Garda Auctions

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 March 2012

Tuesday, 13 March 2012

Ceisteanna (386)

Kevin Humphreys

Ceist:

440 Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide in tabular form the amount of money raised by An Garda Síochána from the auctioning of unclaimed property in 2009, 2010 and 2011; if he will detail whether these moneys are returned to the Exchequer or retained by An Garda Síochána within its own budget; if he will provide a breakdown of the property sold by asset class; if he will detail the number of bicycles that were sold in each of those years and the amount of money that was raised from the dale of unclaimed bikes, within the same table; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13777/12]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter)

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the amounts of money realised by An Garda Síochána through the sale of unclaimed property by public auction, including bicycles, in the years 2009 to 2011 are as detailed in the following table:

Year	Amount of Money Raised from Auctioning Unclaimed Property
2009	€128,730
2010	€84,802
2011	€82,607

Money received from the sale of unclaimed property is accounted for as an Appropriation-in-Aid within the Garda Vote.

The Garda authorities have also advised me that records in relation to the classes of the unclaimed property sold and the number of bicycles are not readily available. In this context I understand that extraction of the relevant information would involve a significant and disproportionate use of Garda resources which are required for other purposes.