A Sinn Féin party member has rubbished allegations regarding the finances of republican paramilitaries in this country.

It comes as Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has raised questions over a reported €70 million cash pile belonging to republican paramilitaries.

According to the Sunday Times, Fitzgerald is extremely concerned about the destination of the money raised through criminal activities and the potential for it to subvert law and order in Ireland.

In an interview with the paper, Minister Fitzgerald said the gardaí had enjoyed significant successes against republicans involved in organised crime rackets which had resulted in the seizure of cash and contraband.

However, Sinn Féin's Eoin Ó Broin says that it is telling that Ministers are going to the Sunday papers and not the Gardai:

Fitzgerald said that these are big criminal operations and there are huge concerns about where the majority of this money is going.

"I would be hugely concerned about the impact on communities, the amount of criminality, the proceeds of crime, and where it's finding its way to," she said.

The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) has issued 21 sets of legal proceedings so far against republicans involved in crime, the paper reports.