Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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600. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of cash seized by An Garda Síochána under the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2016 that was returned to the persons from whom it was seized by way of appeal in each of the years 2018, 2019 and to date in 2020, in tabular form. [17181/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I am informed that the seizure and detention provisions of the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2016 can only be invoked by the Chief Bureau Officer and Bureau Officers appointed pursuant to sections 7 and 8 respectively of the of the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996 (as amended).

The Criminal Assets Bureau is a separate statutory body independent of the Garda Síochána and therefore, strictly speaking, no such seizure and detention orders under the 2016 Act can be made by the Garda Síochána, but only by the Criminal Assets Bureau.

Furthermore, there is no appeal as such from the seizure and detention provisions in section 1A of the Proceeds of Crime Acts (as inserted by section 3 of the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act, 2016). There is provision for an application pursuant to section 1B of said acts to vary or vacate a seizure and detention order made under section 1A.

I am advised by the Criminal Assets Bureau that no application has yet been made under the provisions of section 1B since the commencement of the 2016 Act.