I propose to take Questions Nos. 334 to 337, inclusive, together.
Section 19 of the Companies Act 1990 empowered the Minister, then Minister for Industry and Commerce, or an authorised officer of the Minister to require the production of books and documents by companies and other bodies in certain circumstances. This type of investigative procedure is normally viewed as preliminary in nature in that it may lead to further and more serious regulatory action such as a full investigation under the control of the courts. In exercise of those powers, my predecessor, the Tánaiste, authorised an officer of the Department to require the production of books and documents by five named companies. In the case of two of the five, the investigations were concluded and follow-up action has been, or is being, taken by the appropriate authorities. The other three investigations are not yet concluded and are being brought to completion by the authorised officer. These three investigations concern Guinness and Mahon (Ireland) Ltd., Hamilton Ross Co. Ltd. and College Trustees Ltd. and the authorisations were made on 8 January 1998, 23 January 1998 and 10 March 1999, respectively.
Significant changes to our company law enforcement arrangements were made under the Company Law Enforcement Act 2001. These included the establishment of a Director of Corporate Enforcement and the transfer to the director of company law enforcement functions of the Minister. The functions transferred from the Minister to the director included those under section 19 of the 1990 Act with the exception of functions relating to section 19 investigations which were then current. This was carried out pursuant to section 34 of the Company Law Enforcement Act 2001 and by S.I. No. 524 of 2001 made thereunder. This instrument, which remains in full force and has not been amended, prescribed five companies in respect of which the powers conferred on the Minister and the authorised officer by sections 19 to 23 of the 1990 Act, as amended by the 2001 Act, continued to be available. This was to facilitate the efficient continuation and conclusion of those investigations.
The progress of these investigations was monitored by my predecessor and by the Department over the course of the past seven years. It was the expectation that the investigations would be concluded within a reasonable period following the coming into operation of the new statutory arrangements in November 2001. Over time concerns developed on the part of the Tánaiste and the Department in relation to the time-frame of the investigations and these were conveyed at various times to the authorised officer. These concerns culminated in the issue of a formal direction on 29 July 2004 to the authorised officer to cease investigative work and to commence writing up the reports with a view to facilitating appropriate follow-up action as soon as possible by relevant authorities. I am informed and understand that this direction was based solely on concerns relating to the length of time which the investigations were taking and to the consequential possibility that any meaningful substantive follow-up action, if such were deemed necessary, would be rendered more difficult.
The statutory basis for the direction given by the Tánaiste to the authorised officer is that it is implicit in the terms of section 19 that the carrying out of an investigation under that section by an officer authorised by the Minister, remains under the control and direction of the Minister. I understand that the authorised officer was not in agreement with the Tánaiste in relation to the direction but undertook to comply with it.
The authorised officer has taken steps to ensure that any information disclosed by the investigations which was, or might be, relevant to the work of the Moriarty or Mahon tribunals was brought to the attention of the relevant tribunal at the earliest opportunity. The Tánaiste confirmed this approach and issued a specific direction to the authorised officer in March 2004 in relation to the Moriarty tribunal and in July 2004 in relation to the Mahon tribunal. The authorised officer has complied, and is complying, with the Tánaiste's instructions. My Department has no responsibility for the terms of reference of either tribunal or any changes in those terms.
I recently received a briefing note on the up to date position on the section 19 investigations from the authorised officer. I am considering that briefing with the object of ensuring that the reports of the authorised officer on his investigations into the three companies are completed by him as quickly and as comprehensively as possible and that they are made available to the relevant authorities for any action they consider appropriate, as soon as feasible.
Section 19 investigations are of their nature confidential and matters investigated cannot be revealed to anyone other than the appropriate authorities recognised in company law.
