9. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the measures his Department is taking to increase the staffing levels in the Criminal Assets Bureau to facilitate the increased detection of the proceeds of crime due to the reduction of the threshold from €13,000 to €5,000. [36379/25]

Sentiment score: 0.05

I thank the Minister. After the tragic and desperate loss of a lady of the calibre of Veronica Guerin, we have done a lot of good in her memory and name. CAB has been a hugely successful organisation and, as the Minister said, has been mirrored and copied in other countries. We must ensure any resource that CAB needs, it gets because it is an incredibly effective organisation. We see the reality of crime in County Louth and all across the Border region. We see fuel smuggling and drug trafficking across the Border. Locally, and particularly in north Louth - I am sure it is mirrored across the Border counties - it often feels like we are seeing criminals operate with near impunity. As the Minister knows, the intent behind lowering the threshold for CAB from €13,000 to €5,000 was to root out all crime and ensure no ill-gotten gain was too small to pursue. We owe that to those who are law-abiding.

Sentiment score: -0.00

It is good to hear that the Minister has been working on the commitment in the programme for Government. He mentioned the Bill that will come before the House. I reiterate it is important that we see a Border CAB unit looking at the Border region. It is not fair on law-abiding citizens and retailers that we have smuggling and illegal fuel coming across the Border. These are criminals whose criminal activity comes under the guise of smuggling. I want to ensure they are held to account.

Sentiment score: -0.07