Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which the on-going problem of organised crime continues to be monitored and addressed; the degree to which killings associated with such criminality are deemed to have occurred in each of the past three years to date in 2012; the extent to which the perpetrators are being brought to trial and punished; if particular or specific trends have been discovered such as protectionism, racketeering, intimidation, witness and/or jury intimidation; the measures if any put in place to address these issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39324/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will appreciate that organised crime, by its very nature, is constantly evolving and diversifying in both its structure and activities so as to exploit opportunities for criminal gain. Membership of organised crime gangs tends to be fluid and offences committed by members of criminal gangs may or may not be connected with an individual's membership of such gangs. Given this landscape it is not always feasible to be exact at any given time with regard to associations formed and related offences.

With regard to the statistical information sought in relation to killings, I have requested the CSO to provide the most up to date figures concerning homicide directly to the Deputy. As the Deputy will appreciate, the categorisation of killings described in his question does not form part of the classification applied in the Irish Crime Classification System operated by the Central Statistics Office. Of course, there can be no justification for any homicide and I would like to assure the Deputy that all killings, regardless of the circumstances involved, are the subject of rigorous investigation by An Garda Síochána and will continue to be so.

With regard to other matters raised by the Deputy including witness and jury intimidation, racketeering etc. I can, in general terms, say that these would be a feature of organised criminality not only in this jurisdiction but in jurisdictions world wide. However, I would again like to reiterate the continued commitment of An Garda Síochána to pro-actively target groups and individuals engaged in such criminal activity. An Garda Síochána continues to develop and implement strategies targeting criminal networks, utilising advanced analytical and intelligence methods to facilitate targeted operations to enable early intervention and prevention of organised crime.

In addition, An Garda Síochána are utilising all available legislation to target organised criminal activity including the provisions contained in the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009. I am informed by the Garda authorities that since enactment of the legislation on 23 July 2009, the legislation has been used on 175 occasions where arrests have been made relating to organised crime. Arising from these arrests two prosecutions have been secured for offences under the legislation, with a further six cases currently before the Courts. In addition, charges have also been preferred for a range of other offences including firearms offences; sale and supply of drugs and drug trafficking; violent disorder; demanding money with menaces and threats to kill.

I am satisfied that An Garda Síochána continues to devote considerable resources to the investigation of organised crime and in bringing the perpetrators before the Courts. The Commissioner and the members of An Garda Síochána have my full support in this regard.