Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 50: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has fully identified all of the money laundering, racketeering and drug running activities throughout the country; if the full extent of these activities has been monitored sufficiently to take the necessary action; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29712/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 158: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has identified all money laundering sources throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29982/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 158 together.

The Deputy will appreciate that policing operations are a matter for the Garda Síochána. I am informed by the Garda authorities that criminal networks involved in the areas of criminality referred to by the Deputy are identified in a number of ways. Ongoing investigations and intelligence gathering by specialist national units working in collaboration with other national and international law enforcement agencies, including the customs service, result in the identification of the criminal activities in question. These national units operate under the assistant commissioner in charge of national support services and include the Garda bureau of fraud investigation, the national bureau of criminal investigation, the criminal assets bureau and the Garda national drugs unit. Ongoing investigations and activities by divisional and district personnel operating throughout the State also yield information and intelligence.

All the above activities identify key organisations involved in drug trafficking and distribution, money laundering and racketeering. Having identified the key players, the relevant units, both national and local, undertake targeted operations designed to reduce the incidence of such criminality and gather sufficient evidence to sustain successful prosecutions against the principals involved. These operations have resulted in significant detections, including significant detections in terms of volumes of drug seizures.

Given the covert nature of money laundering and the emergence of new criminal networks over time, the Deputy will appreciate that is not possible for the Garda to state, at any given time, that all money laundering sources throughout the country have been identified. However, I am informed by the Garda authorities that many sources have been identified in the course of investigations. In addition to the pursuit of prosecutions where warranted, when sources come to notice the Garda Síochána provides crime prevention advice and guidance through the provision of training courses and presentations to financial and other relevant institutions.