Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for picking this matter. The Minister of State, Deputy Browne, is very welcome. Cash-for-gold are outlets where an individual can go in, present gold for sale, get it valued and get the cash there and then. There is no question asked of the bona fides of the person who is selling, and where they got the gold from. I appreciate there has been a huge fall in burglary rates, and I have confirmed that with An Garda Síochána. When we compare 2019 to 2022, it is certainly significant. However, this idea that you can convert gold into cash is striking as an easy way to facilitate criminality, and to get easy money at the expense of individuals and their homes. Back in 2012, the former Minister Alan Shatter commissioned a report.From that report it came out that the pawnbrokers operate to rules. The individual coming in with goods to obtain cash has to have proof of identity. Also, the outlets themselves have to be registered. That stands in stark contrast, however, to the cash-for-gold outlets.

There was a further public consultation in 2015, and the outcome of that was that particular safeguards should be put in place. That was written into the programme for Government in 2016. In 2019, the then Minister, Deputy Charlie Flanagan, was asked about the progress on any legislation or governance over cash-for-gold outlets and he informed the House that the legislation was being drafted, that it would create a licensing regime for these outlets and that there would be a requirement of traceability on the individuals presenting with items to sell.

In 2012 the estimate was that there were 124 outlets throughout the country. By 2019, that number was unknown. In the intervening period, however, the online space has opened up. I did a workaround on the Internet and saw that there are outlets where people just have to register their name and your address, they are sent an envelope that insures the contents of that envelope, and when that is sent in, a valuation is drawn up. They get a phone call for that valuation and they are sent the cash if they agree with it or else they are sent their goods back.

The problem is we do not know who is behind those outlets. They are not registered. For some of them, there is a contact address. It is generally the case that the bag goes to a PO box, but there is a contact address and a mobile number on a couple of the online links. It is just a mobile telephone number. We have no idea who these people are. We do not know that this is not a source of criminality. We know there are communities under significant pressure and individuals in communities under terrible pressure for drug debts and all sorts of intimidation. It strikes me, therefore, that we absolutely need to know who is dealing what in gold, particularly at a time of difficulty. We get warnings from the Garda in the run-up to Christmas for people to be especially vigilant, but here we have this open sore, by the looks of things, of places where commodities belonging to anyone, without verification, can be traded in for cash.

Where are we with the legislation in this regard and the governance of these businesses? Do we have anything on the horizon or any progress in that regard?