Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 12 Mar 1996

Vol. 462 No. 8

Written Answers. - Urlingford (Kilkenny) Drugs Seizure.

Tony Gregory

Ceist:

211 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Justice in view of her reply to Parliamentary Question No. 81 of 7 December 1995, the date on which the drugs seizure was made at Urlingford. County Kilkenny; the date on which the drugs seized at Urlingford were destroyed; the normal time lapse from the seizure of a drugs haul to the destruction of the drugs; and the implications, if any, for any future prosecution in this case, that the haul has been destroyed. [5669/96]

Minister for Justice (Mrs. Owen)

The matter raised by the Deputy is the subject of ongoing investigation and it would not be appropriate for me to give out operational details. However, I can confirm that the vast bulk of the drugs seized was destroyed on 23 December 1995. Sufficient quantities were, of course, retained for evidential purposes.

Decisions regarding the destruction of seized drugs are made on a case by case basis and, as such, there is no such thing as a "normal time lapse".