Vol. 1041 No. 6
53. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice the number of current applications on hand for international protection; the length of time on average it is taking to process applications; the steps being taken to reduce the time of processing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33964/23]
How many applications are on hand for international protection? What is the average length of time to process an application? What steps are being taken to reduce the processing time?
I thank the Deputy for raising the important matter of the number of applications on hand for international protection, the average length of time to process applications and the steps being taken to reduce the processing time. My Department is taking all necessary steps to manage the international protection process fairly and efficiently, as part of the broader Government response to this challenging issue.
The number of international protection applications last year was 13,651, a significant increase on recent years. It represents a 186% increase on the number received in 2019, the most recent year in which application numbers were not impacted by Covid-19.
Last week, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, published a report on the international protection modernisation programme for 2023 and 2024. The report set out a suite of reform measures and signals a goal to reach 1,000 decisions per month on international protection applications by early next year. As part of this programme, a number of measures have been implemented to improve efficiencies and throughput, in tandem with reforms to the application, interview and decision-making process. We have already increased the number of applications processed by 97%, from 2,484 in 2021 to 4,899 in 2022. These reforms are having a significant impact. The median processing time for first-instance decisions in quarter 1 of 2023 was ten months, a reduction from 18 months over the course of 2022. The median processing times for appeals in quarter 1 of 2023 was slightly more than five months, down from 15 months at the beginning of 2022.
As part of this programme, an accelerated procedure for international protection applicants from safe countries of origin was introduced.
Applicants from safe countries of origin now receive a first instance decision in less than three months, which is a significant reduction from a norm of 22 to 26 months early last year. These reforms are being supported with significantly increased resources. Approximately €19m was allocated in budget 2023 to the International Protection Office, IPO, and the International Protection Appeals Tribunal to scale up processing. This will be supported by investment in human resources, infrastructure, technology, and process engineering. As part of the modernisation programme I have put in place, these resources and the impact they are having is being closely monitored and will be adjusted and refined as necessary.
There is an awful lot of information there but the one thing I am still not clear on, is the Minister of State said 13,661 applications came in last year. I think was the figure he gave. He did not tell me at this moment in time exactly how many applications the Department has live or on hand. That is key because some could still be there from the previous year, and some from last year's could be dealt with so what I am looking for is: how many applications are on hand?
The second issue most of us deal with when constituents who come in with queries is international protection. We ask questions of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, and to say that the answers are bland is to put it mildly. There is no information at all as to how the application is progressing and what the timescale that individuals can expect will take to deal with their application. The Minister of State gave me more information than we ever get from INIS. Are the applications dealt with chronologically, or how are they selected? The more information we get the less number of queries he will get and the more time they will have for actually processing applications.
I thank the Deputy again for his question. I do not have the figure he seeks to hand but I will undertake to get it for him. Regarding the information, part of the challenge is the sheer volume of requests that come in. However, the Department and the Minister have undertaken to reach out to Deputies to see what the particular difficulties they are having in dealing with international protection applications, and how we can improve that system for them so they can get the information they need. I agree it can be a challenge and they are often left coming to myself or the Minister to try to get the particular information. The more we can streamline that information, the better.
I had a little bit of experience running a processing plant at one stage and one thing I learned is that one can always get a process that is better. One thing I cannot understand is that there must be a process and steps by which these files are dealt with. Presumably, with computer systems and so on, each step could be recorded and then the person could be given an accurate guess as to where the application is, how many steps are in the process, whether the application is at step 3, step 4 or whatever and when the decision will be given, a bit like what the Passport Office does. I always think it is better the more information we give people. There have been some applications there for a long time and we just get absolutely bland answers and no information. It is frustrating for the constituent, and it is very frustrating for our offices who seem to be talking to a black hole. If we table parliamentary questions, we are told to go to INIS, but if we go to INIS, I could nearly write the answers myself they are so bland. I could just keep copying and pasting them and not even bother checking with the Minister of State. I am not trying to be too hard but if he got a process expert in, he or she could tell him how to connect it to a computer so that it could tell him how to get the information back.
I suppose the challenge is that many of these applications can be very complex. People often come to Ireland from some very traumatic situations looking for help. They often have had to flee their situation with no notice and it can be quite challenging to process those people. It is not a simple case of moving along A, B, C in a processing plant. These cases can be very complex and they can get caught at a particular moment in time when we are trying to get particular information or process them. Sometimes when the Deputy is given an answer, it can be quite bland but to actually give the detailed answer might require quite a complex answer that can take a considerable time as well. We will endeavour to get to a position where we can get more straightforward answers for Deputies. Sometimes there has to be an understanding too that many of these applications are exceptionally complex cases that require a complex thought process, an application of the law, and ensuring the law is applied correctly to these applicants who are often in very difficult situations.
54. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Justice further to Parliamentary Question No. 45 of 18 April 2023, the status of the independent review of Part 4 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, which was due for completion by the end of 2022; the reason for the delay; if she has received the final report to date; the expected timeline for the publication of the final report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33965/23]
My question is very specific. It is to ask the Minister the status of the independent review of Part 4 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, which was due for completion. The latest answer was that it would be complete the end of last year but really it was due for completion in 2020, three years after the law became operational. There was the three-month period. It is now three years later and there is no sign of it. Where is the report? Does the Minister have it? When will it be published and could she explain the reason for the delay?
I thank the Deputy. I know this is something she has been interested in for some time and I know I have responded to her on this previously. Section 27 of the Act provides for the review to which her question refers. We commissioned an independent consultant to undertake the statutory review but there have been a number of reasons, more particularly her work to complete the familicide study, which meant it was not possible to conclude this in the timeframe. A particular individual was commissioned to focus on this piece of work. We had a very unfortunate situation where the person commissioned to do the familicide study passed away. On engaging this individual for this particular study, we asked her to take it on and that piece of work took much longer. I was reluctant to take her off the particular work she was doing or to take away this particular review because we anticipated the familicide work would be done much more quickly.
Where we are now essentially is, following discussions with this individual we have mutually agreed that it is not possible for her to complete this particular study. She has been very helpful however in making available to my Department the documentation and the research that has been done. So that is not to say there is absolutely nothing done at this stage. My Department will advertise shortly to commission a new person to complete the review. The reason that is happening now is because it is only in the last few weeks that we received the body of work that has been done to date. Without setting out the terms of reference we wanted to know whether it was a commission for a piece of work that would include research interviews, the background work, or just the writing up of a report. It is just the writing up of a report. A huge body of work has been done. That will be advertised shortly and I can absolutely assure the Deputy that once the review is completed and the report received, any recommendations made will be brought to this House.
It really was a case that we had an unfortunate situation where somebody passed away; the person who was supposed to conduct this particular review took on the familicide report that took much longer than intended; I did not want to take her off this particular commissioned report but, unfortunately, the delay has resulted in us going way beyond what had been committed to in the legislation. It is an absolute priority to get this up and running as soon as possible but what is positive is the bones of the research work has been done. It is now a matter of just writing up the report.
I thank the Minister. It is good and bad news. At least there is some clarity. However, it is six years since the legislation became operational. It is three years and three months since the Minister was legally obliged to carry out a review. I really do not know what happened. I understand that the person died and there were difficulties. What I do not understand is the person that we are talking about was confirmed as the study lead for the familicide and domestic homicide review in June 2020, after the woman died. She was a very respected woman and I do not even want to mention names here. However, the Minister then appointed the same person to review Part 4 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 after that. It just does not make sense to me. I might be wrong in my reading of it. I took a lot of time with this legislation. I actually voted against it, with just two other colleagues in the Dáil, after considering it because I felt it was endangering women. The review is extremely important in looking at convictions and prosecutions we need that to see if the legislation is effective.
I thank the Deputy and agree the review is extremely important. The person in question was commissioned to do this review first. Subsequently, the other person in question passed away and this person was asked to complete that. It took much longer than anybody thought it would. Without saying names or getting into details it took much longer to do the familicide study. Anybody who has looked at the report will see the magnitude of work involved in that. Yes, a decision could have been taken to make that change but it was my understanding at multiple points that we would actually be finished the familicide review much earlier. What is positive is that a huge body of work has been done. It is a matter now for a new person to put the report together. A lot of work has happened and I myself have engaged with members of An Garda Síochána who are solely working in this area.
It is to understand where the law is working and where it is not. The review itself will consider whether further changes need to be made. I am aware that the issue of brothel-keeping comes up. Internationally, it has been shown that the legalisation of activities does not necessarily result in the protection of the most vulnerable. The Deputy will agree that the sole objective of the legislation is to protect the women at the heart of this matter, who are extremely vulnerable and who in most instances are doing what they do against their will or are trafficked and do not have a say in what is happening to them.
I could be wrong but my research and notes and the research of my office state the independent reviewer was appointed in July 2020. That was a month after she had been appointed for the domestic homicide review. She was given both tasks, with one month between them. I would really like clarification on this.
