The Criminal Assets Bureau currently has 28 properties - all the proceeds of crime - to sell to the public.
The revelation was made by the Justice Minister Helen McEntee after a number of parliamentary queries by Dublin TD Gino Kenny of People Before Profit.
Six of the 28 properties have sales agreed on them but the deals haven't been closed yet. But the Minister confirmed two other properties that CAB had were offloaded to new owners in recent weeks.
READ MORE:CAB could halt mob bosses launching endless and costly legal battles under proposed new powers
Helen McEntee stated; "The Bureau's remit is to target a person's assets, wherever situated, which derive or are suspected to derive directly or indirectly from criminal conduct.
"Since its inception the Bureau has been at the forefront of fighting organised crime in this jurisdiction and disrupting the activities of criminal gangs by depriving them of their ill-gotten gains.
"I am advised that all monies seized by CAB are remitted to the Central Fund of the Exchequer after the appropriate statutory timeframe under the Proceeds of Crime Acts which is currently seven years.
"Therefore assets including property seized in a given year are not remitted to the Exchequer in that year.
"Property seized by the Bureau may only be sold once a disposal is authorised by a Court order under the Proceeds of Crime Act and a "power of sale" is granted to the Bureau."
Deputy Kenny suggested CAB properties unoccupied for more than two years should be given to the relevant local authority.
Minister McEntee said this was not possible under the current Proceeds of Crime Act .
She also pointed out that disposing of CAB Properties can take time and can often be adversely affected by a number of factors such as court appeals, appointment of receivers, or lack of interest by people in the relevant property .
In such cases discretion is given to CAB to contact the local authority or the Land Development Agency to see if they might be interested in purchasing the property.
The Minister also disclosed that 3 million euros from the proceeds of crime was allocated by the Government into the new Community Safety Innovation Fund this year to help make their local areas safer.
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive breaking news and the latest headlines direct to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.