Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister and thank him for being present for the debate on the important matter of the annual report of the Criminal Assets Bureau. Of the bodies under his aegis the CAB is probably the one with which the Minister is happiest because, overall, it is a good news story. I endorse what the Minister and all the Senators have said. I did not know about Deputy Tony Gregory's suggestion and must confess I believed the CAB was the creation of two of the Minister's predecessors, Nora Owen and Deputy John O'Donoghue. Both did very good work, as did their advisers, but I do not want to detract from the input of Deputy Tony Gregory.

As we know and as was said, criminals are very adept at hiding the proceeds of their criminal activity. The anonymity of those working in the CAB, apart from the head officers, is very important. We must allow the bureau as much flexibility as possible. I am sure this is the Minister's approach. It is no good tying the bureau's hands behind its back, so to speak.

I agree with the Minister on targeting the middle ranking criminals in addition to the larger players. Forensic analysis is very important, as is enhanced tracing, which the Minister stated is taking place.

All speakers referred to the recent appalling, brutal murder of Shane Geoghegan in Limerick. It demonstrates what is occurring and that criminals will stop at nothing to eliminate a foe. In this case, the identity of the foe was mistaken. For the sake of all our good citizens, we cannot allow criminals such as those in Limerick to operate and I hope the bureau will have increasing success in combating them.

Since we are talking about Limerick, will the Minister consider the creation of a dedicated CAB office in the city? There are two CAB officers working there but they need the resources of an actual office to carry out their duties. It might not have to be a permanent one. As we know, two gangs are responsible for the criminality in the city. The culprits are known according to political friends on all sides who represent Limerick. I hope the criminals can be put out of business and their assets confiscated as a result of the ongoing work of the multi-agency bureau, to which we are paying tribute in this debate.

Tax examinations are a vital means of combating criminals. This is how success was achieved in the United States in dealing with the Mafia. It is wonderful to learn of the proceeds of crime confiscated by the CAB and of the issuing of interim orders to the value of €10 million in the past year. This is an impressive record and I hope an increasing number of orders will be issued as time goes by. In this regard, most reasonable people would agree that the assets of drug barons and criminals should be invested in supporting the victims of their crimes. The moneys obtained should be ring-fenced and used to benefit of victims of crime and for rebuilding the affected communities. Perhaps this is the Minister's intention. As with other speakers, I welcome the regeneration programme for Limerick and wish those involved every success.

The Minister stated criminals blatantly collect their social welfare benefits in spite of receiving ill-gotten gains from drug sales, as if they were honest citizens out of work. I welcome the success of the bureau in managing to eliminate such criminals from the dole queues. The co-operation with the assets recovery agencies in the North, Britain and elsewhere is to be welcomed greatly.

I very much welcome the extra staff, the two extra crime analysts and the 28 assets profilers. The profilers are very important. I welcome also the assistance of the Garda and customs officials.

On co-operation at European level, Britain has had some success recently in rounding up some its criminals who hide out in Spain. We have heard that our home-grown criminals seem to be able to visit Spain frequently. With increased co-operation, have we any hope of bringing a few of them back and jailing them?

Are we having any success in ensuring criminals cannot direct their criminal activities from prisons by using mobile telephones? In that regard, how are we fixed in terms of increased surveillance and perhaps old-fashioned wire taps? We used to hear a lot about the latter. I understand that, with sophisticated modern technology, one can track the use of mobile telephones. I wish the Minister and the CAB every success in this regard. I look forward to hearing the Minister's comments.