Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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214. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which membership of criminal gangs or those associated with drug crimes has decreased or increased in each of the past five years to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8594/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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At the outset I would like to assure the Deputy that tackling organised criminal activity is a top priority for An Garda Síochána and this Government. The social and economic costs of organised crime are significant and the activities of organised crime groups are an ongoing threat to the safety and lives of our citizens.

Serious and organised crime does not respect international borders, and Ireland is working closely with other States to fight this criminal activity and bring criminals to justice. The challenges we face are by definition transnational, and Ireland welcomes all efforts to develop a joined-up EU approach to confront them.

While we should not underestimate the difficulties the Gardaí face in tackling organised crime activity, we continue to see the significant results of its efforts in the arrests made and the people brought before the courts, both here and, importantly, in other jurisdictions, as well as the ongoing drugs and firearms seizures.

The record budgetary resources allocated to An Garda Síochána in recent years have enabled the Garda Commissioner to assign extra resources to the specialist units involved in tackling organised crime, including the Armed Support Unit, GNDOCB, the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).

As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, which includes the recording of incidents/crime data on the Garda PULSE system. As Minister, I have no role in these independent functions. I am advised by the Garda authorities that membership of a 'criminal gang' is not recorded on PULSE and therefore the data requested by the Deputy is unavailable.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, is responsible for the compilation and publication of all crime statistics, including drug related crime.

Given the fluid nature of such criminal groupings, it is extremely difficult to quantify the number of criminal groups operating at a particular time. Organised crime is constantly evolving and splinter groups can form overnight.

However, criminal legislation has been strengthened in recent years, ensuring that it provides a comprehensive range of provisions for the prosecution and punishment of crime, in particular the activities of those involved in organised crime. The Government is committed to taking a number of direct actions to tackle organised criminal groups, including by:

• Increasing the maximum sentence for conspiracy to murder from 10 years to life in prison to tackle those who direct organised and drug related crime;
• Introducing new legislation which will criminalise the grooming of children into a life of crime;
• Extending the Greentown Programme for a further three years. Greentown is a pilot programme which is seeking to break the link between the gangs and the children they try to recruit.