Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

Tackling serious and organised crime, and bringing those involved to justice, is a key priority for the Government. Implementation of specific operational measures to deal with criminal gangs and their criminal activities is a matter for the Garda Commissioner. In this context, the Commissioner has stressed, on many occasions, that the necessary resources have been made available and will continue to be made available.

All the members of this House will be under no illusions when it comes to the threat that organised crime poses to our society. The criminals involved have shown themselves to be completely ruthless and they have used serious violence and other tactics to protect their interests. Accordingly, the Garda Commissioner has put special measures in place to combat criminal gangs. These measures include the deployment of significant resources with a number of operational approaches to tackling serious organised crime, including a multi-agency approach and the use of intelligence-targeted operations. The lead role is being undertaken by the Garda organised crime unit which targets organised criminal gangs. The unit works in conjunction with other Garda national units such as the emergency response unit, the bureau of fraud investigation and the Criminal Assets Bureau. All of these units cooperate very closely and they have had many successes in combating organised gangs and depriving them of their financial resources.

It is also the case that there is a substantial international dimension to serious organised crime. This is an area where the Garda is also very active and it has built up extensive communications networks with police forces in other countries which enables it to exchange intelligence and to cooperate at operational level.

In the circumstances the Deputy will appreciate the extent of the measures that have been put in place to combat criminal gangs. As the Commissioner has indicated the pressure on these gangs will be maintained and they will continue to be a major focus of Garda operations.

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