The Revenue Commissioners and the Garda co-operate on a number of fronts and at a number of levels to tackle crime and confiscate the proceeds of crime. Section 19 of the Finance Act, 1983, gives power to the Revenue Commissioners to assess for income tax purposes any profits which arise from an unlawful or unknown source. The Garda are in a position from time to time to supply information to the Revenue Commissioners to pursue such assessment.
Section 63 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994, provides that the Garda can seek a court order requiring a body such as the Revenue Commissioners to disclose material where the Garda have reasonable suspicions about drug trafficking, money laundering etc. More generally, the Criminal Justice Act, 1994, provides that applications for confiscation orders against persons convicted on indictment of drug trafficking offences and non drug trafficking offences may be made by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
With regard to the Deputy's further questions about the position on drugs landed at Castletownbere, this is subject to ongoing investigations. In accordance with precedents set in the House by former Minister for Justice it would be inappropriate for me to enter into any details about an ongoing Garda investigation.