Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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183. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the work in progress to disrupt the activities of criminal gangs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26717/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs to tackle drug dealing and associated criminal behaviour, including by organised crime groups.

The funding made available to An Garda Síochána has enabled the Commissioner to assign extra resources to the specialist units involved in tackling organised crime.

These include the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Armed Support Unit and the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).

The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau leads in tackling all forms of drug trafficking and the supply of illicit drugs in Ireland. Collaboration at an inter-agency and international level remain key in tackling this issue. Given the global nature of the drugs trade, international law enforcement co-operation remains a key element in the overall response.

An Garda Síochána has strong and strategic partnerships in place at international level targeting drug trafficking, including working closely with agencies such as INTERPOL and Europol and participating in the Maritime Analysis Operations Centre for Narcotics (MAOC-N) based in Lisbon.

One example of this cooperative approach was the seizure of 546 kilos of a synthetic drug, with an estimated value of €32.8 million, by Gardaí and Revenue Officers in Cork Port in February.

At a local level, An Garda Síochána continues to target those involved in the sale and supply of illegal drugs through Operation Tara. Recent successes of Operation Tara include the seizure of cannabis plants and cannabis herb with an estimated value of €768,000 across 2 separate raids in County Louth on 20 May.

The Government has taken a number of direct actions to tackle the drugs trade, such as:

• introducing new legislation which will criminalise the grooming of children into a life of crime, which has now been signed into law;
• supporting the roll-out of Greentown, a pilot programme which is seeking to break the link between the gangs and the children they try to recruit; and
• increasing the maximum sentence for conspiracy to murder from 10 years to life in prison.