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A new report commissioned by the government recommended sweeping legislative changes and giving greater powers and resources to the gardaí and other agencies investigating corruption, fraud and economic crime.
The Hamilton Review says that gardaí should have access by law to passwords for electronic devices.
He also recommends a longer period of detention to allow for questioning of suspects and says that amended legislation is needed to deal with ethics violations by former Oireachtas members.
As a major international financial services center, with Ireland-based companies managing funds valued at approximately € 1.8 trillion, Ireland’s exposure and risk of economic crime, especially fraud, is substantial in this report.
The 153-page report by former Chief Public Prosecutor James Hamilton recommends 25 legislative, police, structural and procedural changes to address white collar crimes.
It says that gardaí should have search warrants allowing them to enforce passwords for phones, computers and other electronic devices.
Independent experts should be allowed to be present when interviewing suspects due to the complexity of these cases and detention periods should be extended up to seven days, similar to organized crime offenses, to allow a large amount of material to be presented to them probative. .
The report recommends that the Government act more quickly to amend the ethics legislation to deal with former Oireachtas members who may have violated their obligations while in office.
It says that bid rigging as a form of market sharing, nepotism and the misuse of influence when hiring public officials should be considered crimes.
Investigators and judges should be specially trained to deal with this crime and specialized judges could be appointed.
The review group also recommends increasing resources and information sharing between the gardaí, SIPO, DPP, ODCE and other agencies investigating economic crime and corruption.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee has said her plan for the implementation of the Hamilton Review recommendations will require full-government collaboration with cabinet colleagues and state agencies.
He said it will be complemented by other anti-corruption initiatives, such as the Garda Inspection’s upcoming report on tackling the threat of internal Garda corruption.
James Hamilton, who has led the review group, said that people are beginning to realize that white-collar crime is something that affects us all and “is a burden on public finances” when there is corruption.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr. Hamilton said that the State must be able to investigate and deal with crimes of a serious nature if they occur.
“We have a headquarters of many major international firms based in this country. We have a serious financial services sector. Where there is a lot of money, there will be criminals,” he said.
Mr. Hamilton said that some of the agencies dealing with this issue are well resourced, but there are others that just “go ahead and get by and are sloppy.”
He said the DPP’s office has established a specialized prosecutors unit within that office, but it is a small unit and needs additional resources.
“This is not just an academic problem. We are talking about anyone who has been using computers and anyone who is shopping online is familiar with the number of scams and fake websites and people’s savings that disappear in an instant. This is a major problem that affects all citizens, “he said.
He also highlighted one of his concerns with a 2015 Ethical Standards Bill, which was never approved in the Dáil and was designed to strengthen the ethics regime.
“To ensure, for example, that former TDs who are subject to it while they are TD but then the moment they cease to be, the Standards people in the Public Office have no power to deal with the matter. That is a big gap for example. ”
He also reflected on the possibility of new crimes to ensure that we do not allow nepotism to get in the way of the way business transactions are conducted.
“What I’m thinking is that people have the notion that the normal type of corruption is the payment of a bribe. In the real world, I’m not sure that things always work out that way.”
He said there are often situations where people are asked to do a favor and they do it and maybe the money doesn’t change hands. But then the expectation is that the favor will be returned in some way.
“That is why it is very important that we have a situation, for example, when we apply for a job or something like that or when dealing with public authorities, that all citizens are treated equally.
“And that does not come in handy if you favor people because of who their relatives or friends are or if they have a little influence because they know someone important in a public institution. It is very important that we do not allow that to dominate the way they are conduct business transactions. “
He said staff shortages to tackle white-collar crimes “took a backseat” after the 2008 economic crisis.
However, he acknowledged that a recruitment program is underway, so some action is being taken to resolve these issues prior to his report.
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