Police from several EU countries have visited this State in the past 18 months to examine the legislation and structures introduced after the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin. Senior gardai and Government sources who have dealt with the visiting officers say they have all been impressed and wish to see similar measures in their countries.
Some, including the United Kingdom and France, are understood to be considering actively changes to their laws in line with the Irish model.
This development has been recognised in the report by the special EU group set up seven years ago to examine the mechanisms in individual states for countering money-laundering. The report on the Republic is understood to be the most laudatory issued by the task force.
One of the few faults it identifies is what it regards as a slight lack of co-operation between the Criminal Assets Bureau and the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation, which has charge of money-laundering not connected with organised crime.
However, Garda sources say this has since been corrected and that there is regular communication between the two units. Earlier this year the senior investigating officer in the CAB, Mr Felix McKenna, was promoted to Chief Superintendent to head the Bureau of Fraud Investigation.
Since the task force's evaluation, the amount of money seized by the Garda and the number of suspicious financial transactions under investigation have increased dramatically.
The report concludes that since its first visit in 1994, "Ireland has put in place a comprehensive and very solid legislative scheme for combating money-laundering and, in relation to certain measures, such as the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 and the CAB, it has implemented an innovative legislative and administrative scheme which could provide a model for other countries."
It adds: "These measures, together with an active implementation in important areas such as Central Bank supervision and a willingness to review the system and make appropriate changes, e.g., the inclusion of certain categories of professionals under the Criminal Justice Act 1994, provide a firm foundation for an effective anti-money-laundering system."
While it says the powers to freeze and confiscate property are "already very wide-reaching," it recommends that the Department of Justice should give consideration to widening the criteria in the Criminal Justice Act to all criminal offences, and to reducing the waiting period for a disposal order, currently seven years.
It also recommends that the Garda Money-Laundering Investigation Unit (a section within the Fraud Bureau with nine dedicated officers) be expanded, and that a financial analyst be appointed to assist it.
It says the Republic's system of laws and treaties concerning international co-operation is "comprehensive" and seems to be working successfully. No request from another country for action against money-launderers has been refused.
The report singles out the Criminal Assets Bureau for particular praise, saying: "The CAB is a multi-agency body with a range of expertise it can draw upon, and extensive powers under its own legislation and the POCA (Proceeds of Crime Act), which it has utilised to full effect.
"In addition, the ability of the CAB to use a variety of other civil recovery tools has proven to be very effective and the Government should consider whether some of the successful components of this system could be used in other areas of law enforcement.
"The legislative measures contained in the CJA (Criminal Justice Act) dealing with customer identification, record-keeping and reporting of suspicious transactions meet the FATF recommendations and, when combined with the guidance notes, provide a comprehensive base upon which to combat money-laundering in the financial sector."
Singling out the Proceeds of Crime Act and the CAB for praise, the report says: "When the action taken under tax and social welfare legislation is also taken into account, it confirms that the CAB has taken a robust proactive approach to the recovery of the proceeds of crime, which so far has proven to be very successful."
On the confiscation of the proceeds of crime, the report says: "The legislative scheme which has been created in Ireland has a very broad reach, is already proving to be effective, and provides a model which other countries could consider.
"The POCA (Proceeds of Crime Act) provides even more extensive powers than the CJA (Criminal Justice Act) and has been aggressively and successfully used. It is based on civil proceedings with a civil onus of proof and no requirement for criminal conviction."
The task force endorses the Government proposals to include accountants and solicitors' firms along with financial institutions in the list of organisations which must, under law, report suspicious financial transactions. The solicitors' representative body, the Incorporated Law Society, has objected to this proposal.