Check Against Delivery 

"That Dáil Éireann approves the terms of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, done at New York on 31^st October, 2003, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 16th September, 2011."


Chairman, Members of the Committee,

I would like to thank for agreeing to consider this motion.

Introduction 
The United Nations Convention against Corruption was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in October 2003 and was signed on behalf of Ireland in December of that year. It is one of a number of international agreements made over the past twelve years by the Council of Europe, the OECD, and the EU as well as the UN that reflect the concern of the international community to tackle corruption. The aim of the Convention, which provides a set of standards and rules, is to encourage countries to strengthen their legal and regulatory regimes to fight corruption, both within the private and public sectors.

Corruption has done damage to this country, not only to political and business interests in the State, but also to our reputation abroad. It is important that we remedy that damage by tackling corruption not only in our domestic laws and systems, but also in cooperation with the international community.

Over 150 states are a party to the Convention, including virtually all of the EU Member States. It is a matter of some regret, therefore, that it is only now, eight years after signing the Convention, that Ireland is in a position to ratify it.

Despite having not yet ratified, Ireland has participated in the Conferences for States party to the Convention. My Department is represented at the UN Conference which is, in fact, taking place this week, and I think this is an indication of our continuing commitment to and support for the UN in the process of tackling corruption.

Necessity of Dáil Motion 
The Convention is an international agreement within the meaning of Article 29.5.1 of the Constitution. The Attorney General has advised that this Agreement involves a charge upon public funds within the meaning of Article 29.5.2 of the Constitution and as a result, the terms of the Convention require prior Dáil approval. Article 46(28) of the Convention provides that the ordinary costs of executing a mutual assistance request shall be borne by the requested State Party, unless otherwise agreed. Although such costs are in the usual way covered in the Votes for my Department and the Garda Síochána etc., this can be seen to create a charge upon public funds. For these reasons the approval of Dáil Éireann is required to the terms of the agreement to ensure the validity of its ratification.

Ratification of Convention 
Most of the provisions of the Convention reflect existing Irish anti-corruption legislation and practice for many years. However, it was considered preferable not to proceed with formal ratification of this measure until after enactment of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2010, which strengthened the law on corruption, as well as the introduction of the enhanced money laundering regime under the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act, 2010. Ireland has, however, already participated in the Conferences arranged for States’ parties to the Convention, which are aimed at the promotion and review of the implementation of the Instrument among the Member States.

The Convention is a comprehensive anti-corruption treaty, providing a set of standards and rules, to encourage countries to strengthen their legal and regulatory regimes to fight corruption, both within the private and public sectors. Its aims are to promote, facilitate and support international co-operation and technical assistance in the prevention of, and fight against, corruption.

Becoming a party to the Convention will enhance Ireland's international reputation, as well as underlining our commitment to working with international partners to combat corruption. Ratification is also important in the light of the commitments in the Programme for Government proposing consolidation and reform of the corruption law. Ireland will Chair the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2012, when it is intended that good governance, including anti-corruption initiatives will be a priority measure during our term of office. For all these reasons, it is desirable that we now proceed with ratification of the Convention.

The UN Convention is one of a number of anti-corruption instruments, and since 2003, the State is a party to the OECD Convention and the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on this subject, as well as the European Union Instrument on the protection of the European Communities’ financial interests. The OECD and Council of Europe Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) carry out regular evaluations of Member States’ implementation of these agreements. Ratification of the UN Convention will entail a similar evaluation for the State. The EU is also currently developing its anti-corruption strategy in the context of the Stockholm Programme, and is likely to develop a formal association with GRECO.

Summary of key points of the Convention and recent legislative developments. 
The Convention is structured around 4 themes – Preventive Measures, Criminalisation, International Cooperation and Asset Recovery.

Within the State, the key anti-corruption legislation is the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889 to 2010. The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2010, strengthened the law on corruption, in particular, by substantially extending the State’s extra-territorial jurisdiction in respect of the corruption offence, so that jurisdiction now extends to virtually all persons having a connection with the Irish State. That Act also contains extensive protection for whistleblowers reporting corruption offences. The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010, strengthened regulatory controls, and broadened the range of offences considered as predicate offences for money laundering. Another key measure is the Criminal Justice Act 2011 which was enacted just before the summer recess. It targets serious white collar crime including fraud and corruption and enhances the power of the Gardaí to investigate such offences

Preventive Measures in the Convention 
The following preventive provisions in the Convention are of note:

Article 6 requires states to ensure the existence of anti-corruption bodies, tasked with implementing anti-corruption strategies. It is considered that bodies such as the Standards in Public Office Commission, the Ombudsman, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Director of Corporate Enforcement, the Criminal Assets Bureau, the Director of Public Prosecution and the Garda Síochána fulfil this role within the State.

Articles 7 – 9, concern the Public Sector and require codes of conduct for public officials and appropriate public procurement practices. Relevant implementation measures include the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001, and the Codes of Conduct for the Public Sector and the Local Government sector as well as the Freedom of Information Acts.

In respect of Article 7.3 of the Convention, dealing with the transparency of funding of candidates for elected office and political parties, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government advises that existing provisions contained within the Electoral Act 1997 and the Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenses) Act 1999 are being strengthened and enhanced through the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011, which is currently being drafted.

Criminalisation and law enforcement 
Articles 15 – 23 address offences including bribery, embezzlement and money laundering. These are provided for in the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889 to 2010, the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 and the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010. The confiscation matters addressed in article 31 are provided for under the Criminal Justice Act 1994, and the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008. Other matters provided for include cooperation between national authorities, protection for persons reporting offences under the Convention, and statute of limitations issues.

Asset Recovery and Technical assistance and information exchange 
Relevant legislative provisions in respect of asset recovery and technical assistance in Chapters V and VI are the proceeds of crime, terrorist financing and mutual assistance legislation. In relation to article 58 (Financial Intelligence Unit provision) the Money Laundering Investigation Unit of An Garda Síochána carries out these functions. Existing training programmes and ongoing activities, including channels of information exchange cover the requirements in Chapter VI.

Further Anti-Corruption and Reform Measures 
The Government is committed to tackling corruption, not only through punitive measures, but also through effective prevention. The programme for Government promises consolidation and reform of anti-corruption law. My officials are preparing heads of a bill to update the eight different statutory measures comprising the Prevention of Corruption Acts which span from 1889 to 2010 and to bring them into one comprehensible and accessible bill. I hope to bring these heads to Government for approval and to publish them next year.

My colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and reform is working on a number of measures in the area of public reform which are relevant to the prevention of corruption, including the commitment to introduce a statutory register of lobbyists, and rules concerning the practice of lobbying.

Conclusion 
Chairman, ratification of this convention is not merely appropriate at this stage, it is also a necessary step toward demonstrating our commitment to tackle corruption and clean up public life in this country. Our international reputation will suffer if there is any further delay in ratification. The convention facilitates greater international cooperation in tackling corruption. It will also, through its evaluation system allow Ireland to demonstrate that our anti-corruption laws and systems meet international standards. I look forward to hearing the contributions of the Committee members and I commend the motion to the Committee.