White collar crime has been treated too leniently to date and it is important that we, as legislators, take a stand against it. When will the criminal justice (corruption) Bill, which aims to clarify and strengthen certain corruption offences, to provide greater clarity on influence offences and specific liability for companies for corrupt acts, come before the House? Was there an increase in funding for the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, ODCE, in the recent budget?

This is under active consideration on the part of Government. It is one of my priorities and I expect to be in a position to publish legislation before the end of the year. I assure the Deputy that appropriate funding has been, and will be, made available to the office as mentioned.