The Deputy will be aware that only last week I announced the additional resource allocations for the Justice sector in Budget 2018.
A total budget of €1.65 billion has been provided to An Garda Síochána in 2018, an increase of 2% on 2017. It should be noted that the Garda allocation substantially continues to benefit from the significant additional funding that was provided in 2016, and maintained in 2017, to fund the sustained response to tackle gangland crime, fund the continuation of Operation Thor and ensure that measures to prevent international terrorism can be continued.
Some €330 million, including €205 million under the Capital Plan, is being invested in Garda ICT infrastructure over the period 2016 to 2021. This major investment will allow An Garda Síochána to deploy the latest cutting edge technologies in the fight against crime and will facilitate progress on important reforms arising from the Garda Inspectorate's report on Crime Investigation.
Let there be no doubt, targeting organised crime is an on-going priority for the Government and An Garda Síochána.
An Garda Síochána is tackling such activity through a range of targeted measures designed to disrupt and dismantle the operations of criminal organisations utilising advanced analytical and intelligence methodologies. This involves targeting serious criminals and organised criminal groups on a number of fronts and across all geographical locations. This is achieved through the use of focused intelligence led operations by Garda specialist units, including the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, the National Economic Crime Bureau and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigations. When required, support from the Security and Intelligence Section is also available. These specialist units also work closely with the Criminal Assets Bureau in targeting persons involved in such criminality.
It can be seen therefore that An Garda Síochána utilises multi-disciplinary approaches to ensure the activities of individuals and groups involved in criminal enterprise are effectively targeted. This includes the use of money-laundering legislation and the powers available to the Criminal Assets Bureau under the proceeds of crime legislation. In this regard, the Deputy might recall the new powers introduced under the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2016 which provides for Bureau Officers, subject to certain conditions, to immediately seize and detain property for a 24 hour period. Provision is also made for this period to be extended upon the authorisation of the Chief Bureau Officer, subject to certain conditions, for a further period not exceeding 21 days. In this context, the Act also lowered the thresholds applicable to seizures by reducing the value of property involved from €13,000 to €5,000. In addition, new regulations were made to reduce the prescribed amount of cash suspected of being the proceeds of crime which can be seized, from €6,500 to €1,000.
The legislative framework underpinning the State's response to organised crime is kept under constant review to ensure its on-going effectiveness and robustness. The recent strengthening of the proceeds of crime legislative framework to further support the work of the Criminal Assets Bureau is an example in this regard.
Having regard to the cross border aspect of organised crime, there is close and on-going co-operation between the Garda Síochána and the PSNI on all aspects of policing, including combating organised crime. The two police forces operate a joint Cross-Border Policing Strategy which has as its aims to improve public safety throughout Ireland, to disrupt criminal activity and to enhance the policing capability of both police services on the island. All of these are important elements in enabling the two forces to work more effectively together in tackling crime and promoting community safety for all communities on this island.
An Garda Síochána continues to participate in joint and multi-disciplinary and multi-jurisdictional investigations, within the European Union and world-wide. Successful investigations, prosecutions and disruptions of criminal activities have been and continue to be achieved through these cross jurisdictional co-operative arrangements. In this regard, the Deputy might recall the very effective joint policing operation in 2016 involving An Garda Síochána and their Spanish colleagues. These types of operations demonstrate the determination of the Garda authorities and the Government to ensure that Irish criminals will not escape justice by fleeing this jurisdiction, or by seeking to conduct their criminal activities from abroad. They also demonstrate the on-going close liaison that the Force has with law enforcement agencies internationally.
