Vol. 347 No. 2
asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism if his Department are aware of the activities of a firm (details supplied); the steps his Department are taking to examine the activities of this firm; if he is satisfied that it is not engaged in pyramid selling, and if he will make a statement on the matter.
8.
asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism if his Department have referred evidence in relation to the activities of a firm (details supplied) to the Chief State Solicitor; and if he has indicated whether prosecutions are warranted.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 8 together.
On the advice of the Chief State Solicitor, I have passed information about activities of the company in question to the Garda who are responsible for the enforcement of the Pyramid Selling Act, 1980, and it is for them to decide whether to take further action. In the circumstances, I do not think that it would be appropriate for me to make any further statement in the matter at this time.
Will the Minister state if the Chief State Solicitor referred the evidence which he obviously got to the DPP before it was referred to the Garda?
I presume if the Chief State Solicitor referred the matter to the Garda it was because he considered that more information which the Garda would be capable of obtaining was required. The enforcement of this legislation is mainly a matter for the Garda in the first instance and the Chief State Solicitor and the DPP. My own Department do not involve themselves directly in enforcement of this legislation. Matters are taking their normal course and I do not wish to make any further comment.
Will the Minister state the manner in which investigations into the firm concerned were conducted? Were they conducted by Department officials or by officials of the office of the Director of Consumer Affairs?
The Chief State Solicitor in a letter in 1981 to my Department stated that the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism would not appear to have any obligations or functions in relation to suspected contraventions of the Act. If an injured party complains it appears he should complain to the Garda and it is they who should investigate the matter. That is where the responsibility lies, not with the Director of Consumer Affairs or with the Minister.
The reason I asked the question was because I understood from a Department official before Christmas, when this matter was brought to my attention, that investigations by the "Department"— I put that word in inverted commas because I was not sure if it was the commerce division of the Department or the office of the Director of Consumer Affairs — were going ahead with regard to the firm and that if enough conclusive evidence were found the matter would be referred to the Chief State Solicitor.
Basically, the statutory responsibility for enforcement of this legislation is with the Garda. My Department from time to time would take an interest in particular cases because it is the responsibility of my Department to keep the legislation up-to-date. However, enforcement is a matter for the Garda and in a case such as this I would not wish to get involved in discussing it.
Will the Minister state to whom should people who have information in relation to the company which would seem to suggest that it is engaged in pyramid selling give that information? In other words, which division of the Garda Síochána is investigating the matter?
The best way is to report the matter to one's local Garda station or, if one is not happy with that, to the Commissioner.
That would not be very satisfactory. The people involved with this company are involved in perhaps every county. Some 1,500 people are involved in the Republic and 200 are involved in my own county. Is the Minister suggesting that there is not a particular section in the Garda Síochána who are involved in such investigations, that it is a kind of ad hoc situation where every garda in every station in the country can take evidence in relation to it?
The Deputy should realise that the enforcement of any point of law is a matter for the Garda Síochána or, in so far as it may come into this House, is a matter for the Minister for Justice. I would not wish to get involved in the deployment of resources of the Garda Síochána. However, any Garda station to whom any kind of crime is reported is well fit to ensure that the requisite information is passed on to whichever part of the Garda Síochána organisation has responsibility for it. If people have complaints to make they should not wait until they know exactly which person in which room in Dublin Castle is responsible. They should go straight to the local Garda station and make their complaint. They can be assured it will be dealt with as quickly as possible.