The legislation was brought in to criminalise the purchase of sex and increase the penalties with the sole purpose of protecting women, but we have absolutely no data from the Government on whether this has happened. However, we do have very important research from Queen’s University Belfast, Amnesty International and the University of Limerick stating women are in greater danger than before. Amnesty International’s report of 2022 entitled We Live Within a Violent System shows the 2017 legislation has placed sex workers at a higher risk of abuse, and it goes on in this regard. This is the information available to me but I have nothing from the Government.
The legislation, as the Deputy has said, has made significant changes. It was introduced to provide additional protection for people involved in prostitution. What we have seen in other jurisdictions is that the decriminalisation of brothel-keeping, which the Deputy and others have raised, actually creates a greater loophole that allows the likes of criminal gangs and others to profit but also to continue the abuse, particularly of women.
I fully agree with the Deputy that it is vital to finish the report as quickly as possible and get all the information. There has been considerable engagement with the Garda and those responsible for implementing the law as it stands. There are already ways in which we can improve and perhaps change the law to allow the authorities to do their job better and ensure those who procure women for sex are the ones prosecuted. They are the ones responsible for bedding up the brothels and many of them work internationally, not just at local level.
If I may, I will now use a few seconds of the 30 seconds I will have to introduce the next question, which is on the same theme – violence against women. I do not accept what the Minister is saying. She has given her opinion and I accept her bona fides but I have asked for a report. We need a report outlining the convictions and so on.
55. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Justice for a status update on the establishment of a statutory domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33966/23]
I would like a specific update on the establishment of a statutory domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency. The figures on gender-based and sexual violence are horrific. The year 2022 was the worst on record.
As the Deputy will be aware, tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is an absolute priority for me and the rest of the Government. One of the key and central elements of the new zero-tolerance strategy is the establishment of the agency. I have given a commitment to have it up and running in January 2024, and we are on track for that to happen.
On 28 February, the Government approved the drafting of the Bill to provide for the establishment of the agency, and the general scheme of the Bill was published on 6 March. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice conducted its pre-legislative scrutiny hearing on 18 April, with engagement from several sectoral organisations and civil-society groups. Its report was published on 11 May and its recommendations are under consideration.
My Department is working intensively with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel on the Bill. I hope to be in a position to publish it in the coming weeks, or, if not then, in early September, to ensure we have it ready for the next session and enacted by the end of the year so the new agency will be up and running in January of next year. We have secured approval for certain posts through the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, so there is work happening, in addition to that on the legislation, to ensure the positions can be put in place.
The strategy states that, in the detailed design phase of the agency setup, a key principle is to work with specialist and community-based support organisations. That has been a theme throughout the zero-tolerance planning. We are working with the NGOs, the people at the coalface, all the time. An initial high-level meeting was held with some NGOs last December to progress the co-design of the functional model, and my Department hosted facilitated workshops in February and March. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the independent facilitator’s report on the issues raised in these workshops was recently circulated to all participants and has been published. It is absolutely the case that, once the agency is established, we will continue in the vein of co-design, co-operation, collaboration and ensuring those who have been working at the coalface for many years are at the heart of the new agency, ensuring it works and functions in the way we want it to.
I welcome that it is on target and the positive development, but my cynicism, for which I beg forgiveness, is born of burned-in experience. We had the task force in 1995 or 1996 and then we had three strategies. We have had any amount of debate on the subject. In the meantime, there have been deaths, five this year alone. There were 12 last year. That was the worst figure in over a decade. I could quote more figures. This is upsetting, so we need action. We now have a third strategy and the promise of an agency. The Minister tells us it is on schedule. I hear that.
The report the Minister referred to has 21 recommendations. The National Women’s Council criticised the general scheme for its failure to include survivors or civil-society groups. It also referred to the lack of power invested in the agency to oblige Departments to act. The audit that referred to the fragmentation of services was one of three reports. This is where I am coming from in holding the Government to account.
Nobody is more devastated to see the numbers than I am, given my commitment to trying to address this issue, but we need to ensure we are not just responding but also putting in place structures to deal with this in the longer term. This is where the agency will be vital. We are going to replicate existing structures, working with the agency. We have a committee chaired by the Taoiseach, and I, as Minister, working with all my colleagues across the various Departments, will respond to and feed into the work. The agency will monitor the work done, so there will be a direct link. The work of implementing the zero-tolerance strategy, which has an initial lifespan of five years but which we can build on, as we have done with the other strategies, feeds directly into the work of the Government and is overseen by the Department of the Taoiseach. Therefore, there is a considerable amount of oversight. It is important that all the work done, be it through engaging with the NGOs or through pre-legislative scrutiny by the justice committee, be taken into account. That is what is happening now with the development of the legislation. It is absolutely a priority for me to establish the agency early next year with the support of all the organisations the Deputy mentioned and working very closely with them.
