Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The motion is one of several proposals to reform anti-money laundering legislation at EU level. The motion, when ratified, will support the Garda and the Criminal Assets Bureau in tracing the proceeds of crime, which will hopefully assist in the conviction of criminals in Ireland. This is something that needs to be addressed at a European level and also at a national level.

For those who live outside of disadvantaged areas, I want to point out that in areas that are disproportionately impacted by crime, there is a chance people may become desensitised to organised crime. Hit television shows, which we all see at the moment, only add to the glamour of these organised criminals, with their extravagant lifestyles and even more extravagant nicknames. Those who live or who have lived in areas targeted by organised crime have a different view. We have seen parts of our communities ripped apart by drug use and drug crime. On the one hand, we have seen our neighbours, friends and schoolmates stricken by drug use. On the other hand, we have seen young people’s lives wiped out on the orders of a crime boss. There are different ways of dying but it is grieving families and communities who are left to pick up the pieces.

Some people say there is an element of choice in how people live their lives, and I would agree up to a point. However, let me tell the House this. Part of our cities and counties did not have choice when drugs flooded into our communities, wiping out whole generations of our young people. Was our young people’s ability to make that choice about drug use or criminality impacted by living in areas with high levels of poverty? I would suggest the answer is “Yes”.

This motion will also support CAB and its ability to seize the proceeds of crime but we must also redistribute the money seized by CAB back into the communities which were damaged most by crime. Earlier this year, I tabled the Proceeds of Crime (Investment in Disadvantaged Communities) (Amendment) Bill, which has passed Second Stage in this House. This is legislation that will see money seized by CAB from criminals put into the areas that are most affected and impacted by crime. Plain and simple, the money that the mother had to borrow from the credit union to pay her child's debts for fear of reprisals will go back into a community that will work to stop young people from falling into a life of crime and drug use. Communities are not asking for handouts. They are simply asking that the money is returned to where it originally came from. Over €5 million was seized by CAB last year and it is really welcome. I know how community groups in my area and right across the State would spend this to build community resilience to crime and drug use.

Many people have contacted me in regard to my Bill. They think it is a simple Bill and a great idea, and they cannot understand why it is being delayed. Perhaps the Government does not value community development or, more likely, it sees community development as a threat to the status quo. I urge the Government not to sit on its hands and to allow the proceeds of crime Bill to progress and become law.

I understand the motion before us was delayed in getting to the House. We need to get serious about organised crime. This motion will significantly infringe on the ability of mid-level and high-level criminals to access their money and the ill-gotten gains they have put away. Leadership requires action and urgency, and our communities require action and urgency.

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