Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I refer the Deputy to my reply of 22 February 2007 to Priority Question No. 3 in which I dealt with this subject. I set out the following summary points in responding again today to the issue of a more localised Criminal Assets Bureau structure. I have no difficulty in principle with a proposal for more localised CAB bureaux but what must determine our attitude is an assessment of how in practice CAB can be best structured. I will first deal with any possible misconception that CAB's work is wholly centralised, without any connection or interaction with what is happening at local level.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that while the bureau requires a high degree of specialist staff for its functioning, CAB's operational success is very often intrinsically linked to information made available to it from local levels. This is facilitated in particular by the work carried out by the trained criminal asset profilers who have been appointed in every Garda division in the country. The background to this initiative is that since 2004, a programme has been in place whereby one member of the Garda Síochána from each Garda division is trained as a profiler in respect of criminal assets. The initiative was developed by the CAB in conjunction with the office of the Director for Public Prosecutions. A divisional asset profiler is now in place in each of the 25 Garda divisions and a full complement of divisional profilers is being maintained. Essentially, a key function of these profilers is to ascertain and build up information at local level and point out individuals at whom the bureau's work can be targeted. Such information is then investigated and followed up further by CAB.

In the course of investigations, gardaí, generally speaking, should be encouraged to be on the lookout for assets that appear to be the proceeds of crime. For example, when they apprehend a bank robber and search the house, they should be on the look out for assets that look like the proceeds of crime or documents that suggest involvement in crime.

There is an appetite for this task. It would be wrong for Deputy Cuffe to take the view that CAB is simply operating in a goldfish bowl in Dublin, and does not have local eyes and ears, which it does — it has a formalised system of local eyes and ears. It also has the backing of the entire force and interacts with other agencies within the force. It does not operate in isolation.

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