With regard to the audit of structures concerning domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, the report referred to a lack of effective oversight of the implementation of the previous national strategy, a fragmented approach, a lack of interest in attendance by some Departments and a lack of effective, costed implementation plans for the two national strategies. I am not making this up. According to Safe Ireland, the third national strategy is more ambitious than its predecessors but the measures barely scratch the surface of what is a wide-scale social problem. Ms Sinéad Gibney, chief commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, states violence against women has reached crisis levels in Ireland. After the publication of the SAVI Report, it took 21 years to produce the CSO survey. Professor Hannah McGee, lead author of the SAVI Report, states the following in respect of the CSO report:
[N]ot much, if anything, has changed for the better in 21 years. Sexual violence is an iceberg – huge and hidden. And we need a serious national dialogue to figure out how to change it.
That is the background I am coming from regarding this.
I tend to look at these things positively. I regard the opportunity to establish the agency as a really positive step in a process that I know the Minister is extremely serious about. Violence against women in this State is reaching an epidemic level. In this regard, I would go even further than the witness from IHREC who appeared before the justice committee. I was very pleased to hear the Minister say she believes she will have a draft Bill for consideration in the coming months.
That is absolutely imperative. We all must play our part in ensuring this scourge is eradicated insofar as we can do so. Funding the agency and consulting with the NGOs are particularly welcome steps to which the Minister has agreed. I have been engaging with several stakeholders in my constituency and in Dublin city. They are enthusiastic about the establishment of the agency.
I firmly believe violence against women and girls is the biggest issue preventing equality, not just in Ireland but right across the globe. It is an issue people are dealing with throughout the world. It is not fair to say nothing has happened in 20-plus years. The previous strategy resulted in significant changes in this country by way of new laws, new polices and investment. There is much more we need to do. I am looking at the current strategy, the commitment that is there across all Departments, the engagement with all stakeholders in the sector and the huge number of actions we are progressing and which I will bring to Cabinet in two weeks' time, after which I will meet with all stakeholders to go through the progress that has been made. We will all be held accountable if there is no progress on certain actions. The stakeholders will hold me and other Departments accountable, as will everybody in this House, for implementing the strategy. I absolutely assure Deputy Connolly that this is a priority and not something that will be left sitting on a shelf.
58. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Justice to report on progress on the new Garda station for Dublin 7-Dublin 13. [34004/23]
This question was tabled by my colleague, Deputy Ó Ríordáin. It is asking when a particular Garda station will be built, which is an issue he has raised on numerous occasions.
I assure the Deputy that the development of a substantial new Garda station and facilities on Dublin City Council lands at the corner of the R139 and the Malahide Road at Northern Cross is considered a strategic priority project by An Garda Síochána. The Office of Public Works, OPW, is engaged in ongoing positive interaction with the council, in consultation with An Garda Síochána, on the development of the site at Northern Cross. I am advised that the OPW has undertaken a high-level impact study of the site and a detailed brief of requirements is being developed by An Garda Síochána.
Under the national development plan, NDP, the Government is committed to investing significant levels of capital funding into An Garda Síochána to deliver a Garda station modernisation and refurbishment programme, provide for strategic ICT and digitalisation projects and deliver a modern, fit-for-purpose Garda fleet. This is a core part of the Government's plan to build stronger, safer communities. As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible by law for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including the Garda estate. This is something on which I engage with the Commissioner and his team on a regular basis.
I assure the Deputy that the Government is absolutely committed to ensuring the Garda has the resources and facilities it needs to tackle crime and keep us safe. Going back to the previous point, if we are to encourage the recruitment of more gardaí and retain the gardaí we have, they must have the resources they need, including spaces to work, equipment and technology. As criminals becomes more advanced in the tools they use, the Garda needs to have the equipment to deal with them, whether that be body-worn cameras, facial recognition technology, new hand-held devices, the right types of cars or other means of dealing with crime, whether on foot or on bike. There is an absolute priority to invest in these types of projects.
The Northern Cross project, involving the development of a substantial Garda station in the location, is a priority for the Garda Commissioner, his team and the Government. I cannot give specific, detailed timings as to how the project will progress but I know it is at an advanced stage of planning between the OPW and the Garda.
