Dublin South West Sinn Féin TD, Seán Crowe, has described the collapse of the Anglo trial, due supposedly to the mishandling of evidence and a half-hearted flawed investigation undertaken by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE), as an unacceptable.
Deputy Seán Crowe said:
“In relation to the Anglo Irish Bank trial, and the specific case taken against Seán Fitzpatrick, it is clear that the ODCE failed miserably in its own role to encourage adherence to company law and bring to account those who disregard that law.
“The sheer incompetence and flawed approach shown in this investigation is shocking and totally unacceptable. Common sense would inform that it is not appropriate for anyone else to take statements from witnesses apart from the Gardaí, or to shred key documents in the midst of a criminal trial, but that’s what happened.
“It is clear that the ODCE was unprepared and it lacked the wherewithal and motivation for this type of investigation.
“The overall financial cost of this fiasco will be significant. Leaving aside the price of a nine year investigation, it has been estimated to have cost €3 million for this 127 day failed trial alone.
“As per usual the taxpayer is left carrying the burden and left to pick up the cost and pay for excesses of others, as they were with the bond holders.
“The loss to the citizens of Ireland is not just financial. This situation also creates an unmeasurable loss in public confidence in everyday politics, courts, and the legal system. The state can be bankrupted and banks can be collapsed through excesses of a few, yet once again no one is held to account. However if you don’t pay your TV license, and live at the wrong address, you can expect the full rigour of the law.
“Increasingly public opinion is firmly of the belief that justice is delivered on the basis of who you know, is dependent on whom you are, who you socialise with, what your financially worth is, and where you live.
“The number of staff in the ODCE has declined from 53 in 2010 to 40 in 2016. Apart from the unacceptable 26% reduction in staffing levels, it is bizarre to think that just 40 people were assigned to investigate and prosecute all the corruption and white collar crime in Ireland last year.
“These figures also highlight how little priority or importance this Government gives the serious issue of white collar crime.
“Questioned about the resourcing of the ODCE last year, Minister Mitchell O’Connor said she was satisfied that the office was sufficiently funded. Clearly, it was neither funded nor resourced correctly and the Minister must take responsibility for the failure of this trial as a result.”
ENDS