Written Answers Nos. 163-170
163. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons waiting for decisions on their leave to remain here; and in tabular form, the length of time such persons have been waiting. [3531/13]
View answer164. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to speed up processing of applications for leave to remain here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3532/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 163 and 164 together.
What is generally referred to and understood as 'an application for leave to remain' refers to the submission of written representations to the Minister for Justice and Equality against the making of a Deportation Order, pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended). In all such cases, before a final decision is made, consideration must be given to the eleven separate headings set out in Section 3 (6) of the 1999 Act, the provisions of Section 5 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended) on the prohibition of refoulement and other relevant legal and constitutional provisions. Such decision-making is also guided by, among other things, international law and Supreme and High Court Judgments. This process is followed equally in asylum related cases and in the cases of illegal immigrants. The ultimate decision will be to make a Deportation Order or to grant Leave to Remain in the State for a specified period and subject to stated conditions.
Before any non-EEA national can 'apply for Leave to Remain', they must be served with a notification of intention to deport, as provided for under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended). However, it must be borne in mind that many of the potential 'leave to remain' cases, although having been served with such a notification, will have their cases finalised through the granting of Subsidiary Protection or the granting of permission to remain under different headings, such as under EU Treaty Rights or family reunification provisions or indeed through marriage to an Irish national. Additionally, some of the persons awaiting a 'leave to remain' decision will, for their own valid reasons, opt for voluntary repatriation, formally and informally, before a final decision is taken in their cases. The Deputy will appreciate that many other cases cannot be finalised owing to the existence of judicial review proceedings.
Precise figures for each of the above categories, and for the numbers of cases which are currently awaiting a 'leave to remain' decision, are not be available without engaging in a very detailed and time-consuming exercise. This would not be justified as it would have the effect of diverting case processing personnel from this area. As the Deputy will appreciate the actual processing of cases must continue to be afforded the highest priority.
I can also advise the Deputy that I recently approved an initiative to put in place a panel with legal expertise who will assist the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service in processing a cohort of repatriation cases, thus speeding up the overall process and reducing the time spent by persons in the Direct Provision system. I would expect to see significant dividends, in terms of cases finalised, from this initiative in the coming months.
The Deputy should note that the processing of cases at the repatriation stage is a complex one with obligations to adhere to both domestic and international laws and jurisprudence, and to make decisions in accordance with the UN Convention on Human Rights. However, I am anxious that all cases are processed as promptly as possible and, to this end, apart from the legal panel initiative referred to earlier, additional staff members have also been deployed to this area of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) in recent years. Moreover, substantial investment has been made in the development of technology required to support the processing of such cases.
In terms of the time taken to finalise cases of this nature, no two cases will be the same in terms of their nature or complexity. Equally, cases will vary, depending, for example, on the countries of origin and the nature of family groups involved. The reality is that each case will have its own complexities which must be analysed in great detail, under a variety of headings as indicated at the outset, before a final decision can be made.
Depending on the nature of the case, in some instances, a decision may be reached in a matter of months, whereas in others where for example there may be multiple legal challenges at various stages of the process it may not be possible to reach a final decision for a number of years.
Furthermore, the current multi-layered approach to the processing of cases of asylum origin is not resource efficient and that is why I am providing for a single-procedure based approach in the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill, which I plan to progress in 2013. This proposed single-procedure will require asylum applicants to advance, at the outset, all reasons, protection or otherwise, behind their request to remain in the State.
165. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an update in relation to his consideration of issues relating to Bethany House and the redress issues surrounding that home. [3535/13]
View answerWhile I cannot be more specific at this time, consideration continues to be given to issues relating to the former Bethany Home and how they might be addressed. I would also point out that although limited aspects of the operation of the Bethany Home came under the remit of my Department many of the issues raised fall to other Departments.
166. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Justice and Equality in view of the increasing prevalence of cash for gold businesses, the sale of scrap metal and the impact on burglaries and thefts, when the metal theft forum is due to report and develop a prevention and reduction plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3556/13]
View answer167. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if a metal compliance scheme will be introduced in order to reduce the level of rural metal theft; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3557/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 166 and 167 together.
