Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy is to advise Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern on how to strengthen the law on white collar crime.
Mr Ahern said he wants to draw on the force’s recent experience of banking investigations to help bring offenders to justice as quickly as possible.
Addressing the Law Society annual dinner Mr Ahern said he would be bringing proposals to Government to draw all anti-corruption measures together under the one statute.
“In light of the experience gained by the Force in these current and in past investigations, I believe they are well placed to bring forward proposals, which will help us bring offenders to justice as expeditiously as possible,” he said.
“In my view the number and variety of laws dealing with corruption matters on the statute book is unsatisfactory and understandably confusing for many people.
“I want to make the law clearer, easier to access and where necessary, tougher, in this area.”
Mr Ahern said renewed prosperity must also bring with it reformed systems, strong laws and regulations to ensure it is not possible “to play fast and loose with the economic and financial system”.
Mr Ahern said he would be bringing proposals to Government for the preparation of a consolidated Corruption Bill, gathering all of the anti-corruption measures together in a single statute.
Mr Murphy has been asked by Mr Ahern to pinpoint where the law is defective or lacking on foot of probing current bank and financial scandals.
The former chairman and chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank was questioned by fraud-squad investigators in March about alleged financial irregularities.
The former bank boss was detained during a dawn raid at his luxury home in Greystones, Co Wicklow, although he was later released without charge.
Financial records were among documents removed from the house as part of a one-year investigation into the near collapse of the property lender.
Mr Ahern also said the Corruption Bill, currently before the Oireachtas, will provide blanket protection for whistleblowers in any job reporting suspected corruption.
“Let me be clear what that means: it will provide protection to any person, in any sector, reporting suspicions of corruption in good faith,” he said.
PA