Thursday, 28 Feb 2013

Written Questions Nos. 186 to 194

Court Accommodation Refurbishment

Questions (186)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Question:

186. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of money expended from 2004 to date on the courthouse at Market Square, Wicklow Town, including any architects' fees and moneys paid to Wicklow County Council to purchase the building and the public library adjacent to it; the reasons the courthouse has not yet been utilised or refurbished since the courts were temporarily transferred to Bray in 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10820/13]

Oral answers (1 contributions)

Minister for Justice and Equality

As the Deputy may be aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service. The Act provides that the Service is independent in the performance of its functions, including the maintenance and provision of courthouse facilities.

In order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and have been informed by the Courts Service that expenditure on buildings, including leases, maintenance and related expenditure, in Wicklow town between 2004 and 2012 was €2.455 million. This includes work on both Wicklow Courthouse and Wicklow Circuit Court Office. Of this figure, €2.050 million was spent to acquire the site adjacent to the courthouse from Wicklow County Council.

I am informed that the proposed redevelopment of the courthouse has not taken place because of the reduction in recent years in the capital funding available to the Courts Service for courthouse capital projects. The Courts Service has advised that when the necessary funding becomes available, it is their intention to redevelop Wicklow Courthouse as part of its programme for the development of county town courthouses.

Legal Matters

Questions (187)

Finian McGrath

Question:

187. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if a request for mutual legal assistance has been made in respect of persons (details supplied); if he will support such a request; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10870/13]

Oral answers (1 contributions)

Minister for Justice and Equality

I am informed that no request for assistance has been received to date. As the Deputy will appreciate I have no function in relation to the investigation of complaints made outside the jurisdiction. I am assured that any request for assistance that may be received will be considered in accordance with the relevant legislation.

Departmental Bodies

Questions (188)

Kevin Humphreys

Question:

188. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide a list of the members or former members of the Judiciary who, during the past five years, have acted as chairperson or member of any body in or under his Department, or as chairperson or member of any inquiry, or have performed functions including arbitration, mediation, conciliation, patronage, advisory or law reform functions or any other role in or in any body under his Department or in any body wholly or partly funded by him, specifying in each case the name of the judge; if he or she is serving or retired; the court of which he or she is or was a member; the role or function performed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10884/13]

Oral answers (1 contributions)

Minister for Justice and Equality

The information requested by the Deputy is set out in tabular form below:

