Tony Gregory
Question:181 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Justice the amount of heroin seized by the Garda in each of the years from 1988 to 1992 inclusive.
Written Answers. - Heroin Seizures.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that information in relation to the quantity of heroin seized by the Garda and the Customs is published in the Garda Commissioner's Annual Report on Crime, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library. The 1992 report is not yet available.
In regard to 1992 I indicated in a reply to parliamentary questions on 17 February last that the preliminary Garda figure for 1992 equated with the 1990 figure and was 20 per cent less than the average annual heroin seizure over the previous ten years. More up-to-date figures, which are, however, still provisional, have since been supplied to me by the Garda authorities which indicate that the 1992 figure will be somewhat higher than they previously anticipated. The preliminary figures given to me by the Garda for the purposes of my reply on 17 February did not include a substantial amount of heroin which came into the custody of the Customs Authorities in late November last. I regret that the Deputy and the House were given inaccurate information on this matter and I shall ensure that definitive figures are provided as soon as they are available to me.