Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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784. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the estimated cost of increasing the funding of the Criminal Assets Bureau by 10%. [18444/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is an independent multi-agency statutory body established under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996 with staff drawn from An Garda Síochána, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the Department of Justice and Equality.  The Bureau’s function 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.  Its structure and powers have been modelled by other jurisdictions.  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. 

Reflecting the Government's commitment to ensure that the Bureau is adequately resourced, the CAB’s staffing and budgetary allocation has increased significantly in recent years.  Since 2016, the Bureau's staffing resources have increased from 71 to its current level of 93.  Similarly, the Bureau's budgetary allocation has gone up by 13% from €8.042 million in 2016 to €9.090m in 2020.

Accordingly based on the 2020 budget for the Criminal Assets Bureau, a 10% increase would equal approximately €0.90 million which would bring the total budget to approximately €9.9 million.