Proceeds of Crime and Related Matters Bill 2025: Second Stage Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-15 ============================================================ Robbie Gallagher (FF), Labour Panel I welcome the Minister and his officials back to the House to discuss this very important legislation which the Minister is proposing to introduce. From a Fianna Fáil perspective, I welcome this debate and support this Bill. As we know, it is not always possible to get criminal convictions against criminals who are destroying our communities. However, we can bring them before the civil courts and seize the assets they have secured through criminal activity. These proceeds of crime should be taken from them and invested in the communities they are trying to destroy. In the EU, estimated annual criminal revenues amount to €110 billion. This is equivalent to 1% of the EU's gross domestic product, GDP. In Ireland, the value of crime markets is €1.7 billion per annum, which is a staggering amount of money. Seizing proceeds - be they money, property or vehicles - from criminal individuals or organisations is central to combating organised crime. Organised crime is driven by money and the harder the State makes it to obtain, launder and keep that money, the weaker these organised groups will be. I welcome that the Department of justice has conducted a detailed examination of this legislation, vitally informed, to my mind, by the CAB and other stakeholders, with their practical, day-to-day experience of the operation of the regime since its inception and by international developments and best practice. Based on this examination, it identified a series of recommendations for immediate change and for further consideration. As the Minister outlined during his contribution, this legislation aims to strengthen the proceeds of crime laws to more effectively target organised crime and ensure that criminals cannot retain profits from illegal activity. Where criminal convictions are difficult to secure, civil proceedings will continue to be used to seize assets. This strategy has proven successful, with over €220 million denied to criminals by the Criminal Assets Bureau. I would like to pay tribute to the men and women of An Garda Síochána for their fearless work in this particular area and for the work they do on behalf of us all within our communities. Criminals often flaunt their wealth, undermining public confidence and creating the perception that they operate beyond the law. The State's objective, is - and should always be- to deprive criminals of these assets, weaken their influence and protect our communities. Ireland's current model, which is based on civil forfeiture and the specialised work of the Criminal Assets Bureau, has been internationally recognised. However, this Bill introduces key reforms to improve that effectiveness even further. These include reducing the time required to permanently seize assets from seven years to two years and appointing receivers to manage seized assets once they are deemed to be the proceeds of crime. The Bill also proposes to introduce new powers to freeze suspected criminal funds early in an investigation. This includes short-term administrative freezing directions and court-approved freezing orders. These powers are balanced with strong judicial oversight to protect fundamental rights. Overall, this legislation aims to improve the State's ability to disrupt organised crime, seize illicit wealth and return funds to the public in the communities that they are trying to harm. As the Minister outlined, this is reflected in the community safety fund which he announced yesterday. This reinvests recovered money into local projects, with over €4 million allocated this year, which is double the initial funding. I would echo the Minister's words and encourage organisations the length and breadth of the country to apply for this fund. The money is there and can be used in a positive and constructive fashion within our communities. I again thank the Minister for outlining the detail of the Bill. On behalf of my party I am very happy to support this legislation and I look forward to it passing through the House in a swift manner. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-15/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:48+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-04-15