Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 January 2022
477. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Justice the value of drugs seized by An Garda Síochána and the Criminal Assets Bureau in each of the years 2015 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3005/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including the enforcement of legislation pertaining to illegal drugs, and Garda operations concerning same. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.
I can inform the Deputy that the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) is having significant success in disrupting drug trafficking and the supply of illicit drugs by organised crime groups. The Bureau’s work is supported by Divisional Drugs Units nationwide, and by all Gardaí working in local communities. GNDOCB also works closely and productively with international law enforcement partners. Gardaí continue to work closely with local authorities, HSE, NGOs, community groups and other state agencies to tackle the problems of drug addiction and abuse.
The Criminal Assets Bureau, under its statutory remit, does not engage in searches pursuant to the Misuse of Drugs Acts. However, during the course of CAB’s investigations, the Bureau may from time to time seize drugs it discovers and these seizures are lodged and logged with An Garda Síochána and are captured in An Garda Síochána’s statistics for the relevant year. I am informed that the Criminal Assets Bureau currently has no drugs stored on its premises.
The data requested by the Deputy is published in the Annual Reports of An Garda Síochána, which are available online at An Garda Síochána's website at the following link: www.garda.ie/en/Information-Centre/Annual-Reports/ .
To be of assistance, the following table, based on information published in An Garda Síochána’s Annual Reports (2015-2020), detail the value of drugs seized for each year from 2015 to 2020.
|
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
|
|
Total (€’s) |
46,704,247 |
29,706,281 |
71,859,695 |
30,696,694 |
30,572,365 |
31,406,368 |
I am advised by the Garda authorities that data for 2021 is not yet available.