I thank the Minister for her reply. However, the point of the question was to obtain a timeline for the project. Much of the Garda estate across the country needs refurbishment or replacement to ensure we are able to attract new gardaí and ensure the falling numbers in the Garda Síochána have decent accommodation and decent places to work. We waited a long time for a decent Garda station in Wexford. It is transformative when there is a brand-new station in a locality. One of the things we did when we had little money was to have bundles of Garda stations built, both under public private partnerships, PPPs, and via direct build by the State. Is tendering for bundles happening? Is it possible to see a significant improvement in the number of Garda stations under construction to deal with the recognised deficiencies in the fabric of the Garda estate?
We have a significant capital plan under way at the moment. Funding for this year was €50 million, with a further €50 million allocated for next year and the subsequent year. I will be seeking an increase in that capital spend in the coming years. As set out in the Summer Economic Statement, there will be an increase in the capital ceiling for the NDP.
There is a variety of different projects under the capital plan, including new builds and refurbishments. Some are much larger than others and quite significant. This particular project will be significant for the area, providing a base for the huge growth in population that has happened in recent years. There are other timelines as well relating to the acquisition of land. There is a whole variety of different projects happening at the moment. The money is there. It is a matter of making sure we have the capacity within the OPW to work with the Garda to ensure these different strands can be progressed in parallel and we are not waiting for one project to finish in an area before we can start the next.
The Deputy asked about project bundles. He may be aware that we recently decoupled a bundle because there was not as much progress as we would like. The plan as we move forward is not to work in that way when we have seen it is not working as we would like.
I understand bundles do not always work but when they do, it means we have five or six major stations being developed at the same time. There are economies arising from that. Is it possible to set out a timeline, even in general terms, for the expected completion of Garda stations? If the Minister has €50 million in capital spending a year and is looking for more, can she set out even an outline of ambition for which Garda stations are a priority sequentially in order that communities would have some expectation and some hope as to when their need for a Garda station will be fulfilled?
The Minister might be surprised to hear that if a person pucked a sliotar from the Cuckoo stream, which is just off the Malahide Road in my constituency, it would hit the site on which she is proposing to build a Garda station.
Deputy Farrell would be arrested if he did that.
I was not aware the project was so advanced and I am very pleased to hear it. People refer to the community it will serve as the north fringe because it is located between Fingal and Dublin city. It is important that it should get a Garda station. In agreeing with Deputy Howlin's call for some form of framework for setting out, at the least, a strategy for the delivery of, or upgrades to, Garda stations across the country, I ask that the Minister and Commissioner might look at the likes of Donabate, which is undergoing huge growth and is in the same Garda division as the station we are discussing. It certainly could do with investment like what is being put into the site at the Malahide Road junction.
The question asked for a progress update on the new Garda station in Dublin 7. Deputy Farrell cast out a sliotar to his constituency. I am going to cross the river to Dublin 8, in which Heuston Station is located. A new Garda station was recently announced for that location. I am not sure whether it is a control centre or a Garda station. My main concern is the safety of commuters travelling to and from Kildare, but also anyone travelling on the Heuston line. What impact is that new station having? Will the gardaí stationed there travel on the trains or will they simply be present in the station concourse as rail travellers disembark? Will people be able to report a crime to those gardaí? Will the gardaí be patrolling or is it a case of having an information kiosk? I am asking for a general update on what the station will be used for or how it is already being used. I would appreciate any update the Minister can give.
I might have to get back to Deputy Lawless on some of the detail of his question.
The Northern Cross project is a commitment under the national development plan. It is included in the indicative schedule of works under the Garda capital plan, which runs from 2023 to 2030. The location of the site is the subject of discussion not just between the Garda and the OPW but also Dublin City Council because the proposed site at the Northern Cross is on lands currently owned by the council. There is a huge amount of work and engagement involved just to iron out the details of the site, its ownership and what the plans need to be. The site will consist not only of a new station for the Dublin 13 and 17 areas, which cover Donaghmede and Coolock, but will also act as the divisional headquarters for the Dublin metropolitan region, north division.
As I have said, this is a significant project. I cannot provide a timeline today but, as this project progresses, I hope to be in a position to let Deputies know what type of timeline for completion we are talking about.
I am afraid I will have to come back to Deputy Lawless. It is an expansion of the work that is being done there already. If there is any intention for it to change or for there to be a specific focus on Heuston Station, I will let him know.
59. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the current ratio of gardaí to citizens in each county in the State, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33729/23]
Meath is a great county with great communities but it is suffering significantly from a wave of crime and antisocial behaviour. Shockingly, Meath has the highest number of burglaries in the country. Some 8,000 families have been devastated by burglary in Meath in just the last ten years. That is equivalent of every home in Dunboyne, a town in the Minister's constituency, being burgled in that period of time. When is the Government going to get serious about Garda numbers nationally and when is Meath going to get the right number of gardaí? We have the lowest number of gardaí per capita in the State year after year and the Minister for Justice is from the county.
As the Deputy will be aware and as I have mentioned a number of times this evening, my priority is to ensure that we continue to increase the number of gardaí, that we do not just reach the target of 15,000 but go beyond it and that we ensure that every community benefits from that increase in numbers. Of course, it is a matter for the Garda Commissioner to decide where gardaí are allocated but he will always look at populations, crime trends and areas where the ratio or percentage is lower. In that regard, over recent years, Meath has seen a 14% increase in its allocation, which can be compared to an average increase of 8%. I fully accept that we have not reached the numbers we need to reach. I have raised this matter both as Minister and as a local Deputy. However, these figures show that, on a sustained basis, a higher percentage of gardaí are going to areas where they are needed. Meath is not the only county where we have seen an explosion in population. Kildare and others have experienced the same challenge.
With regard to the different types of offences and crimes, burglary and related offences are actually down 35%. These are statistics the Garda has given us. Public order and social order code offences are down 23% while controlled drug offences are down 18%, which is due to the significant hard work of An Garda Síochána in Meath. I commend this work. We need to make sure the numbers increase to support those working on the ground but those who are working in our county are the reason we are seeing a 35% reduction in burglaries, an 18% reduction in controlled drug offences and a 23% reduction in public order and social code offences. Unfortunately, we have seen an increase in the number of murders. This is a topic we have discussed previously. A number of people, women in particular, have been murdered in their own homes. It has been a very difficult year or two for gardaí dealing with those types of cases. Again, I pay tribute to them. It takes an enormous amount of teamwork and effort to respond to and deal with those types of crimes.
As I have mentioned, the number of gardaí in Meath has increased by 14%. I am not saying that is enough. We need to continue to increase those numbers. The only way we can do that is by making sure we have the numbers going through Templemore. That is an absolute priority. That number is going in the right direction as new recruits enter the college every 11 weeks.
In fairness, gardaí do not want the Minister's commendation; they want support. That is what they want every day. The number of gardaí in the State has fallen every year Deputy McEntee has been Minister for Justice. That is some record. In every year she has been Minister for Justice, the number of gardaí in the State has fallen. She says she has no role in the allocation of gardaí in County Meath but she could set out policy that ties the number of gardaí to population, within reason. That policy would have to be followed by An Garda Síochána. There is anger and fear in County Meath with regard to this issue. There is a spike in the number of violent assaults and sexual assaults. Drug crime and criminal damage are on the increase. A couple of weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, a car stopped in the middle of a main street and those within felt safe enough to get out and smash the windows of a pub. People are being stabbed and seriously injured in Slane, a town in the Minister's constituency. People are angry and they are looking to the Minister because she has authority in this area. They do not want any more gardaí than any other county; they just want the same as every other county.
I talk to the gardaí in my county and engage with them at every level, from the new recruits coming into our county to the highest level, our chief superintendent. I understand that what we need is more gardaí. We also need to make sure that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs, whether that is through capital investment or investment in vehicles, handheld devices, CCTV or body-worn cameras, in respect of which we are bringing through legislation. All of these help measures gardaí respond to the issues the Deputy has just raised.
I have met with many businesses and community members. As recently as Friday, I met with members of An Garda Síochána and members of the local authority to look at ways in which we can support the work of An Garda Síochána. To go back to my previous point, dealing with community safety is not just about An Garda Síochána. It is also about working with the local authorities, education, the youth diversion programmes, the community groups and businesses. That is the approach that needs to be taken, not just in our own county but across the board. I assure the Deputy that Garda numbers are my number one priority in my engagement with the Garda Commissioner. I have every confidence that Meath will receive the increase it deserves, as will other counties.
I do not want to sound rude but I want to communicate the level of anger in County Meath at the fact that Meath is on the bottom rung with regard to the number of gardaí. Ireland has the second lowest number of police per capita in the whole of the European Union. Ireland is one of the worst countries in terms of policing and Meath is the worst in that country. Outside of rhetoric, I have not heard anything that has actually been delivered. Garda numbers, Garda morale and Garda safety are on the floor. We have one of the lowest numbers of personnel in our police force per capita. Hundreds of police are being assaulted every year and hundreds of gardaí are resigning every year. More people are retiring from the Garda force every year and people are voting with their feet by refusing to join An Garda Síochána. More than physical investment is needed. The Minister has to prove to gardaí that it is going to get better, that there will be more gardaí to support them, that it will be a safer place for them to operate and that communities in County Meath will be able to live in peace and harmony.
