Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 October 2010
9 Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the number of gardaí dedicated to the Criminal Assets Bureau in the years 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and to date in 2010; the budget of the bureau in each of those years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35354/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by the Garda authorities that at present there are 68 staff in the Criminal Assets Bureau of whom 37 are members of An Garda Síochána. The budgetary allocation for 2010 for the Bureau is over €8m. The Bureau is also staffed with Bureau Officers from the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social Protection as well as analysts, legal experts and technical and administrative support staff. The total staffing figure together with the corresponding budget for the years 2006 to 2009 are provided in the table which I am circulating with this answer. There are also 128 asset profilers across all Garda Divisions who have been trained by CAB and assist them with early preparatory investigative work.
The Deputy will be aware that the Bureau was established in 1996 and that its remit is to target the assets of persons who seek to derive profit from criminal activities. From its inception the Bureau has been at the forefront of fighting organised crime, including drug trafficking. CAB has been a central part of Ireland's response to the serious levels of organised crime that emerged in the 1990s. It has been extremely successful in disrupting the activities of criminal gangs and in taking away their ill-gotten gains. One of the important issues that it has addressed is that of tackling lower level criminality in a very visible way. The apparent sudden accumulation of wealth by people without any visible means of support remains a priority issue for investigation by the Bureau. The Bureau has already taken action in some cases which, although the level of assets have been relatively small, have nevertheless sent a very strong message to local communities that profiting from crime will not be tolerated. A strong focus on mid to low level criminality will continue to be a priority for CAB.
The Government is fully committed to ensuring that the Criminal Assets Bureau is in a position to continue its excellent work in targeting the proceeds of all criminal activity.
|
Year |
Total Staff allocation |
Number of Gardaí |
Total Budget Provision |
|
€million |
|||
|
2010 |
68 |
37 |
2010 allocation — 8.227 |
|
2009 |
69 |
37 |
6.877 |
|
2008 |
68 |
37 |
7.509 |
|
2007 |
59 |
32 |
5.108 |
|
2006 |
55 |
32 |
5.205 |
Statistics provided for 2009 and 2010 are provisional, operational and liable to change.
