Neale Richmond
Question:476. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Justice the amount of cash seized by An Garda Síochána in each of the years 2015 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3004/22]
View answerTuesday, 25 January 2022
Questions (476)
Written answers
As the Deputy may be aware, responsibility for the identification, tracing, freezing, and ultimate confiscation of criminal assets does not rest with a single organisation in Ireland and is spread across a number of different agencies and statutory bodies, not all of which are the responsibility of my Department. These include An Garda Síochána, the Criminal Assets Bureau, the Revenue Commissioners, the Chief State Solicitors Office, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Courts. It should be noted that in some cases, funds seized represent overdue/unpaid personal taxation. I understand that, in accordance with the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Acts 1996-2016, the Criminal Justice Act 1994 and SI No. 418/2011 - Finance (Transfer of DepartmentalAdministration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011, all confiscations relating to the proceeds of crime are transferred to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to be paid into, or disposed of, for the benefit of the Exchequer. It is from this central fund that the Government draws for expenditure on all necessary public services and investment, including for communities affected by crime.
However, last year I reached agreement with Minister McGrath to establish a Community Safety Innovation Fund to allow the money seized from criminal activity to be more directly utilised in communities affected by crime. The new Community Safety Innovation Fund (CSIF) will support the work of the Community Safety Partnerships and other policy initiatives of the Department of Justice in the areas of Community Safety and Youth Justice. The initial outlay of the fund will be €2 million in 2022 and is expected to increase in subsequent years.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that PULSE was examined to determine the recorded value of cash objects which were seized in any crime or non-crime incident and also associated with a ‘Search with a Warrant’ incident.
I am further advised that the table below sets out the recorded values of cash seized by An Garda Siochána in incidents associated with a Search with a Warrant between 2015 and 2021.
Recorded Values of Cash Seized in Incidents Associated with a Search with a Warrant
|
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
|
€524,195 |
€896,121 |
€1,866,059 |
€3,459,873 |
€3,368,100 |
€11,439,326 |
€5,162,789 |
* Information provided is taken from PULSE as of 18/01/2022.
For clarity, items that are recorded in PULSE in association with incidents are classified as ‘Objects’. These items include cash, drugs, firearms, electronics, clothing; anything which does not occupy a separate item class. Vehicles for example are not classified as ‘Objects’ and occupy a separate item class whereby specific descriptive fields are available in PULSE.
The cash values provided relate to bank notes and/or coin, rather than cash equivalents, and as this information is operational, it may be liable to change.