I disagree with a lot of what the Deputy has just said. Morale is not on the floor. I speak to gardaí every day. I know they need additional members to support them in the work they do. It is simply not correct to say that nobody wants to join. Some 11,000 people applied to join An Garda Síochána last year and there were 5,000 in a competition that happened less than a year after that.
Those are expressions of interest. They are not people joining An Garda Síochána.
We want people to apply and to join. We will work through the process. However, we are now in a situation of full employment and the numbers applying to An Garda Síochána are not reflected across the rest of the public service. The Deputy says that gardaí are leaving in their droves. Less than 1% of gardaí left last year. That does not compare to the numbers leaving private sector employments. In fact, it is much lower. We are doing exit interviews to see if there is more we can do for those who are leaving. It is about investment and protecting gardaí. That is why we have introduced legislation for body-worn cameras and why we have a budget of €2 billion for An Garda Síochána, the highest we have ever seen.
60. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Justice when she expects to introduce legislation in the Houses of the Oireachtas to put the Prison Service on a statutory basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34002/23]
I am asking this question on behalf of Deputy Ó Ríordáin. In July of last year, the Minister announced that she was going to introduce legislation to put the Irish Prison Service on a statutory basis. When will this legislation be introduced?
I can advise the Deputy that I hope to bring my proposals to Government for the drafting of a Bill to establish the Irish Prison Service on a statutory basis with new and enhanced governance and accountability structures shortly. In fact, I hope to bring it to Cabinet in approximately two weeks. This follows Government approval in June 2022 to prepare the general scheme of such a Bill. A safe, secure and progressive prison system is a cornerstone of any well-functioning democracy. The legislative proposals that I will be bringing to Government recognise the critical importance of the Prison Service in the justice system and the need to endow it with the legal status and structures that befit an agency of such size and significance. The general scheme I am bringing to Government will cement the position of the Prison Service as a State body with defined functions.
It will provide it with best practice governance supports, and set out clear lines of authority and accountability for the management of the prison system. This includes establishing the position of director general of the Prison Service as a statutory office with formal authority and accountability to match the responsibilities of the role. Without wishing to pre-empt any Government decision, I can say that my proposals will provide for the designation of the director general as the accounting officer for the prisons Vote and as the appropriate authority for its staff within the meaning of the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 and the Civil Service Regulation Acts 1956 to 2005.
I can also advise that in line with the mandate received from the Government last year, the proposed scheme will provide for the establishment of an independent non-executive board to provide the Prison Service with guidance, scrutiny and ongoing monitoring in matters of internal governance and the development and implementation of corporate strategy. The proposed scheme will also provide for the establishment of a dedicated audit committee and other expert committees as required.
The scheme will expressly preserve the overall authority of the Minister for Justice in matters of strategy and policy, including prison numbers. The provision of prison capacity and related decisions on capital investment will remain firmly as matters for decision by the Minister and the Government.
The new structures to be proposed under the scheme will ensure that the Prison Service has the benefit of expert guidance and oversight in implementing the Government’s penal policy reform programme, in managing capital projects and in ensuring the highest standards of governance and accountability in the prison system. This will complement the primarily human rights-focused oversight already provided by external entities.
I thank the Minister for a comprehensive reply. For most of us it would seem a bit odd that such a significant service as the Irish Prison Service is not a statutory agency like most other analogous institutions in the State. The Irish Prison Service has 3,500 staff and a budget of €400 million. It is a very significant and important agency. Obviously we can debate the Minister's proposals when they are published and brought before us here. Prison and the structure of prisons and penal policy in this country are extremely important issues. In terms of the legislation, I hope the Minister will give the greatest possible time to these Houses, particularly the justice committee, to look in detail at the structure of this legislation to make sure the new director general is fully accountable and amenable to interact with these Houses
As I said, I hope to publish the Bill in two weeks time. That will give Deputies time over the summer, if they wish, to read into this and look into the detail of it. A huge amount of work has been set out, but of course this will have to go to the justice committee. There will be pre-legislative scrutiny and of course, as is the case with any Bill, I will be taking on board all recommendations and engagements as it goes through the Houses. It is a crucial part of the criminal justice system. It has a substantial duty of care to prisoners and to staff. It plays a significant role in keeping communities safe through a rehabilitation-oriented approach to prisoner management. We need to make sure that we are looking at it from the point of view of reform but also that people receive a sentence that matches the crime they have committed.
