Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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931. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of cash seized by An Garda Síochána under proceeds of crime legislation returned to the Exchequer in each of the years 2018, 2019 and to date in 2020, in tabular form. [15276/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that all funds collected by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) in the course of its activities are returned to the Exchequer for the benefit of the Central Fund, in accordance with the relevant legislation.

I have been informed by the Garda Authorities that the following table sets out monies returned to the Exchequer by the Bureau, under section 4(1) / 4(A) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 – 2016, for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 (to date).

Moneys returned to the Exchequer by CAB

For the Deputy's information, these figures represent a proportion of the funds returned to the State by CAB. The Bureau also returns funds to the State under Revenue legislation and through recovery of social welfare overpayments. In 2018, CAB returned in excess of €5.6 million to the State including €3.097 million under Revenue legislation and €0.323 in social welfare overpayments in addition to the above figures. For 2019, CAB returned in excess of €3.9 million to the State including €2.026 million under Revenue legislation and €0.324 in social welfare overpayments in addition to the above figures.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is a multi-agency statutory body established under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996. The Bureau’s remit is to target a person's assets, wherever situated, which derive, or are suspected to derive, directly or indirectly, from criminal conduct. Since its inception, the Bureau has been at the forefront of fighting organised crime in this jurisdiction and disrupting the activities of criminal gangs by depriving them of ill-gotten assets.

The Bureau is widely regarded as a best practice model in the context of combating organised crime. It works closely with law enforcement bodies at national and international levels and continues to relentlessly pursue the illicit proceeds of organised crime activity. The actions of the Bureau send a strong message to criminals and to local communities that profiting from crime will not be tolerated.

The Proceeds of Crime Acts 1996 - 2016 provide the legal framework underpinning the Bureau's powers to take all necessary actions, including the making of applications to the High Court, in relation to the seizing and securing of assets with a view to their disposal in due course in accordance with the provisions of that legislation.