Fitzgerald says corporate watchdog is ‘not fit for purpose’

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has said the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) is “not fit for purpose”.

Ms Fitzgerald, speaking for the first time about the collapse of Seán FitzPatrick’s trial before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, said the “failings of the agency are profound”.

She has been joined in her criticism today by her Cabinet colleague, Health Minister Simon Harris, who has told the Irish Independent that the Government must now set up a new anti-corruption agency.

Mr FitzPatrick’s 127-day trial - the longest in Irish history - ended with Judge John Aylmer directing an acquittal on all 27 charges.

Judge Alymer told the jury that he had made a decision that the prosecution had not established a sufficient case to go to the jury.

It has since emerged that the ODCE also breached EU procurement rules by paying more than €300,000 for expert testimony from two experts at London accountancy firm Mazars.

The watchdog has also been criticised in legal circles for writing to charity Console to point out that Shelley Horan BL, who had been nominated as a trustee to the charity by the Charities Regulator, was “acting for Mr Sean FitzPatrick in DPP v Sean FitzPatrick, a prosecution in which this Office is the associated investigative authority”.

The contact has been described as inappropriate and unusual.