Committee says illicit finance threatens security

An Oireachtas finance committee has said the scale of dark money flowing through Irish financial services should be considered a national security threat. The finding was contained in its Report on Dark Money flowing through the Irish financial sector, listed in the Houses of the Oireachtas publications on 16 October 2026 and reported on 18 October 2026.

The report was produced by the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach. The committee is chaired by Sinn Féin TD Mairéad Farrell, and has 14 members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

The Irish Examiner reported that the committee warned gaps in enforcement were limiting the ability to tackle illicit flows. It reported that the gaps concerned how dark money — the proceeds of corruption, organised crime, and other illicit activities — flows through the Irish financial services sector.

The committee linked those flows to sanctions circumvention, money laundering, financing of terrorism and financial stability risks. It said those risks threatened Ireland's reputation as a location for financial services, adding: "If the State is not sure what it is assisting financially, it risks being complicit in financing conflict,"

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Publications - Houses of the Oireachtas

Ownership registers and election influence

A central issue at the April hearing was access to information about who really owns companies. Prior to early 2023, the fifth anti-money laundering directive provided for public access to beneficial ownership information. After a Court of Justice of the EU judgment in November 2022, Ireland ended public access.

In June 2023, the Minister for Finance signed SI No. 308 of 2023, addressing access after that judgment. TI Ireland argued that access to beneficial ownership registers for journalists and civil society organisations must be restored before the July 2026 deadline, in line with the sixth anti-money laundering directive.

Committee Cathaoirleach Mairéad Farrell had framed dark money broadly before the hearing, saying: "The term 'dark money' is used to describe the proceeds of corruption and other illicit activities, including but not limited to organised crime, fraud, sanctions evasion, tax evasion and hostile state activity."

Farrell also pointed to risks around elections and public policy, saying: "We have seen evidence of this in the last decade in elections across the European Union, the Brexit referendum in Britain and in elections in the United States." Witnesses told the committee that indirect influence could flow through think tanks, sporting and cultural organisations and philanthropy, rather than direct political donations alone.

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Houses of the Oireachtas (2)

Dark Money Flowing through the Irish Financial Sector: Transparency International Ireland
Today the committee is meeting to discuss the topic of dark money flowing through the Irish financial sector as identified in the Transparency International corruption perceptions index 2025.
Joint Committee to discuss 'dark money' flowing through Irish financial sector
The term ‘dark money’ is used to describe the proceeds of corruption and other illicit activities, including but not limited to organised crime, fraud, sanctions evasion, tax evasion and hostile state activity.

What TI Ireland says should happen next

Welcoming the report, TI Ireland said its recommendations closely reflected issues it had been raising over several years. Devitt said there were still several areas where the Government's response to illicit finance "do not yet go far enough."

Devitt said the recommendations reflected a growing cross-party consensus, stating: "The recommendations reflect a growing cross-party consensus that Ireland's role as a leading international financial centre brings serious responsibilities as well as economic benefits."

In April evidence, TI Ireland highlighted five key messages for the committee: acknowledging illicit-finance risks, restoring register access, resourcing the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and financial intelligence unit, closing gaps around limited partnerships and SPEs, and addressing illicit finance in the forthcoming national security strategy.

In that evidence, a witness also said an Irish organised crime group working with foreign actors on money laundering and weapons supply in east Africa should be referenced in that strategy. Europol's serious organised crime threat assessment was also cited for highlighting illicit finance, influence and hybrid operations as a key threat.

For readers, the practical questions are whether ownership transparency, Garda and regulatory resourcing, and SPE supervision change. The committee has asked the Minister for Finance to act as a matter of priority, while TI Ireland wants clear Government timelines for implementation.

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Irish Examiner

Scale of 'dark money' flowing through Ireland a threat to national security, report warns
The scale of “dark money” flowing through Irish financial services should be considered a national security threat, according to an Oireachtas committee.

Houses of the Oireachtas

Dark Money Flowing through the Irish Financial Sector: Transparency International Ireland
Today the committee is meeting to discuss the topic of dark money flowing through the Irish financial sector as identified in the Transparency International corruption perceptions index 2025.

Ask Dex about this page

Oireachtas: dark money in Irish finance is security threat

Committee says illicit finance threatens security

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The $300 million case raised in Leinster House

Ownership registers and election influence

What TI Ireland says should happen next

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