An Garda Síochána is very much aware of the matters raised by the Deputy and is targeting the increase in the theft of metal, and burglaries and theft-related crimes generally, through a number of initiatives.
The Garda response includes the Supporting Safer Communities initiative, which lays particular emphasis on burglary prevention and reduction, and a targeted response to burglary, taking into account locations, times, offenders and victims. This response includes the development of advice on the prevention of theft of farm machinery and farm security generally.
In addition, An Garda Síochána has established a metal theft forum involving stakeholders particularly affected by this type of crime, including the Irish Farmers' Association, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers association, the Electricity Supply Board, telecoms, transport companies, brewing concerns and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.
The forum provides a means of on-going liaison and cooperation between all the stakeholders working towards preventing and reducing metal theft and thereby providing a safer and more secure living and working environment for both the public and the business community.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that following consultation with affected groups and senior Garda officers, the An Garda Síochána Metal Theft Crime Prevention and Reduction Plan has been developed and will be launched in early February 2013.
In addition the Minister for the Environment, Community & Local Government has published draft regulations under the Waste Management Act which aim to enhance the traceability of scrap metal purchases.
In relation to the operation of cash for gold outlets, I can inform the Deputy that on 19 June 2012 I published a report on the criminal justice aspects of this trade which was prepared by my Department. I have formally requested the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality and Defence to consider the content of the report, that it considers holding hearings on the issues raised in the report, that it obtains the views of all relevant interested parties and that it makes such report and recommendations to the Houses of the Oireachtas and to Government as it deems proportionate and appropriate in the public interest. I understand that the Committee has taken action with a view to progressing this matter.
168. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of money that has been contributed to the establishment of the community alert in 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3581/13]
View answerThe Community Alert programme is a voluntary community based initiative in rural communities. For many years my Department has provided funding for the programme which is operated by Muintir na Tíre in association with the Garda authorities and supports the operation of over 1,300 local groups. I understand that funding is also received from the HSE.
My Department provided funding of €160,000 in 2011.
169. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice and Equality in view of the reduction of up to €10 million in the overtime budget for the Garda, the impact that this will have on the fight against crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3588/13]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, it has been necessary to reduce expenditure across the public sector due to the very difficult economic situation. That being said, I can also assure the Deputy that the 2013 Garda financial allocation, which in gross terms amounts to over Euro 1.4 billion, will be spent in the most effective way with the emphasis on the delivery of front-line services.
In that general context I can confirm for the Deputy that the Garda overtime budget is Euro 43.9 million. On any analysis this is a substantial sum of money and it also represents an increase of approximately 3.5% on the actual expenditure on Garda overtime in 2012, which came to Euro 42.4 million. In addition, separate provision has been made in the Garda Vote in 2013 for certain Garda overtime costs that will arise in connection with the current Irish EU Presidency.
With regard to the fight against crime, the most recent crime statistics published by the Central Statistics Office for the third quarter of 2012 show a welcome reduction in 12 of the 14 crime groups for which figures are given, compared with the previous 12 months. The figures reflect how the Gardaí are making an impact on crime and the Commissioner has indicated that the Force will maintain its focus on criminal activities.
Overall, I believe that the primary Garda objective of combating crime will be continue to be achieved, and that, despite the pressure on the public finances, it will be possible for the Force to operate to the optimum benefit of our communities in a manner that will facilitate the prevention and detection of offences.
170. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1263 of 18 September 2012, the documentation deemed missing from the application for naturalisation made in 2010 in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare to warrant the return of the application to the applicant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3597/13]
View answerAn application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to in the Deputy's Question was received in the Citizenship Section of my Department in November 2010.
On examination of the application submitted, it was determined that the application be returned in its entirety to the person concerned for further attention on 23 November 2010. The applicant was requested to submit a copy of her passport including her residence stamps, to address issues with the completion of her form and to provide further details in regard to one of her parents. In order to be fair to all applicants, only valid applications can be considered.
There is no record of the application having been re-submitted by the person concerned. It is open to any individual to lodge an application for citizenship if and when they are in a position to meet the statutory requirements as prescribed in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 as amended.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
