Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 January 2022
478. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Justice the value of goods seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau and An Garda Síochána in each of the years 2015 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3006/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will 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 or 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.
The table below, provided to me by CAB, indicates the total value of seizures as requested by the Deputy in each of the years 2015 to 2020. As outlined above, there are a number of pieces of legislation that CAB can utilise to seize assets and the values are broken down by currency. CAB have advised that the figures for 2021 are not available at present and will be published in their annual report once finalised.
|
Year |
Section 2 Interim Orders |
Total sent to Exchequer from Section 4(1) & 4A |
|
2015 |
€941,078.59 |
€1,642,962.29 |
|
2016 |
€643,063.07 |
€1,412,920.41 |
|
2017 |
€7,020,539.20 |
€1,698,721.08 |
|
2018 |
€8,263,582.30 |
€2,271,799.92 |
|
2019 |
€64,985,550.30 |
€1,559,726.31 |
|
2020 |
€5,814,206.00 |
€1,838,507.25 |
The Deputy may wish to note that €53 million of the large increase in valuations in 2019 was in virtual currencies.
In addition, all 2019 figures are calculated at the time of seizure of asset. These figures are subject to change depending on the realisation value at the time of disposal and may be higher or lower than that indicated on Section 2 Order.
The table below outlines the taxes collected and social welfare recoveries for the years 2015 – 2020.
|
Tax Collections |
Social Welfare Recoveries |
||
|
Year |
Amount |
Year |
Amount |
|
2015 |
€2,038,000.00 |
2015 |
€185,354.32 |
|
2016 |
€2,106,000.00 |
2016 |
€297,430.12 |
|
2017 |
€2,374,000.00 |
2017 |
€319,720.31 |
|
2018 |
€3,097,000.00 |
2018 |
€302,673.36 |
|
2019 |
€2,206,000.00 |
2019 |
€324,055.73 |
|
2020 |
€2,138,000.00 |
2020 |
€317,236.57 |
