Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Criminal Assets Bureau is a vital component in the State's law enforcement response to serious and organised crime. The remit of the Bureau is to target those persons who seek to derive benefit from criminal activities. In carrying out this role, the Bureau utilises all available legal remedies, primarily those contained in the Proceeds of Crime legislation, Taxes legislation and Social Welfare legislation, to deprive persons of benefits obtained from the proceeds of crime.

Since its inception, Bureau processes have been continuously evaluated and, where necessary, strengthened to maximise the number of cases brought and assets targeted. Furthermore, an Expert Group, established under the auspices of my Department, is currently engaged in a comprehensive review of the Proceeds of Crime legislation with a view to identifying possible improvements which would serve to strengthen the operation of the Criminal Assets Bureau. The Chief Bureau Office and Bureau Legal Officer of the Criminal Assets Bureau are represented on the Expert Group, along with representatives from the Crime and Criminal Law Reform Divisions of my Department and a representative from the Office of the Attorney General.

A number of matters are being reviewed by the Group including decreasing the amount of time which must elapse before criminal assets which have been frozen become the property of the State; increasing the powers of receivers over properties so as to immediately deprive criminals of the use of those properties; short term seizure of assets believed to be the proceeds of crime pending determination by the courts and further improving measures supporting international cooperation. However, the work of the Group is not limited to these matters and any further proposals which the Bureau may bring forward which would serve to strengthen its operation can be taken into account during the review.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that the Criminal Assets Bureau liaises on an ongoing basis with law enforcement authorities throughout Europe and worldwide in the pursuit of assets derived from criminal conduct. Having regard to the particular issue raised by the Deputy, I am informed that the Bureau does liaise directly with its Spanish counterparts and explores all available avenues within the European Union legal framework to target criminally acquired assets and criminals operating between both jurisdictions. I would also like to assure the Deputy of the importance attributed at both national level and European level to continuing close cooperation between asset recovery offices across the Member States. In this regard, it is worth noting that both Ireland and Spain are currently members of the Steering Group of the Camden Asset Recovery Interagency Network (CARIN), which is an informal network of experts/practitioners dedicated to improving cooperation in all aspects of tackling the proceeds of crime. Specifically, CARIN aims to increase the effectiveness of members' efforts in depriving criminals of their illicit profits through cooperative inter-agency cooperation and information sharing.