Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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I thank the witnesses for their presentations. I apologise for being late. If anything I ask has already been spoken about, I apologise. I thank the witnesses very much for the work they do. In my political work I come across a lot of young people in various communities who are very taken with the glamour of the life of crime. It is very lucrative. People do not need many qualifications to enter into the parallel economy. If they feel they are not empowered or respected by gardaí, teachers, politicians or social workers and somebody gives them some power or empowerment, it is very easy for them to find themselves in that life. The witnesses are not necessarily here to speak about that but I have some questions on it.

The initial legislation was enacted in 1996. Will the witnesses give me some kind of sense of the scale we are dealing with now compared with what it was almost 30 years ago? Is it as big? Is it getting bigger? Has it levelled off? They may have already touched on this.

In certain communities the person involved might not have a big house. They might not flaunt it that much but elements of their lives show they are clearly benefiting from the proceeds of crime. There might be Spanish holidays, a slightly bigger car or a second property. I know there are resource issues but previously we used to speak about mini CABs, which would be something smaller and more pointed for a particular community. It can lead to frustration if somebody very much believes the person across the road or around the corner is benefiting from the drugs trade or whatever. It is a smaller type of glamorous lifestyle they are leading but it is a major irritant. It is not the big showy stuff but the smaller stuff.

My next question is for the Bar Council. Not that anybody is likely to take a constitutional case against the legislation, and I do not think it would be a good move, but I want to ask about the constitutionality of this and whether it is something on which the witnesses have a view.