Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I have been informed by the Garda authorities that the organised crime unit was established on a temporary basis in November 2005 to actively target organised criminal gangs. It was initially established with officers seconded from various units. In January of this year, the unit was established on a permanent basis and full-time staff have been assigned to it. This new status has been awarded to the unit given the successes it has enjoyed over the past two years and in the light of the significant threat which continues to be posed by organised crime.

In order to disrupt organised criminality, Garda operations are regularly put in place targeting both individuals and members of organised crime gangs who are suspected of involvement in criminal activity. An Garda Síochána will continue to use intelligence-led operations against selected targets. The success of operations such as Oak and Anvil are examples of recent Garda successes.

The organised crime unit is being led by an officer at superintendent rank. This officer reports to the assistant commissioner in charge of national support services via the chief superintendent in charge of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The unit currently operates with a staff of 70 members. The allocation of this number of gardaí allows the unit to operate effectively against criminal gangs, and to carry out intelligence-led operations targeting their criminal activities. The Garda Commissioner is keeping the strength of the unit under review, particularly as extra gardaí become available as the strength of the force increases.

It would be a mistake for anyone in this House to assume that the 70 staff in the new organised crime unit comprise the only resource working to combat organised crime. The Garda Commissioner utilises all of the resources available to him, whether they are from the specialist units, regional divisions or local police stations to address this problem.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

The new unit will continue to work closely with the other specialist units, including the Garda national drugs unit, the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the special detective unit and the emergency response unit in targeting those suspected of involvement in organised criminal activity. The new organised crime unit has already been successful in identifying, profiling and targeting suspects associated with the main criminal gangs. A number of organised crime groups have been targeted in this manner recently, on foot of which firearms have been recovered and drugs seized. This has resulted in a number of people associated with these groups being prosecuted and convicted before the courts.

The Garda Commissioner and other senior gardaí will continue to monitor circumstances as they develop to ensure that the resources available to tackle particular problem areas are sufficient and appropriate.

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