Name	Status	Court	Role	Board
Her Hon. Judge Doirbhile Flanagan SC	Serving judge	Circuit Court	Chairperson	Censorship of Publications Board
The Hon. Mr. Francis D. Murphy, S.C.	Retired judge	Supreme Court	Chairperson	Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland
The Hon. Mr. Justice Declan Budd	Retired judge	High Court	Member	Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland
The Hon. Ms. Justice Mary Laffoy	Serving judge	High Court	Member	Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland
The Hon. Ms. Justice Mary Irvine	Serving judge	High Court	Member	Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland
The Hon. Mr. Justice Patrick J. McCarthy	Serving judge	High Court	Member	Criminal Law Codification Advisory Committee
The Hon. Mrs. Justice Susan Denham, Chief Justice	Serving Chief Justice	Supreme Court	Chairperson	Courts Service Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Nicholas Kearns, President	Serving President	High Court	Member	Courts Service Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Nial Fennelly	Serving judge	Supreme Court	Member	Courts Service Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Kevin Feeney	Serving judge	High Court	Member	Courts Service Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Paul Gilligan	Serving judge	High Court	Member	Courts Service Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Raymond Groarke, President	Serving President	Circuit Court	Member	Courts Service Board
His Honour Judge Rory P. MacCabe	Serving judge	Circuit Court	Member	Courts Service Board
Her Honour Judge Rosemary Horgan, President	Serving President	District Court	Member	Courts Service Board
Judge Gerard John Haughton	Serving judge	District Court	Member	Courts Service Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Kevin Feeney	Serving judge	High Court	Member	Courts Service Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Michael White	Serving judge	High Court	Member	Courts Service Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill	Serving judge	High Court	Member	Courts Service Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Matthew Deery	Serving judge	Circuit Court	Member	Courts Service Board
Her Honour Judge Miriam Malone	Serving judge	District Court	Member	Courts Service Board
Her Hon. Judge Yvonne Murphy	Retired judge	Circuit Court	Chairperson	Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse
The Hon. Mr. Justice Paul McDermott	Serving judge	High Court	Chairperson	Expert Group on Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights
The Hon. Mr. Justice Hugh O'Flaherty	Retired judge	Supreme Court	Member	Garda Síochána Arbitration Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Esmond Smyth	Former President of the Circuit Court and former High Court judge	Circuit Court/High Court	Chairperson	Advisory Committee on Garda Interviewing of Suspects (Smyth Committee)
His Hon. Judge Matthew Deery	Serving judge	Circuit Court	Chairperson	Garda Síochána Complaints Appeal Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Kevin Haugh	Serving judge	High Court	Chairperson	Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission
The Hon. Mr. Justice Frederick Morris	Former President of the High Court	High Court	Chairperson and sole Member	Morris Tribunal
The Hon. Mr. Justice Adrian Hardiman	Serving judge	Supreme Court	Chairperson	Irish Legal Terms Advisory Committee
His. Hon. Judge Rory P. MacCabe	Serving judge	Circuit Court	Member	Irish Legal Terms Advisory Committee
Judge Victor Blake	Serving judge	District Court	Member	Irish Legal Terms Advisory Committee
Judge Uinsin MacGruairc	Retired judge	District Court	Member Previously served as a Member of the Committee in his capacity as a District Court judge	Irish Legal Terms Advisory Committee
The Hon. Mrs. Justice Susan Denham, Chief Justice	Serving Chief Justice	Supreme Court	Chairperson	Judicial Appointments Advisory Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Nicholas Kearns, President	Serving President of the High Court	High Court	Member	Judicial Appointments Advisory Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Raymond Groarke, President	Serving President of the Circuit Court	Circuit Court	Member	Judicial Appointments Advisory Board
Her Honour Judge Rosemary Horgan, President	Serving President of the District Court	District Court	Member	Judicial Appointments Advisory Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Matthew Deery	Serving judge	Circuit Court	Member	Judicial Appointments Advisory Board
Her Honour Judge Miriam Malone	Serving judge	District Court	Member	Judicial Appointments Advisory Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Kevin Feeney	Serving judge	High Court	Designated Judge	Pursuant to Section 12(3) of the Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009
The Hon. Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill	Serving judge	High Court	Designated Judge	Pursuant to Section 8 of the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 (as amended by Section 11 of the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011).
His Hon. Judge Carroll Moran	Serving judge	Circuit Court	Complaints Referee	Pursuant to the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993
The Hon. Mr. Justice Thomas Smyth	Retired judge	High Court	Covert Human Intelligence Sources Oversight Authority	Covert Human Intelligence Sources Oversight Authority
His Hon. Mr. Justice Peter Smithwick	Retired judge	President of the District Court	Sole Member	Smithwick Tribunal
Judge Michael Reilly	Retired judge	District Court	Inspector of Prisons	Inspector of Prisons
The Hon. Mr Justice Brian McCracken	Retired judge	Supreme Court	Chairperson	Mental Health (Criminal Law) Review Board
The Hon. Mr. Justice Hugh Geoghegan	Retired judge	Supreme Court	Presiding Officer	Citizenship Ceremony
The Hon. Mr. Justice John Mac Menamin	Serving judge	Supreme Court	Presiding Officer	Citizenship Ceremony
The Hon. Mr. Justice Bryan Mc Mahon	Retired judge	High Court	Presiding Officer	Citizenship Ceremony
The Hon. Mr. Justice Declan Budd	Retired judge	High Court	Presiding Officer	Citizenship Ceremony
Her Hon. Judge Sarah Berkeley	Serving judge	Circuit Court	Presiding Officer	Citizenship Ceremony
Judge Elizabeth McGrath	Serving judge	District Court	Presiding Officer	Citizenship Ceremony
The Hon. Ms. Judge Mary Laffoy	Serving judge	High Court	ex-officio Chairperson	Registration of Deeds and Titles Rules Committee
The Hon. Mr. Justice Garrett Sheehan	Serving judge	Central Criminal Court	Member	Working Group conducting a Strategic review of Penal Policy

I also wish to inform the Deputy that in the time available to answer this question An Garda Síochána were unable to furnish the information requested. Should they provide information same will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Naturalisation Applications

Questions (189)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

189. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding residency status and entitlement to naturalisation in the case of persons (details supplied) in County Carlow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10909/13]

Oral answers (1 contributions)

Minister for Justice and Equality

I wish to inform the Deputy that the person concerned was granted permission to remain in the State on 3 December 2007. Her permission was subsequently renewed and she is currently registered with the Garda National Immigration Bureau up to 18 August 2013.

