the Company Law Enforcement Act 2001, it is now the statutory responsibility of the Director of Corporate Enforcement to pursue the possible breaches of the Companies Acts identified in the report. The director has emphasised his determination to take appropriate action on foot of the report. I also note that the Revenue Commissioners have been very active in pursuing tax issues arising from the Ansbacher report and other tax evasion mechanisms.
