The Department of Justice has announced details of a process to appoint members of a new Advisory Council against Economic Crime and Corruption, which will be set up later this year.

The Minister for Justice Heather Humphreys (pictured) said today (17 September) that she was seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified candidates.

The establishment of the council was one of the recommendations of the Hamilton Report on white-collar crime.

Its function is to make proposals to Government on strategies and policies to tackle economic crime and corruption,

An independent chair will be appointed to lead the work of the council, while there will be six ordinary members.

Four-year term for chair

The ordinary members will represent three sectors:

• Business and the financial sector,
• Academia, and
• Civil society.

The chair’s term is four years, renewable once, and the membership term for ordinary members is three years.

The advisory body will be established on a non-statutory basis, and will consist of 20 members – the chair, 13 public-sector representatives, two representatives from the business and the financial sector, two from academia, and two from civil society.

Minister Humphreys said that Ireland’s reputation as a leading destination and hub for business was “hugely important” for the economy, but she added that white-collar crime had the potential to undermine confidence in the economic system.

The deadline for applications is 3pm on Friday, 8 October.