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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 13 Feb 1997

Vol. 474 No. 8

Adjournment Debate. - Criminal Assets Bureau Proceeds.

I raise this matter to ensure the money and property seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau is channelled into a special fund dedicated exclusively to the fight against drug abuse. All the moneys and properties confiscated by the Criminal Assets Bureau under the Proceeds of Crime Bill from the drug barons should be used in the fight against crime. I hope to table an amendment, if necessary, to the Finance Bill to establish a fund into which the proceeds of all seizures of property and cash confiscated from the drug barons could be deposited and used exclusively in the fight against drugs. I hope the Minister is receptive to that idea.

The establishment of the Criminal Assets Bureau was one of the Minister's ideas and was set out in a Labour Party policy document. I compliment the Minister on being so forceful in ensuring it was brought forward and enshrined in legislation. It is the primary plank of the Government's fight against the drug barons.

The Criminal Assets Bureau has put the drug barons under pressure. No longer are the newspapers full of stories about their fine lifestyles and disregard for the law. Houses in my constituency put up for sale by the drug barons prior to fleeing the country have been withdrawn on the direction of the bureau.

We have a long way to go to win the war against drugs, but the results in this context are extremely promising. It is important to hit the drug barons where it hurts most, in their pockets. At present many of the major drug barons have fled to England, Spain or the Netherlands and we know they are feeling the squeeze because their regular source of income is no longer easily available.

We must use the proceeds of the activities of the Criminal Assets Bureau to put life back into communities where drugs have been a scourge for so long. The tax assessment of assets seized under the new legislation is in the region of £3 million. The equestrian centre in Jessbrook alone is valued at approximately £4 million. The Criminal Assets Bureau is in the process of dealing with substantial sums of money.

A case could be made for continuing to use Jessbrook as an equestrian centre for the benefit of socially deprived or disabled young people or to turn it into a treatment centre for recovering addicts or children who might be exposed to drugs. That is an eminently suitable use to which to put that facility. It would be valuable if the money seized from drug pushers was seen to filter down to local authorities for use at local level. For example, local facilities in disadvantaged areas, such as sports and play facilities, could be used to a greater degree and more facilities could be put in place. There are approximately ten play centres lying idle in the Dublin Corporation area. The local health board councillors and so on could use such facilities as treatment centres in the fight against crime.

A considerable amount of funds have been directed towards the fight against drugs. Allocating resources in this manner from the seized proceeds of crime would signal our determination to fight the drug barons and it would show we were united in our efforts to use such funds for the benefit of the community.

I welcome the motion by Deputy Costello concerning the utilisation by the Government of assets seized from criminals. This matter has recently given rise to public debate and comment and the motion will allow me the opportunity of explaining the current legal position on this matter and its rationale.

The Proceeds of Crime Act, 1996, provides that any property which was directly or indirectly the proceeds of crime or which was acquired with such proceeds may be transferred by the High Court to the Minister for Finance and that any such funds should be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer. The Criminal Justice Act, 1994, contains similar provisions in respect of the confiscation or forfeiture of the assets of criminals.

The primary purpose of these two Acts is not to raise money for the Exchequer but to deprive criminals of the assets gained or acquired through criminal activity. Some of the assets acquired in this way may be the lawful property of other persons and the legislation enacted by the Oireachtas allows a court to dispose of such assets accordingly. It is only where a court directs that such assets should be transferred to the Minister for Finance that such funds accrue to the Exchequer. The legislative provisions requiring me to dispose of seized criminal assets for the benefit of the Exchequer are in line with the principles governing the handling of Government revenues. In general, all State revenues and receipts are paid into the Central Fund.

The Constitution requires and Government accounting principles provide that public moneys be spent only as voted or approved by Dáil Éireann, unless otherwise provided by statute. The so-called earmarking of certain Government revenues for specific Government expenditure purposes is generally avoided. If the approach suggested was adopted, it would mean that the treatment of drug victims would be financed, in part at least, by uncertain and variable revenue sources. Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, it could be up to seven years from the time illegal assets are seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau or the Garda Síochána before any funds are transferred to the Exchequer.

Notwithstanding that, I have every sympathy with what Deputy Costello has proposed. I agree in principle with the approach he suggests and I will explore his proposals in the context of the constraints I have just mentioned. If the Deputy wishes to table amendments to the Finance Bill, I would be prepared to entertain them.

There is a reason for doing this. If ordinary citizens, many of whom have unique and critically important information, feel that their information and co-operation with the Garda and other authorities would bring about a conviction and a utilisation of the ill-gotten gains for the purposes of the rehabilitation of the victims of drug abuse or prevent other drug barons profiting on the backs of young people, it might ensure a greater level of compliance with the security forces and the Garda and a higher conviction rate in the courts.

For those reasons, I welcome the spirit of the matter raised by Deputy Costello. I am disposed in principle to positively investigate it. There is a public message to be conveyed which will strike a good and responsive chord with ordinary people and I will investigate it accordingly on those terms.

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