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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 5 Nov 2002

Vol. 556 No. 3

Written Answers. - Departmental Inquiries.

Jack Wall

Ceist:

93 Mr. Wall asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the total costs incurred by the State, at the latest date for which figures are available, arising from the various inquiries instigated by or on behalf of her Department; the element of these costs which have been recovered from any of the other parties involved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20363/02]

Brian O'Shea

Ceist:

102 Mr. O'Shea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the position in regard to each of the inquiries being carried out by or on behalf of her Department; the projected date for the conclusion of each such investigation; the inquiries in respect of which reports have been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20362/02]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 102 together.

Sixteen investigations into company law matters have been initiated by me since I became Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment in 1997. In respect of three of these, the High Court appointed inspectors under section 8 of the Companies Act, 1990, following an application by me. The High Court inspectors appointed to Ansbacher (Cayman) Limited presented their report to the High Court on 10 June. Section 8 inquiries are continuing into National Irish Bank Limited and National Irish Bank Financial Services Limited. A further interim report was presented to the High Court on 24 July and it is anticipated that a final report will be submitted to the High Court during the first half of 2003. As in the case of Ansbacher (Cayman) Limited, the question of whether the reports are published is entirely a matter for the High Court. The High Court ordered the publication of the Ansbacher report. An investigation under section 14 of the Companies Act, 1990 was completed in 1998 and the report has been passed to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Eleven investigations were initiated by me under section 19 of the Companies Act, 1990, of which five have been concluded. The reports relating to two of the five investigations completed were passed to the DPP. The file in another case was returned and a number of summary prosecutions have since been successfully concluded. The report provided an input into the successful application to the High Court for the appointment of inspectors under section 8 while the fourth report was passed to the relevant High Court inspectors. One report was completed in September 2002 and has been referred to the Director of Corporate Enforcement. My Department is considering whether this report should be referred to other authorities.

Four investigations under section 19 are ongoing. Reports in respect of two of the four investigations are at an advanced stage of completion. Two investigations were held up because of legal appeals, on which a judgment was delivered on 5 June 2002. The High Court ruled on certain constitutional issues which had been referred back to the High Court by the Supreme Court. It is a matter for the Director of Corporate Enforcement to decide how to proceed on these latter investigations. One investigation was undertaken under section 59 of the Insurance Act, 1989. This report has been completed and referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions as well as to the inspectors undertaking the section 8 investigation into that company.
The costs incurred since 1997 on company investigations initiated by or on behalf of my Department amount to €9.6 million. This amount does not include the salary costs of civil servants working on a number of these investigations. Similarly, the major proportion of the legal costs relating to the investigations relates to the Vote of the Chief State Solicitor. Most of the figure of €9.6 million derives from the costs to date of the High Court inspectors appointed under section 8. The figure for the NIB investigation is €4.8 million and the figure for the Ansbacher investigation is €3.5 million. The question of recovering costs from the section 8 investigations will not arise until the inspectors complete their investigations.
Section 19, as originally enacted, did not provide for the recoupment of costs, but this has since changed as a result of the enactment of the Company Law Enforcement Act, 2001. In respect of the Ansbacher investigation, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform presented a motion to the High Court in July 2002 seeking to have Ansbacher and seven other companies dealt with in the inspectors' report made liable for the costs of the investigation. Consideration of this motion is ongoing before the High Court.
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