merrion street

Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald today discussed with her Government colleagues a range of additional measures to tackle organised crime.

Speaking directly after the meeting, the Tánaiste said:

We have seen unprecedented gangland violence in the last few weeks.  However long it takes, whatever resources are necessary, we will face down the activities of these ruthless gangs.

I intend to introduce legislative measures to strengthen the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau to make it easier to seize assets and money from criminals.

The Government approved the drafting of a Bill to provide additional powers to target the proceeds of crime. This will include providing the Criminal Assets Bureau with a power of administrative restraint which will allow it in certain cases to freeze immediately assets which are suspected to be the proceeds of crime.

The new legislation will reduce the threshold which applies under the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 from €13,000 to €5,000.  The prescribed sum under section 38 of the Criminal Justice Act 1994 under which cash suspected of being the proceeds of crime may be seized will be reduced from €6,500 to €1,000 by way of a regulation.

The Tánaiste also notified the Government of her intention to bring forward proposals in the near future to enhance and update the legislative framework for the lawful interception of communications and for covert electronic surveillance, to combat the threats from serious and organised crime and terrorism.

The Tánaiste said:

I have asked An Garda Síochána and my Department to continue working urgently and closely together to see whether there are other changes in the law which might be made to address the reality of groups intent on carrying out a sustained series of killings while endangering the safety of communities.

Next week I intend to meet my colleagues from Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands in relation to the transnational dimensions to organised criminal activity.

The message we are sending to these criminal gangs is that there will be no let up in the pressure upon them.  Communities have been put in fear by the cycle of mindless killings we have witnessed. These measures are aimed at breaking that cycle and to bring home to these people that no-one is above the law.