Mattie McGrath on money mules, EU fines and 'exposed persons'

Deputy Mooghaa Prime Minister I too want to welcome this legislation and it's a pity that it is behind time. I know there was the election and there was a long delay in forming the government but we're obviously I think eight months behind time and we have once again been fined by the EU authorities. you know I suppose we're in the EU we have to play our part but we have been fined on a regular basis now by the European authorities for many different issues and it ill behoves you know a situation like this where every citizen of the state need the protection here that we would put drag in this and not play our part we're very good Europeans in many ways when it comes to signing statutory instruments for the fishermen we're crucifying the teacher couldn't even wait for the Minister of Agriculture albeit the third one in a month to be appointed to sign the statutory instruments he rushed and signed them I say he hadn't even read them this is what happens and the severe penalties that are placed on those fishermen due to those statutory instruments are scandalous and you can go to court and you can defend your good name and you can get the penalty points annulled but they stay on your license did you ever hear the bait of it in your life you could be found cleared of the of the offence that you were charged with and got penalty points but you can't remove the penalty points for your license so so quick to do that yeah but so slow to deal with a very important piece of legislation like this you're a new minister and I wish you well and I have no issue with you whatsoever or your dad before you I respect you for that and you're a legal brain as well you're qualified much more than I am but this situation is scandalous we see night after night day after day the atrocities in Dublin in Drogheda we have them spreading down to Mullingair and we have fears that they spread the Tlanmel because of the activities of drug gangs and we have this horrible term of the mules and a mule was across being a genital and aspen I was growing up but it's a horrible terminology a mule we had drug mules now we have money mules it's disgusting young teenagers just barely you know secondary school they should be maybe learning difficulties maybe with beyond the spectrum for some issues and be used in this horrible horrible disgusting profession and as soon as that the age to open a bank account in the legal age they can and we saw her a survey was done and 98% of the people involved had bank accounts over there were those money mules and they have a criminal record and a serious criminal record for the rest of their life and they probably won't get away with a juvenile and liaison officer and like that they have a horrible criminal record and not only that because they get a fairly good reward for being the mule to carry that funding into the bank account and transfer it out again so they get they like this it's it's manna it's quick quick broke and they get into that way of life and it's so hard to change it and then they get so in deeper and deeper and it's so difficult to come out of it and so difficult for you know people in the community I'll be it the parents together you know the terrorists that are out there dealing with people that are involved in these kinds of criminality to try and talk about it because the money is it's lucrative and it's high high buzz and high octane levels and they just really get sucked in and carry on so minister I am supporting this legislation but I have an issue like deputy Danny Healy Ray mentioned in relation to a nominated person that a person would expose an exposed person a politician I'm one of those I accept that myself certainly I do and we are that but when it comes to my wife when it comes to each and every one of my eight children it down to my 14 year old daughter and my son-in-law who no really relation to me as such we're in very good terms thank God and his great men around the house to help us with issues in there but when they all get registered letters from my bank that they're all exposed persons I think that has gone from the ridiculous to the sublime I mean my child that has no way of earning money she's past her leaving now since and going on to college and it expense will be on us to keep her down God bless her and got her what she achieved what she wanted and got her place it's a very anxious year last year this present year on the exams and I was very anxious that I know what they're going to have lectures or they're going to have study of what they're going to have and it's it's very unfair but she's an exposed person that's ridiculous and when I got onto my bank I got no hop I got onto my legal advice I was told to comply and I don't also complain for my children especially ones that are not involved in my business or my political scene or anything else and some of them are you know married and in my hand they're setting up their own clowns setting up their own family so we must be mindful of that too and I'm talk to the drafters of this legislation who you know we I often I'm critical of but it's a step too far it's ridiculous why should they inquire about my children as Deputy Hilly Ray said the banks are under this legislation now and they notice more than anybody if there's big and and huge money movements in an account holder I'll be mine or anybody else and I'm all up for that all up for that because that's the way it should be but to expect as I said I've eight children I'm blessed with them thank God my wife and I and that they'll be all exposed persons and classified to get registered letters this is kind of intimidation really and the system's gone gone mad and it shouldn't be happening and I'm sorry to have an amendment down on this but I think that you need to look at it and and say hey come on a minute here why would you put your family under stress under stress and these letters we don't know what has happened registered letters any time is a series enough I went to you had signed for them and whatever but that needs to be changed in the legislation because we need a legislation to tackle who should tackle the heinous dastardly people that are involved in drug and financial crime and drug trafficking and and and people trafficking in in in child labour you name whatever comes up they don't mind they see money and lots of money and quick ways of getting it and to see that we're lagging behind with this legislation but under the existing legislation I got all those letters one day from from the panel fished stock and Doris we got to let us so I think that that is as I said ridiculous and I don't want to say any more about it but I want to see that change because it's not right because I'm concerned because you know I'm a political person and of course my wife is and and and some people involved with me but other family members shouldn't be and it's just not it's just not it's just not right as I said and and we're fine two million recently and so and I'd love to know and I would be putting it odd question to know how many millions are we been fined and how often are we been fined by our European friends that we will be getting a lot of support from but now we are on the on the on the on the paying end which are that after the most recent um you know crunch talks where we're going to be net contributors