Written Answers Nos. 189-199
190. Deputy Brian Walsh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans for further reform of criminal legal aid under the proposed Legal Aid Bill; and if the introduction of means testing will be considered in the context of the Bill. [9428/13]
View answerThe current legislation governing the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme is the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 and a series of regulations made thereunder. The Act provides that an applicant for criminal legal aid must establish to the satisfaction of the Court that his/her means are insufficient to enable him/her to pay for legal representation him/herself. The Court must also be satisfied that, by reason of the gravity of the charge or exceptional circumstances, it is essential in the interests of justice that the applicant should have legal aid. The constitutional right to legal aid was established in 1976 in the Healy -v- Donoghue case. In addition, Article 6(3)(c) of the European Convention on Human Rights provides that every person charged with a criminal offence is entitled to defend him/herself in person or through legal assistance of his/her own choosing or, if he/she has insufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests of justice so require.
A new Criminal Legal Aid Bill is planned to update and strengthen the system of granting legal aid including transferring responsibility for the administration of the Scheme to the Legal Aid Board. Consideration is being given to including in the Bill provisions to, inter alia, regulate better the taking of statements of means, increase the sanction for false declarations, allow the Board to verify the means of applicants and to prosecute cases of abuse. Provision to give power to the Legal Aid Board to recover the costs of criminal legal aid or to make application to a court to revoke a criminal legal aid certificate are also under consideration. These provisions must have regard to a person's rights to the presumption of innocence, to a fair trial and to be given legal aid, where appropriate. I hope it will be possible to publish the Bill during the course of this year.
191. Deputy Brian Walsh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide details of the contract for the provision of Tetra digital radios to An Garda Síochána, including the number of radios supplied to the force and the cost of same. [9429/13]
View answerFurther to a public procurement process, a Central Agreement was signed between the Department of Finance and Tetra Ireland in 2008 for the provision of nationwide digital radio services for voice and data purposes to all non-commercial public bodies in Ireland. Subsequently, An Garda Síochána committed to roll out the National Digital Radio Service to the Force. The roll-out was completed in 2011.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that currently An Garda Síochána has approximately 15,270 radio subscription accounts on the National Digital Radio Service. In addition, I understand that the costs involved are commercially sensitive.
192. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 163 of 31 January 2013, if he will arrange for the re-issue of a letter directly to the applicant in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9465/13]
View answerI refer the Deputy to my answer to his previous Parliamentary Question wherein I stated that I am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that a letter issued to the legal representative of the person referred to by the Deputy on 22nd January 2013 and that a reply to that correspondence was still outstanding.
I am further informed by INIS that in respect of all Family Reunification cases where the applicant has engaged legal representation that all correspondence will issue to the legal representative of the applicant. Therefore the person concerned should contact their legal representative. If it is the case that the applicant no longer wishes to be represented by their current legal representative, then they must inform the Family Reunification Section in writing to this effect.
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.
193. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the progress made to date in the determination of eligibility for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9466/13]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that an application for a certificate of naturalisation was received from the person referred to by the Deputy in November 2011.
The application is being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation, such as good character and lawful residence, and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible.
As well as being a significant event in the life of its recipient, the granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation as provided for in law is also a major step for the State which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process. Each application is considered on its merits in accordance with the statutory conditions.
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.
194. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the current and/or expected position regarding residency status and eligibility for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9467/13]
View answerThe person concerned entered the State on 12th September, 2004 and was subsequently granted permission to remain in the State until 30th September, 2009. He has remained unlawfully in the State since that date.
In accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned was notified, by letter dated 26th April, 2010, that the then Minister proposed to make a Deportation Order in respect of him. He was given the options, to be exercised within 15 working days, of leaving the State voluntarily, of consenting to the making of a Deportation Order or of submitting written representations to the then Minister setting out the reasons why a Deportation Order should not be made against him. Representations have been submitted on behalf of the person concerned.
The position in the State of the person concerned will now be decided by reference to the provisions of Section 3 (6) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) and Section 5 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended) on the prohibition of refoulement. All representations submitted will be considered before a final decision is made. Once a decision has been made, this decision and the consequences of the decision, will be conveyed in writing to the person concerned.
