Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 May 2022
653. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Justice the number of incidents of accommodation fraud reported to An Garda Síochána in each of the years 2018 to 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [23249/22]
View answer655. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Justice the monetary amount stolen from victims as a result of accommodation fraud in each of the years 2018 to 2021 and to date in 2022. [23251/22]
View answer656. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Justice the number of prosecutions made as a result of accommodation fraud in each of the years 2018 to 2021 and to date in 2022. [23252/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 653, 655 and 656 together.
As 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 recording of crimes reported to An Garda Síochána. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in these matters.I am advised by the Garda authorities that a search was carried out on the PULSE system identifying incidents of Accommodation Fraud. The tables below, furnished to me by the Garda authorities, show the number of incidents of Accommodation Fraud and the monetary value stolen for the period requested by the Deputy. As this incident type was introduced in 2019, data is not available or comparable from any prior period.
Incidents of Accommodation Fraud
|
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022* |
Total |
|
231 |
228 |
276 |
115 |
850 |
* Figures up to 05/05/2022
Monetary Value Seized
|
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022* |
Total |
|
€370,524 |
€380,712 |
€463,934 |
€190,573 |
€1,405,743 |
*Figures up to 05/05/2022 It is worth noting that figures are operational and liable to change and are based on a reported date using data obtained from PULSE.
The Deputy will also be aware that the Director of Public Prosecutions is an independent law officer under the provisions of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974 (as amended). The Office of the DPP is under the Vote of the Department of the Taoiseach and I have no role in the functions of the Director or the Office of the DPP. However, to be of assistance, I made enquiries with the Courts Service, regarding the number of prosecutions made as a result of accommodation fraud. The Courts Service have advised that there is no offence code for “rental fraud” and therefore the information sought by the Deputy cannot be provided.
I would encourage anyone who has been the victim of such crime to contact An Garda Síochána. I can assure the Deputy that any incident of this type of crime will be investigated by An Garda Síochána. Furthermore, Garda management are continuously monitoring crime trends to identify persons who are engaged in such crimes. The Deputy may wish to note that advice is available on the Garda website for those who have fallen victim to accommodation fraud at the following link: www.garda.ie/en/crime/fraud/i-believe-i-am-the-victim-of-rental-fraud-what-do-i-do-.html
