Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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110. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to deal with gangland crime; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8713/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Tackling organised criminal activity is a key priority for the Government and an ongoing priority for An Garda Síochána.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible under the law for the management of An Garda Síochána, including operational matters and the deployment of resources. As Minister, I have no responsibility for these matters.

However, the Government has supported An Garda Síochána in addressing the threat from organised crime gangs through the introduction of legislative measures such as:

- The Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2016, which provides additional Garda powers for the immediate seizure of assets suspected of being the proceeds of crime to prevent them being disposed of;

- The Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014, providing for the establishment and operation of the DNA database providing Gardaí with links between people and unsolved crimes;

- The Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009, introduced to protect the justice system from being subverted by criminal groups, including potential intimidation of juries.

The Deputy may be aware that An Garda Síochána strengthened its capacity to tackle organised crime in 2015, through the creation of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), which is headed by a Detective Chief Superintendent reporting to Assistant Commissioner, Organised & Serious Crime. The role is to proactively, via intelligence led investigations, target top tier Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) impacting on this jurisdiction.

The role of the GNDOCB is achieved through effective collaboration with all sections of Organised & Serious Crime, and other sections within An Garda Síochána, through partnerships with other law enforcement agencies such as the Revenue Commissioners and the Naval Service, and partnerships developed with international law enforcement agencies globally.

The international resources and expertise available via Europol and Interpol, in particular, enhance intelligence led investigations conducted by An Garda Síochána, ensuring access to international standard capabilities. I am informed by the Garda authorities that the GNDOCB engages in two Joint Investigations Teams (JITs) with international partners as well as a number of parallel investigations with regard to criminal organisations impacting on this jurisdiction.

The current network of Garda Liaison Officers (GLO) and foreign law enforcement Liaison Officers further extends An Garda Síochána's outreach to disrupt, dismantle and prosecute OCG’s internationally. I am advised that in 2021, the Garda Liaison network was expanded to include a GLO permanently based in Colombia with responsibility to cover the Southern Americas.

Since it was established, GNDOCB has had significant successes in tackling organised crime. GNDOCB have been responsible for the seizure of large quantities of controlled substances, cash, firearms, and ammunition. It has also been responsible for bringing numerous suspected offenders before the courts for offences relative to organised crime (directing and participating in activities of a criminal organisation), drug trafficking, firearms, and money laundering.

The Deputy may be aware that Operation Tara was commenced in July 2021 and is focused on disrupting, dismantling and prosecuting drug trafficking networks that impact on communities, and is under the strategic oversight of Assistant Commissioner, Organised & Serious Crime. I am advised that this focus will continue into 2022 by maximising the prospect of identifying criminal organisations, offenders, locations and activities in the State via data analysis. This will result in an increase for opportunity to seize drugs, criminally acquired assets, and initiate criminal proceedings.

Further, Operation Thor is an anti-crime strategy that is under the strategic oversight of Assistant Commissioner, Organised & Serious Crime, which commenced in November 2015, with the focus of preventing burglaries and associated criminal activity. I am informed by the Garda authorities that the current winter phase, which is designed to tackle any anticipated increase in burglaries and associated criminal activities in the winter months, was launched on 1 October 2021 and will continue until 31 March 2022.