§ 34. Mr. TrimbleTo ask the Attorney-General how many requests have been received within the last year from other EC countries for assistance from the Serious Fraud Office.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralWhile the Serious Fraud Office has received no specific requests for assistance from European Community countries in the last year, it has excellent working relationships with the overseas authorities with which it comes into contact. In the last year, co-operation and assistance have been given by countries including France, Switzerland, the United States of America, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man.
§ Mr. TrimbleI am disappointed that the Solicitor-General's list does not include the Republic of Ireland because, as he knows, there have been a number of serious financial scandals there in recent months. The Garda makes no secret of the fact that its resources are not sufficient to deal with them. I refer in particular to the Goodman scandal concerning export credit insurance for beef, which the current Minister for Industry and Commerce, Mr. O'Malley, said resulted from Goodman's unusually close relationship with the Taoiseach, Mr. Albert Reynolds. The ramifications of that case extend to Northern Ireland, because it appears that export credit insurance was given for large consignments of beef that originated in Northern Ireland. In the light of that, would it not be appropriate for the Serious Fraud Office to play a more active role in examining the ramifications of those scandals?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralI have recently returned from Northern Ireland. The Serious Fraud Office is always anxious to help when it can, but its powers under section 2 of the Act are limited to cases in which it is investigating a fraud in our jurisdiction; it cannot act as an agent for a foreign country in regard to a fraud within a jurisdiction of that country. We need a United Kingdom foundation before the SFO can act.