Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 November 2020
197. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Justice if all recommendations of the Moriarty tribunal have been implemented; the recommendations that are outstanding; when they will be implemented; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34515/20]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Moriarty Tribunal made a number of recommendations which related to the responsibilities of different Government Departments. Insofar as my Department is concerned, I can advise the Deputy that since the Tribunal produced its findings, there have been a number of significant steps taken to strengthen the State’s ability to tackle corruption and related activities.
In particular, I would refer the Deputy to the Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018 which is a very important piece of legislation in the fight against corruption both in Ireland and abroad. The Act represents a complete overhaul of anti-corruption offences in Ireland, which dated as far back as 1889 and were contained in seven different statutes.
The Act provides a single, consolidated modern piece of legislation which is more comprehensive and more accessible. As well as being a consolidation, the Act is also responding to recommendations from the Mahon Tribunal, from GRECO, from the OECD Working Group on Bribery and from the UNCAC Implementation Review Mechanism. Some of the key aspects of the Act include the introduction of new offences and tougher penalties in areas relating to the giving of gifts; trading in influence; false documentation; and a liability offence for bodies corporate where any individual connected with the company has been found guilty of corruption. Further information relating to the Act and the Government’s cross-Departmental approach to tackling corruption and bribery can be found on www.anticorruption.ie.
The new Programme for Government, Our Shared Future , recognises the reputational and economic damage that corruption and white collar crime can cause to the State and commits the Government to introduce and implement new anti-fraud and anti-corruption structures informed by the work of the Review Group on structures and strategies to combat corruption and fraud (Hamilton Review Group) with a focus on legislative, structural and resourcing measures to enhance agency and multi-agency enforcement and prevention capacity in the criminal justice sphere.
The Hamilton Review Group was established as part of a package of measures to enhance Ireland’s ability to combat economic crime and corruption. Its membership comprised representation from Government Departments and the key State agencies with responsibility for the prevention, investigation and prosecution of economic crime and corruption as well as a small number of experts from outside the public service.
I can inform the Deputy that I intend to publish the Report of the Hamilton Review Group in the near future.