A huge body of work is under way to look at penal policy in general. That will complement this legislation, putting it on a statutory footing. I can assure the Deputy that there will be enough time and space to debate this in the House as well as in the justice committee.
Again I thank the Minister. I want to ask a question about the structure of the prison system in this country. I understand that there are 12 designated prisons. Is it the Minister's intention to have additional prisons, to enlarge any of the existing prisons or to close any of the existing prisons as part of the reform package she is going to advance?
The proposal being worked on at the moment is to expand the number of spaces we have within the existing prison capacity. The proposal is for between 620 and 650 new spaces to be delivered over the next five to six years. Some projects are shovel-ready and have plans already developed that can be moved on quickly to cater for the fact that we have a growing population. At the same time we need to make sure we have a very clear plan to look at penal policy reform and ways we can prevent reoffending. We need to make sure that while we have additional capacity we also look at how we can keep people out of prison in order to reduce that cycle. One of the previous questions that the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, addressed was to do with the significant work of the mental health task force. This will play its part in making sure that people who should not be in prison and should be in other services are looked after. That will be considered as part of the overall capacity.
Will the Oberstown facility come within the remit of the Prison Service?
No, it will not.
61. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Justice to provide an update on work to publish legislation with regard to the use of facial recognition technology by gardaí; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33474/23]
As the Deputy is aware, I am committed to ensuring An Garda Síochána has the resources, the equipment and the technology necessary to do its job in protecting people from harm and saving lives. As part of this commitment, I am working to ensure gardaí have body-worn cameras and to extend the powers governing An Garda Síochána's use of CCTV and automatic number plate recognition, ANPR. Such technology will enhance front-line policing capability and help to prevent crime and prosecute those involved in criminal activity. Body-worn cameras, in particular, will help to improve front-line capability with the accurate recording of incidents, expedite analysis, enhance situational awareness and protect police from harm. The Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022 completed Committee Stage last week. When it is enacted, it will provide a legal basis for the deployment and use of body-worn cameras by An Garda Síochána.
I am also committed to introducing facial recognition technology, FRT, in a number of limited and defined circumstances, as a tool to search evidence in the most serious of cases. If we are providing An Garda Síochána with the ability, through CCTV, ANPR or body-worn cameras, to gather all of this data, we need to provide ways in which they can go through the data. Instead of a member of An Garda Síochána sitting for hundreds of hours looking at footage, which is what happens in certain cases, facial recognition or other types of AI could be used to identify in a matter of minutes a possible suspect or potentially to protect someone who is in a very vulnerable or difficult situation. As the Deputy will be aware, following consultation with Government colleagues, the use of FRT will now be provided for in separate legislation in the new Garda Síochána (digital management and facial recognition technology) Bill 2023. A number of safeguards will be included in that Bill. For example, a code of practice will be required, mass surveillance and profiling will be prohibited and the operation of the Bill will be kept under review by a High Court judge.
Essentially, this is about reducing the amount of time it takes for Garda members to go through video footage. This would be of particular benefit in serious cases like murder and child sexual abuse. In the case of child sexual abuse, the number of images that gardaí often have to deal with on devices makes it very difficult to deal with what might be real and new cases. This will help them in protecting people who are currently victims of child sexual abuse. This is something we need to progress as quickly as possible.
I am supportive of any measure that will enhance the capacity and the capability of An Garda Síochána. The reason I asked this as a separate question to the one on body-worn cameras has to do with the caution that is associated with the idea of facial recognition software and the concerns that have been expressed by NGOs and State actors that I know the Minister is only too familiar with. The code of practice will be a crucial element of this as the legislation is developed. I certainly look forward to working constructively with the Minister, along with colleagues on the justice committee, over the coming months when the legislation finds its way to us
This is about getting a balance, making sure we give An Garda Síochána the tools to be able to deal with the really serious cases I have mentioned, and protecting people's rights and their privacy. It is about striking that balance, making sure we have a level of oversight and also making sure we are in step with our colleagues at European level. This Bill will be progressed very much in line with a code of conduct that has been developed by the European Data Protection Board. All of the data protection agencies across Europe are coming together to put in place the codes of practice or codes of conduct that should be applied for this type of technology. It is about getting that balance and I am committed to ensuring that in this legislation. I look forward to working with colleagues when we bring this legislation forward, which we hope to do in the new term in September.
