Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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420. To ask the Minister for Finance the drug finds by Customs and Excise and the Revenue Commissioners in each of the past five years calculated as being over €13,000; the counties in which the findings were made; and the type of drugs involved. [13962/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, there are multiple State agencies involved in the interdiction and seizure of drugs. Some of these agencies, such as the Customs Service of the Revenue Commissioners and the Irish Naval Service, rest outside of my remit as Minister for Justice.

I have, however, contacted An Garda Síochána, the Courts Service and the Criminal Asses Bureau to obtain the information requested from the agencies under my remit and have been advised of the following.

CAB has had one drugs seizure valued over €13,000 in the last five years on 12 February 2019. This seizure occurred in County Limerick and involved Cocaine. Two persons were charged in connection with this find and the case is currently before the Circuit Court.

An Garda Síochána have advised that drugs seizures valued at €13,000 or over are recorded on PULSE as incidents of the types “Cultivate or Manufacture of Drugs”, “Importation” or “Possession of Drugs for Sale and Supply”. There is no distinct incident type for seizures which are valued at €13,000 or more.

All "Possession of Drugs for Sale and Supply", "Importation" and "Cultivation or Manufacture of Drugs" Incidents

The table above relates to all incidents of type “Cultivate or Manufacture of Drugs”, “Importation” or “Possession of Drugs for Sale and Supply” regardless of the value of the seizure. This data was drawn down from PULSE on 15/03/2021. Data is presented for Garda Divisions, some of which are comprised of two counties.*

Charges and summonses data is also available for drugs offences. This information was drawn down on 11/03/2021. The figures presented in the tables below relate to charges and summonses for the following sections of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977:

- Section 15A, which relates to possession of drugs with a value of at least €13,000,

- Section 15B, which relates to the importation of drugs with a value of at least €13,000.

Charges &  Summonses Issued for S15A and 15B Misuse of Drugs Act for "Possession of Drugs for Sale and Supply", "Importation" and "Cultivation or Manufacture of Drugs" Incidents

Multiple charges or summonses may be issued for incidents, for example, if there are multiple offenders, multiple drug types, or multiple categories of charges. Furthermore, charges or summonses may not have been issued in relation to all incidents to date.  The figures in the table above should not therefore be taken to be a direct subset of the incident numbers above. The number of charges/summonses is only possible to provide at a regional level.

Confirmed information on types of drugs is only available following analysis by Forensic Science Ireland.  In an effort to provide some insight into drug types, the drugs detailed in the Section 15A and 15B charges/summonses have been examined.

Drug Categories associated with Charges & Summonses Issued for S15A and 15B Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 for "Possession of Drugs for Sale and Supply", "Importation" and "Cultivation or Manufacture of Drugs" Incidents

In relation to the number of convictions secured and length of sentences handed down by the Courts for these seizures, I have been advised by the CourtsService that this information is not available.  The Integrated Criminal Management System (ICMS) is used by the Courts Service in cases before the Circuit Courts. The particular offence referred to by the Deputy is tried only in the Circuit Court and the ICMS only allows reports by offence category (e.g. "DRUG OFFENCES") , rather than for individual offences. The offence category of 'Drugs Offences' contains multiple offences so therefore it would not be possible to provide the information sought.

*Incident figures are taken from PULSE as of 01:30 on 15/03/2021, they are operational and liable to change.