Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)

There is not a citizen in the State who would not applaud the Garda. Deputy Charles Flanagan has done so on behalf of Fine Gael in respect of what happened in Kildare. Everything has a cause and effect and one of the effects of Operation Anvil is that some of these ne'er-do-wells are flying below the Garda radar and moving out of the city. They move out of the city for five or six days per week and reappear back for their social welfare payments. Operation Anvil is applying pressure in Dublin and therefore the individuals targeted just move somewhere else. This is a particular problem where residents are not living in their houses on a full-time basis and are living partly in holiday homes. I have referred to Courtown previously in this regard.

Some of the major players leave Dublin because the pressure is applied there but the minute they leave there is none on them. The gardaí in Courtown, which has 2,500 houses, are operating there on a part-time basis. The minute suspects cross the Dublin border into Wicklow, Meath, Kildare or Wexford, the authorities behind Operation Anvil need to chase them. The gardaí in each of the relevant divisions outside Dublin need to be informed.

The Minister referred previously to the Criminal Assets Bureau and local lieutenancies. It is essential that additional funding be put in place to ensure that local lieutenancies can be set up and funded correctly. There is no point in giving them names and the opportunity to do something without sufficient funding. They constitute what I have described previously as a reasonable version of the Criminal Assets Bureau.

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