fifth highest contributor in the whole EU so that's bad enough without you paying all these fines as well as I said a minister it's it's it's it's just not right to have these drug bands ever do what they like and as regards um ordinary small drug criminals and many of these mules that I'm talking about they may be male or female and I hit call in the term but that's the term they're called I call them a vulnerable person really that gets sucked into that and they may then get involved in in moving drugs because I know in my own uh county in Clonmel and other towns young children as young as seven are distributing drugs for family gangs that are out of control and controlling the drug trade in the town of Clonmel and I spoke about it here before and I would support um the Gardaí 100% of it and his team and Sergeant Keirna Regan and Clare Murphy many others on the community community side of it and they've really come to the fore through COVID but if you saw the Dickensian station that they're expected to work in you wouldn't expect you know I mean you wouldn't expect I won't compare them to Anna but you wouldn't expect put anybody in it this thing it's not a suitable premises to try and for any workplace that alone to say and members of Angadashia Corner are the front line and a very thin line between anarchy and peace and the public and they need the public support at all times so we need legislation robust and I salute cab and I support the excellent work they have done I'm and I it gives me a sense of pride when I see where there's a bus with cab and maybe the customs and maybe possibly you know together the dog and drugs teams and they've on air huge amounts of drugs and there's a fact earlier one was referred to in Drogheda and anywhere and and literally seizing bank accounts and freezing bank accounts more importantly and finding you know wagons of cash in those number of houses maybe and there are often times that there are domestic domestic houses and then the warehouses as well and when we see the opulence and the the the big cars and the watches and they think this has to be stamped and we're behind the curve in stamping it but I do support cab and what they're doing there and that's needed to be done we will support them and we must take soldiers from them and the guard team will take soldiers from us as well as regards you know as regards you know as regards um um dealing getting these tugs off the streets minister also as I said these young vulnerable people so-called mules they get involved in and maybe their families get involved and families do the best sorry the families don't get involved but their families are sucked into this and you know and then we see they're living in housing states they're on the street and again a bad name to the whole community a terrible bad name and people know about it and are feared and they're revered by some other young people and for their money and what they can do so it's a very difficult area to deal with but the housing authorities and housing legislation must be strengthened to come up with ways of of as I said to said earlier by uh talk to crow I think um that's you know where I gather vetting is there for everything I have people now that are involved in the community and they might be involved in five different organizations that they have to get a separate gather vetting from all it's madness when we have a gather vetting for a house some people are slipping through the cracks and there's relocation policy too from a city not that far from me and ended up in my towns into our towns in Tipperary and we wouldn't talk about them or we didn't know but where was the gather vetting worse than that if they get a clear gather vetting and are housed in a in a family home and then they get involved in drug business or all this dirty murky business there should be a review of the gather vetting they're not in a good tenant council start to act and the social workers and everything it's not easy but if you can see and I do see it in in in plan well in a housing estate and and where and I don't see it sorry but I have people on to me on a regular basis there is a constant flow of people in and out over the wall and if they open them out they'll get abused and they get all kinds of missiles turned into the garden and that's from a particular a grouping of people who we all talk about here and we give them ethnic status as well and they can't be touched it's shocking so we need this to be more robust and to be more even-handed and to to to to take those vagabonds and and gangsters and fraudsters off our streets because it's it's it's a tin line where they take control and it's the corner that we have now with the children out of school and lots of time in their hands we saw that party and I'm not going to criticise Nadine Oge I believe Muna Noi or Chucky Sheet but the time that they had and I know I have dealing with issues in clandmen and other places with anti-social behaviour just it's not really anti-social behaviour but these gangs of people have nothing to do because all the sports were stood down all their activities whether it be arts work whether it be music whether it be ringer ringer it's called ringer you're running machine which is all um all stores up so people have nothing else to do so there's an old saying and that I could probably agree with me or probably heard to any less count called certainly the devil finds hands for the devil finds work for idle hands and that's what happens and they just hadn't to work up they hadn't a recreation or they hadn't those outlets and I appeal to Cliff Baines and I am one myself of teenagers to just know and care and wonder where your young people are because we don't want them turning into this terrible term of of of of money these muni money meal money mules it's shocking and it's simple transaction into your account has gone out an hour after but it's diversion and then they are easily traced and which is a good thing as I said the survey that Deputy Murphy referred to where 98% of the people involved here were young people between um 17 18 and and 24 and that's a very uh a vital time because a lot of pressures on those people so I suppose the legislation certainly minister but I'm concerned and I'm appealing to you to examine the situation I have planned to you Deputy Hilly Ray did as well because um um if it could be you know common sense applied and common sense is a scarce commodity in this uh modern world but we need common sense as I said but we also need to ensure that we have these this legislation prepared and put through the house um in time are we otherwise in this case we have to have it in time and we should have it we're behind the curve all the time in catching up with these criminals with this cryptocurrency I hadn't even referred to but I mean and what we saw all this week throughout the world with big financial institutions 40 billion going to him here in Ireland and we pride ourselves on the financial headquarters that we have here of companies but we are open right for picking but our children the dino get right for picking and it's the wrong kind of picking and it must be stamped out so this legislation uh has to go through swiftly but I would ask you to try and try and address the questions that I put to you for my quote last year for my quote last year for my quote for my quote for my quote