As I indicated in my response to the priority question put down by Deputy Seán Barrett on 22 October 1991, the recommendations made by the Garda authorities in their review of the Garda Fraud Squad will be given effect. Arrangements are already being made to implement those recommendations which are "internal" to the squad involving improvements in manpower, organisation and training.
Other recommendations, such as the strengthening of links between the squad and external professional bodies, involve somewhat more difficult issues which require further consideration — for example, to assess precisely how these links may be effected and to what extent they may be influenced by the outcome of the Law Reform Commission's wide ranging review of the law on dishonesty. For the avoidance of any doubt I should make it clear that I have accepted the principles underlying these recommendations also; it is simply a matter of assessing in consultation with the Garda and other interested parties how best to implement them.
There are also, of course, the wider issues of the investigative powers that are required to deal with serious fraud cases, whether a complementary serious fraud investigation structure on the lines of the British Serious Fraud Office should be established and how the Garda plans, now in course of implementation, would affect or mesh with that concept. These matters are currently the subject of examination in my Department. Work is proceeding on this examination as quickly as possible but because it involves complex issues of law and structure it is not something which can be rushed. I understand also that the Law Reform Commission's forthcoming report on dishonesty is likely to have recommendations to make on these issues and it would be very useful to have the commission's views before decisions are taken by the Government.
Returning to the Garda authorities' recommendations on the fraud squad themselves, I am satisfied that the implementation of those recommendations, which is already in hand, together with the new legislative provisions being enacted in the Criminal Evidence Bill and the further legislation which will follow on the Law Reform Commission's report on dishonesty, will greatly strengthen the hand of the Garda Síochána in dealing with fraud offences.