There are fears the effectiveness of the Criminal Assets Bureau may be hampered ahead of a move into smaller offices, with staff leaving as a result.
Sources have told the Irish Mirror the pending switch from Harcourt Square in Dublin to another location in the city will result in reduced desk space unable to accommodate all its personnel. It is understood a number of civilian personnel have already left the bureau in recent months, with more applying to transfer out.
Sources say CAB – which is technically independent of An Garda Siochana – will lose up to a third of its existing office space and may be unable to maintain its ongoing success rate.
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One said: “CAB works on complex and long-running investigations which span different disciplines. You’re talking about gardai, auditors and other financial experts all examining the same material from different angles so they can find out if any laws have been broken.
“To do that, these people need to be able to consult with each other on a regular basis but they can’t do that effectively if they’re not in the same building.” The Irish Mirror understands some civilian staff have also expressed concerns ahead of the move that it may be more easy to identify them.
The future of CAB, which seized €15million in 300 separate tax assessments last year, was raised in the Dail last week by three opposition TDs. Dun Laoghaire Rathdown TD Richard Boyd Barrett asked Justice Minister Helen McEntee if “she intends to reduce the size and capacity of the Criminal Assets Bureau during or after its move to a new premises and if she will make a statement on the matter?”
In a response, Ms McEntee said: “There is no proposal to reduce the staffing of the bureau. Competitions are currently under way to fill vacancies across all four agencies.”
Last night a Garda spokesman said: “CAB, along with other specialist Garda units, will relocate to the purpose designed and built Military Road Complex. The building has been project managed by the OPW and includes all the fit-out required by individual sections.”
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