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Crime Prevention

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 July 2021

Thursday, 8 July 2021

Questions (310, 312, 319)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

310. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the extent to which organised drug-related crime continues to grow; the degree to which her Department continues to be in a position to meet the challenges ahead; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37094/21]

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Bernard Durkan

Question:

312. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the extent to which drug related criminality has grown in the past ten years; the measures in hand to deal with the issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37096/21]

View answer

Bernard Durkan

Question:

319. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the degree to which the activities of the major criminal gangs have been restricted in the course of the past five years to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37103/21]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 310, 312 and 319 together.

I can assure the Deputy that tackling criminal gang activity is a key priority for the Government and an ongoing priority for An Garda Síochána which is reflected in the National Policing Plan.

The Government has supported An Garda Síochána in addressing the threat from organised crime gangs through the introduction of legislative measures such as:

- The Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2016 which provides additional Garda powers for the immediate seizure of assets suspected of being the proceeds of crime to prevent them being disposed of;

- The Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014, providing for the establishment and operation of the DNA database providing Gardaí with links between people and unsolved crimes;

- The Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009, introduced to protect the justice system from being subverted by criminal groups, including potential intimidation of juries.

An Garda Síochána has also been allocated an unprecedented €1.92 billion euro in Budget 2021 to increase recruitment, improve facilities and equipment and also to aid in the roll out of the organisational changes recommended by the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, including the new Garda Operating Model. Further redeployment of sworn Garda members to frontline policing duties, where their skills, training and expertise can be of most use, is continuing in line with these changes.

An Garda Síochána continues to develop and implement strategies to dismantle and disrupt criminal networks, utilising advanced analytical and intelligence methods. Gardaí target serious criminals and organised criminal groups through the use of focused intelligence led operations by specialist units such as the Organised Crime Unit, the Criminal Assets Bureau, and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. An Garda Síochána regularly liaises and cooperates with their international policing and security partners, such as EUROPOL and INTERPOL, in their mutual objective of combatting transnational organised crime.

As the Deputy will no doubt be aware, the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, is responsible for the compilation and publication of all crime statistics. However, the particular breakdown sought by the Deputy is not available, as 'drug related crime' covers a wide range of criminal activity from drug trafficking to assault and intimidation. I can however inform the Deputy that the most recent available crime statistics, as published by the Central Statistics Office and including statistics for covering most of the period requested are available at: https://data.cso.ie/product/RC.

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