Given that the person concerned has no current right of residency in the State, the issue of an application for naturalisation does not arise at this time.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the 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 the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
195. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the current position regarding residency status/eligibility for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9468/13]
View answerThe person concerned is a failed asylum seeker. He then proceeded to submit an application for subsidiary protection in accordance with the provisions of the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006. This application was approved and the person concerned was granted leave to remain in the State on 5th August, 2008.
The person concerned submitted an application for family reunification in respect of his wife and five children on 2nd April, 2009. This application was approved on 12th September, 2012 with the consequence that all six family members were granted leave to remain in the State under statutory family reunification provisions. This position still obtains.
I am advised by the Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that no application for a Certificate of Naturalisation has been received from any of the persons concerned. However, it will be open to the persons concerned to apply for a Certificate of Naturalisation when they are in a position to meet the lawful residency criteria applicable to the lodgement of such applications. Details on the criteria to be met by persons lodging such applications are available from my Department's Website (www.justice.ie).
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the 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 the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
196. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if the children of persons (details supplied) in County Meath will qualify for an Irish passport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9469/13]
View answerThe persons concerned have been granted leave to remain in the State for the three year period ending 15th October, 2015, following the consideration of their respective cases under Section 3 (6) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended). These decisions were conveyed in writing to the persons concerned by individual letters dated 15th October, 2012. The children of the persons concerned were included as part of their mother's decision letter.
The Deputy should note that responsibility for the issuing of passports is vested in the Irish Passport Office. Therefore, the persons concerned, or indeed the Deputy on their behalf, may wish to pursue that matter with the Irish Passport Office.
197. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the progress made to date and future entitlement of eligibility for naturalisation in the case of persons (details supplied) in Dublin 15; if he has studied the reasons given for refusal of asylum in 2004 having particular regard to the circumstances prevailing at the time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9470/13]
View answerThe persons concerned have outstanding applications for subsidiary protection and applications under Section 3 of the Immigration Act, 1999 (as amended). These applications are under consideration at present and the persons concerned will be notified in writing of the outcomes as soon as possible.
The Deputy should note that as the persons concerned have no current right of residency in the State, they would not be in a position to meet the lawful residency criteria applicable to persons applying to my Department for a Certificate of Naturalisation.
In relation to the asylum applications made by the persons concerned, those applications were investigated by the statutory independent refugee status determining bodies, namely the Offices of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and, on appeal, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal, both of whom concluded that the persons concerned did not meet the criteria for recognition as refugees. Given that those applications have been considered in the appropriate manner, I see no justification for having those applications re-visited.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the 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 the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
198. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding determination of eligibility for naturalisation in the case of persons (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9471/13]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that applications for a certificate of naturalisation were received from the persons referred to by the Deputy in August 2012.
The applications are being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicants meet the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation, such as good character and lawful residence, and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible.
As well as being a significant event in the life of its recipient, the granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation as provided for in law is also a major step for the State which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.
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.
199. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding determination of residency status and/or eligibility for naturalisation in the case of persons (details supplied) in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9472/13]
View answerThe first and second persons concerned were granted permission to remain in the State for an initial 2 year period on Stamp 4 conditions from 4 October, 2005 under the revised arrangements for the non-EEA national parents of children born in Ireland prior to January, 2005, commonly known as the IBC/05 Scheme. The grant of permission to remain was renewed regularly and is currently valid until 20 February, 2014.
I should add that a minor dependant child is covered by the permission granted to their parent once the child is resident with the parent in the State. On reaching the age of sixteen, such a child is required to register in their own right with the Garda National Immigration Bureau having obtained the permission of the Minister to do so.
There is no record of an application for a Certificate of Naturalisation from the first person referred to by the Deputy.
The second person referred to submitted an application for a Certificate of Naturalisation in June 2011. On examination of the application submitted, it was determined that it was ineligible because the statutory residency conditions as set out in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, were not satisfied. A letter issued to the applicant on 31 August 2011 informing her of the position.
It is open to any individual to lodge an application for citizenship if and when they are in a position to meet the prescribed statutory requirements.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the 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 the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
