Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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125. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide figures on resources available to the Criminal Assets Bureau in terms of manpower and budget; and her views that organising the bureau on a regional and local level could further enhance its capability to seize the proceeds of crime from known middle and lower ranking criminals, who are causing devastation to communities. [19532/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that there are currently 67 personnel assigned to the Criminal Assets Bureau.

The staff of the Bureau comprise administrative, technical and professional staff including the Bureau Legal Officer, members of An Garda Síochána, officers of the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social and Family Affairs, under the leadership of the Chief Bureau Officer.

For the current year a budget of €7.073m has been allocated to the Bureau. This is in line with the budget levels which have been maintained for the Bureau over recent years.

More detailed information concerning the manpower and budget of the Bureau are published in the Annual Reports of the Bureau which are made available on the websites of An Garda Síochána and my Department. The Annual Report for 2014 is currently being prepared.

With regard to the establishment of a Bureau presence at regional and local level, I can say that this is an issue to which thought has been given.

The Bureau was established under statute as a national multi-disciplinary agency specialising in this area of work and there are very practical advantages to having such expertise located in one dedicated unit with the requisite authority to act on a national basis, particularly in a relatively small jurisdiction such as ours.

To achieve nationwide coverage, the Bureau has for some considerable time maintained a presence in each of the Garda Divisions through the operation of the Divisional Assets Profiler Programme.

Under this Programme asset profilers are providing a criminal asset profiling service across the Garda Divisions in relation to persons or suspects operating within the area, with particular reference to those involved in serious and organised crime. The Bureau utilises the local knowledge supplied to it by the asset profilers which allows the Bureau to target the proceeds of crime in local communities. They also assist the Bureau with preparatory groundwork in advance of a full investigation and have recourse to the expertise and advice of the Bureau.

As of May 2015 there was a total 156 trained asset profilers throughout the country. The operation of the Assets Profiler Programme and its complement of asset profilers is kept under ongoing reivew by the Chief Bureau Officer and training is currently underway of a further 46 Garda asset profilers.