JUSTICE:THOSE IN financial institutions who had failed in their duty of care to shareholders and depositors should be subject to legal scrutiny, Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West) said.
“It is not just a matter for a civil investigation,” he said.
“The Irish people are looking for those institutions to be forensically combed to ensure that no criminal offences were committed.”
There should be prosecutions and convictions if crimes were committed. “There must be justice,” said Mr Keating.
In the US a person found guilty of white-collar crime was shamed and led from the court room by handcuffs. Unjustified fat cat bonuses were clawed back.
“Contrast that with here, where to have failed is often rewarded by a fat pay-off and pensions.”
Mr Keating said Fine Gael believed that adherence to the laws of the land was the duty of every citizen.
“We will not tolerate the type of economic treason that some of those in our financial sector have engaged in, and have been committed to engage in, by a Fianna Fáil-led coalition Government presiding over loose or non-existent financial regulation or control,” he added
Mr Keating said many elderly people had lost their savings, pensions and securities through the collapse in share prices of Irish banks. This was due primarily to mismanagement. Successive Fianna Fáil-led governments had promoted the notion that the financial markets should be essentially self-regulating.
However, a “haven for greed” existed, and “Bertie, Seanie, and their closest cronies were leading that charge”, said Mr Keating.
Calling for prison reform, Mary Sweeney (Laois-Offaly) said there was a ludicrous situation whereby nearly one-third of the prison population was made up of those who had defaulted on fines.
“Overcrowding in Irish prisons has increased tension and led to serious rioting, putting the lives of the inmates and prison staff at risk.”
Ms Sweeney said that 13 of the State’s 15 jails were currently operating at over-capacity. Ms Sweeney called for a greater emphasis on rehabilitation, adding that studies had shown that there was a significantly lower rate of reoffending among sexual offenders who had completed a prison-based treatment programme.
“We also need to encourage education in our prison system and devise an incentive programme whereby educational achievement is linked to possible early release for less serious offenders,” she added.
Nicola Hogan (Laois-Offaly) moved an Edenderry motion, which was passed, calling for the electronic tagging of people on bail.
“Electronic tagging is a simple and straightforward way of enforcing bail conditions like curfews.” She claimed that many towns and cities had become no-go areas at night.
“How many of those who create havoc in our streets, threaten our businesses, our homes and ourselves are out on bail?”
Ms Hogan added that the Government had not only mismanaged the people’s money but it had also undermined their personal safety by failing to protect people from those who would rather rob, rape, main and murder than earn an honest living.
She said that the Government’s programme for government had promised a formal annual review of the new bail regime introduced in 2007.
However, this had not been delivered.