With regard to the Deputy's query concerning the entitlement to Irish citizenship of the daughter of the person concerned, I understand that the Department of Foreign Affairs are currently examining the residency record of the mother in the State with a view to establishing if her daughter is entitled to an Irish passport post the recent Supreme Court judgment in the Sulaimon case.

Residency Permits

Questions (190)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

190. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which further consideration has been given to the application for long-term residency on the grounds of having established commitments in this jurisdiction in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Carlow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10910/13]

Oral answers (1 contributions)

Minister for Justice and Equality

The person concerned is a failed asylum applicant. Arising from the refusal of his asylum application, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned was notified, by letter dated 25 February, 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 making representations to the Minister setting out the reasons why a Deportation Order should not be made against him. In addition, he was notified of his entitlement to apply for Subsidiary Protection in accordance with the provisions of the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006.

The person concerned submitted an application for Subsidiary Protection. When consideration of this application has been completed, the person concerned will be notified in writing of the outcome.

In the event that the application for Subsidiary Protection is refused, the position in the State of the person concerned will then 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.

The position in relation to the immigration status of Long Term Residency is that, at the date of application, a person applying for such status must have been legally resident in the State for over five years (60 months) on the basis of work permit, work authorisation or working visa conditions and, as such, must have Stamp 1 or Stamp 4 endorsements on their Passport during such periods. Given that the person concerned has no current right of residency in the State, he would not be in a position to meet the lawful residency criteria applicable to persons applying to my Department for Long Term Residency status.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS by Email 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.

Naturalisation Applications

Questions (191)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

191. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding residency-entitlement to eligibility for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10911/13]

Oral answers (1 contributions)

Minister for Justice and Equality

The person concerned is a failed asylum applicant. Arising from the refusal of his asylum application, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned was notified, by letter dated 16 September, 2009, 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 making representations to the then Minister setting out reasons why a Deportation Order should not be made against him. In addition, he was notified of his entitlement to apply for Subsidiary Protection in accordance with the provisions of the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006.

The person concerned submitted an application for Subsidiary Protection. When consideration of this application has been completed, the person concerned will be notified in writing of the outcome.

In the event that the application for Subsidiary Protection is refused, the position in the State of the person concerned will then 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.

The Deputy should note that as the person concerned has no current right of residency in the State, he would not be in a position to meet the lawful residency criteria applicable to persons applying to my Department for a Certificate of Naturalisation.

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.

Naturalisation Applications

Questions (192)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

192. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the procedure to be followed to date in the context of examination and determination of eligibility for residency/entitlement to naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 10; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10912/13]

Oral answers (1 contributions)

Minister for Justice and Equality

The person concerned has been granted leave to remain in the State for the three year period ending 10 January, 2014. This decision was conveyed in writing to the person concerned by letter dated 6 January, 2011.

It will be open to the person concerned to apply to the Citizenship Section of my Department for a Certificate of Naturalisation when he is 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.

Naturalisation Applications

Questions (193)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

193. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding the examination and determination of eligibility in respect of residency/naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 24; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10913/13]

Oral answers (1 contributions)

Minister for Justice and Equality

The person concerned was granted temporary permission to remain in the State in 2001, under the arrangements then in place for the non-EEA parents of Irish born children. This permission was renewed on a regular basis and is currently valid until 29 August, 2015.

An application for a certificate of naturalisation was received from the person referred to by the Deputy in June, 2012.

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.

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.

Naturalisation Applications

Questions (194)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

194. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding the determination of eligibility for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 24; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10914/13]

Oral answers (1 contributions)

Minister for Justice and Equality

I 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 June, 2012.

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.

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.