The key Irish anti-bribery and corruption legislation is the Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018 (the“Act”). 

The Act was commenced on July 30, 2018. Prior to this, Irish anti-bribery and corruption legislation was encompassed in the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889-2010. The Act repealed and replaced the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889-2010 and consolidated the same into a single piece of legislation.  

Yes. Section 5 of the Act provides for the offense of active and passive corruption. 

Section 5(1) states that a person who, either directly or indirectly, by himself or herself or with another person 

(a) corruptly offers, or

(b) corruptly gives or agrees to give,

a gift, consideration or advantage in order to induce another person to exert an improper influence over an act of an official in relation to the office, employment, position or business of the official is guilty of this offense.

‘Corruptly’ is defined under the Act to include acting with an improper purpose either personally or by influencing
another person, whether:
(a) by means of making a false statement,
(b) by means of withholding, concealing, altering or destroying a document or other information, or
(c) by other means.

This offense thus includes a bribe payment to a domestic government official. 

Section 6 of the Act created a further offense relating specifically to trading in influence. A person who, either directly
or indirectly, by himself or herself or with another person
(a) corruptly offers, or
(b) corruptly gives or agrees to give,
a gift, consideration or advantage in order to induce another person to exert an improper influence over an act of an
an official in relation to the office, employment, position or business of the official is guilty of this offense.

Furthermore, section 7 of the Act prohibits an Irish government official from doing any act in relation to his or her office or position for the purpose of corruptly obtaining a benefit. 

In addition, Section 8 of the Act relates to the giving of a gift that facilitates the commission of an offense, which would include a bribe. A person who gives a gift, consideration or advantage to another person where the first-mentioned person knows or ought reasonably to know that the gift, consideration or advantage, or a part of it, will be used to facilitate the commission of an offense under the Act, is guilty of this offense.

Yes. Section 5 of the Act applies to gifts, consideration or advantages offered or given as an inducement to, reward for, or otherwise on account of, any person doing an act in relation to his or her office, employment, position or business. This would include foreign government officials, provided that the person committing the offense is subject to the legislation (as discussed further below).  

Section 6 of the Act also applies where a person corruptly offers, gives or agrees to give, a gift, consideration or advantage in order to induce another person to exert an improper influence over an act of a foreign government official in relation to their office, employment, position or business.

Yes. A person who, either directly or indirectly, by himself or herself or with another person

(a) corruptly requests,
(b) corruptly accepts or obtains, or
(c) corruptly agrees to accept,
for himself or herself or for any other person, a gift, consideration or advantage as an inducement to, or reward for, or otherwise on account of, any person doing an act in relation to his or her office, employment, position or business is guilty of an offense under Section 5(2) of the Act. 

Further, Section 7 of the Act prohibits an Irish official from doing any act in relation to his or her office or position for the purpose of corruptly obtaining a benefit. 

The Act applies both to individuals and corporate bodies resident in Ireland however the Act also has an extraterritorial element.  

Pursuant to Section 11 of the Act, a person or corporate body can be prosecuted for an offense under the Act if any of the acts alleged to constitute the offense are committed in Ireland (or on an Irish ship or an Irish registered aircraft), even if the other acts constituting the offense were committed outside Ireland. 

Section 12 of the Act provides that, in certain circumstances, where a person does an act in a place outside Ireland that, if done in Ireland, would, constitute an offense under Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 18(1) of the Act, they shall be guilty of an offense.  This applies to acts committed on board an Irish ship; on an Irish registered aircraft; or where the act constitutes an offense under the law of the place where it was done and the person concerned is (a) an Irish citizen; (b) an Irish official acting in his or her capacity as such; (c) an individual who has had his or her principal residence in Ireland for the period of 12 months immediately preceding the alleged commission of the offense concerned; (d) a company; or (e) any other body corporate established under Irish law.

Further, where a European Union (EU) official working for an EU institution or body set up in accordance with the treaties of the EU which has its headquarters in Ireland does an act outside Ireland that would, if done in Ireland, constitute an offense under Section 5 of the Act and if that act constitutes an offense under the law of the place where it was done, that official shall be guilty of an offense. 

A person may also be guilty of an offense under Section 5(1) of the Act in respect of acts committed outside the state if the person to whom they are corruptly offering a gift, consideration or advantage is (a) an Irish citizen and (b) a national official of a European Union Member State or a European Union official. In this instance, in order for the offense to occur, the act must also be an offense under the law of the place where it was done.

Yes. Under Section 18(1) of the Act, a body corporate will be guilty of an offense if an offense under the Act is committed by
(a) a director, manager, secretary or other officers of the body corporate,
(b) a person purporting to act in that capacity,
(c) a shadow director within the meaning of the Companies Act 2014 of the body corporate, or
(d) an employee, agent or subsidiary of the body corporate, with the intention of obtaining or retaining either business for the body corporate, or an advantage in the conduct of business for the body corporate.

It is a defense for a company when faced with a prosecution under Section 18(1) of the Act to show that it took “all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence” to avoid the commission of the offense.

In addition, Section 18(3) of the Act provides for a derivative offense whereby if it is proven that the corporate offense was committed with the consent, connivance or wilful neglect of a person who was
(a) a director, manager, secretary or other officers of the body corporate, or
(b) a person purporting to act in that capacity,
that person will, as well as the body corporate, be guilty of an offense and will be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if they were guilty of the first-mentioned offense.

On summary conviction, penalties range from a fine of up to €5,000, a term of imprisonment of up to 12 months and/or forfeiture of property of the value of the gift or benefit obtained in connection with the offense.  

On conviction on indictment, penalties range from an unlimited fine, a term of imprisonment of up to 10 years and/or forfeiture of property of the value of the gift or benefit obtained in connection with the offense. In certain circumstances, the court may also order an Irish official to forfeit their office and prohibit them from holding office as particular Irish officials for up to ten years. 

If convicted, a body corporate is liable to a fine of up to €5,000 on summary conviction or an unlimited fine on conviction on indictment.

Section 18(2) of the Act provides that it shall be a defense for a body corporate to prove that it took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the relevant offense under the Act. 

In the event of a prosecution, a company’s compliance program and anti-corruption policies and procedures are likely to come under scrutiny and may prove critical where a company is seeking to rely on this defense.

Bodies corporate should ensure that, at a minimum, the following steps are taken in order to minimize the risk of conviction:

• put in place clear and comprehensive anti-corruption policies and/or review existing policies already in place; 
• ensure all personnel receive training on the said policies and are aware of their obligations pursuant to the policies and how to recognize and deal with suspected bribery;
• discuss and review on an ongoing basis the effectiveness of the policies and procedures at the appropriate level within the organization (e.g. compliance or board level); 
• appoint a compliance manager with day-to-day responsibility for implementing the policies, monitoring their use and effectiveness and updating them as necessary;
• keep a written record of any gifts or entertainment given or received in order to ensure transparency; and
• communicate the organization’s zero-tolerance approach on bribery and corruption to third-party service providers, suppliers and other organizations with which it does business.

In Ireland, neither deferred prosecution agreements nor leniency agreements are currently available to corporate entities in respect of a violation of anti-corruption laws.