THE GOVERNMENT was accused of failing to deal with corporate crime by Fine Gael enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar.

He was speaking during a debate on the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009, which was introduced by Minister of State for Trade and Commerce Billy Kelleher.

Mr Varadkar said the Bill was a response to a series of corporate and banking scandals which had damaged both the economy and reputation of the State.

“I refer, for example, to the scandal involving loans to the directors of Anglo Irish Bank, the activities of Mr Fingleton at the Irish Nationwide Building Society, the passage of moneies between Irish Life Permanent and Anglo Irish Bank and, previously, the overcharging and tax evasion engaged in by some of the larger banks,” he said. “It might not have been necessary to introduce this Bill if such a lax approach had not been taken to financial regulation and if the Government had not been so soft on corporate crime.”

Mr Varadkar said if one consulted the official report it was interesting to note the number of occasions on the Opposition benches when TDs raised the issue of the under-resourcing of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement.

The “regrettable” response of the then taoiseach was that the Director of Corporate Enforcement would be obliged to wait his turn to obtain additional staff.

Mr Varadkar said under the Bill as it stood, the loans taken out by Seán FitzPatrick would have to be disclosed. However, preferential loans given to wives, girlfriends, husbands, boyfriends and others connected to directors would not have to be disclosed.

“All that will be provided is an aggregate figure in respect of all the loans given to connected persons,” he said. “We will not be in a position to know how many such loans were given, the identity of those to whom they were extended, the amounts involved or the level of repayments made.”

Billy Kelleher (Fianna Fáil) said the Bill was targeted and dealt with a number of company law issues requiring immediate attention. The Bill’s objective was to provide a framework to support the Director of Corporate Enforcement by ensuring he has the range of powers required.

“It will improve the transparency of loans made by licensed banks to their directors and persons connected with them,” he said. “It will amend certain existing provisions relating to Irish-registered non-resident companies to deal with concerns of the European Commission.”