THE proposed extension of the requirement to report suspicious financial transactions has received a mixed response from the bodies representing the professions likely to be affected.
The Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute (IAVI), which represents estate agents, has accused the Government of "once again trying to get the professions to do their work for them".
The Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA), the largest body representing accountants, has said that its members accepted the need for them to play their part in combating organised crime.
Mr Ken Murphy, the chief executive of the Law Society, said "solicitors will fully support any reasonable measures to curb the menace of drug related crime".
Mr Alan Cooke, the chief executive of the IAVI, said estate agents and their families risked becoming targets for criminals if they informed on them to the authorities. They also would be left open to possible legal action if they reported a transaction as being suspicious which turned out as bone fide.
"You are asking people who have no training in this area to make value judgments. Should they report every working class person who has a lot of money?" asked Mr Cooke.
He added that comprehensive details of all house purchases were already forwarded to the Revenue Commissioners by the solicitors carrying out the conveyancing of sales. The solicitor forwarded the identity of the seller and the buyer as well as details of the property and the price paid. This could be extended to include details of how the purchaser paid for the property, he suggested.
Estate agents who act as agents for landlords also have to notify the Revenue Commissioners of all the rents they collect, he said.
Mr Sean Dorgan, the chief executive of the ICA, said that because of the seriousness of the crime situation, accountants "had to contribute something", and he hoped that the risks to his members of informing on suspicious clients would not be too great. The 1994 Criminal Justice Act made it clear that client confidentiality did not apply in these situations, he said.
The institute has already drawn up guidelines for its members, in conjunction with the Departments of Finance and Justice, on how money laundering could be tackled, he said.
The Law Society expressed some concern about the Government's approach to introducing the new legislation. "It seems undesirable for complex legislation to be both published and passed into law in the same day without any prior consultation with parties who may be required to operate it," explained Mr Murphy.
