The Section 955(1)(a) Report from the Director of Corporate Enforcement has been the subject of detailed consultation with the Office of the Attorney General.
On the advice received from the Attorney General, I do not have a legal power to publish statutory reports prepared pursuant to section 955 of the Companies Act, 2014.
The Companies Act 2014 contains strict confidentiality obligations on information in the possession of the Director. Section 956 provides that no person shall disclose information obtained by the Director in performing the function of the Director, unless in accordance with law. Breaches of confidentiality under the Act are treated as category 2 offences, with maximum penalties of 5 years of imprisonment and/or a fine of €50,000.
There is a public interest policy underlining the absence of an express power to publish material used in criminal investigations. The publication of confidential investigative material could have the undesirable effect of damaging any ongoing or future investigations.
I am conscious, however, that the shortcomings identified by Judge Aylmer in his ruling in the case of DPP v Sean Fitzpatrick have been the subject of significant concern. It is important to understand what factors led to such mistakes being made and we must take appropriate steps to address these shortcomings and ensure that they are never repeated.
In view of this, while I cannot publish the Report itself, I intend to publish, as soon as possible, an account of the investigative failures identified by Judge Aylmer and the steps that are being taken to address them. These include ongoing reform within the ODCE and the establishment, as announced by Government in November, of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement as a new independent company law enforcement agency, to provide greater autonomy to the agency and ensure it is better equipped to investigate increasingly complex breaches of company law. Work on the drafting of the necessary General Scheme of a Bill to give effect to this decision has commenced.
