Written Answers Nos. 466-484
466. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide details of the convictions that will be dealt with under the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18229/13]
View answerThe Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012, which is currently awaiting Report Stage in the Dáil, provides that all convictions except those that result in the imposition of an "excluded sentence" are capable of becoming spent. The sentences that can never become spent under the Bill are: (1) a sentence of imprisonment of more than 12 months (except in the case of a sentence of up to 24 months which is fully suspended and the suspension is not subsequently revoked in whole or in part); (2) a sentence imposed for an offence that is reserved for trial by the Central Criminal Court; and (3) a sentence imposed for a sexual offence.
A maximum of 2 convictions may become spent under the Bill. However, where a person is convicted of more than one offence at a single court sitting, the convictions may be treated as one conviction for the purpose of this limit. There are a number of situations where the provisions of the Bill do not apply and a person will still have to disclose all convictions. These include where the person wishes to work with children or vulnerable persons, work in certain positions in the civil and public service, or apply for certain licences.
467. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 163 of 13 March 2013, if he or the Garda Commissioner sets the maximum age limit for entry into An Garda Síochána; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18302/13]
View answerRecruitment in An Garda Síochána is governed by Statutory Regulation namely, the Garda Síochána (Admission & Appointments) Regulations 1988/2005. These regulations were made by the Minister with the approval of the Government and having first consulted with the Commissioner on the matter.
468. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an explanation for the delay in processing the naturalisation application of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin. [18366/13]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that a valid application for a certificate of naturalisation was received from the person referred to by the Deputy in July, 2012. The application is at an advanced stage of processing 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.
469. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will confirm that he is awaiting a response from the Philippines authorities in order to complete the processing of a citizenship application in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18376/13]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that a valid 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.
Citizenship Division are not awaiting a response from the Philippines authorities in order to complete the processing of this application. 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.
470. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will review the decision to deport a person (details supplied) in County Waterford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18397/13]
View answerI refer the Deputy to my reply below to Parliamentary Question Number 8103/13 of 19th February, 2013. The situation is unchanged since then. The person concerned is the subject of a Deportation Order signed on 11th September 2003. He evaded his deportation for almost 6 years until June 2009. In 2009 the individual made an application to have his Deportation Order revoked under Section 3(11) of the Immigration Act, 1999 (as amended). Having considered the application fully, the Deportation Order was affirmed and this decision was conveyed to the applicant and copied to his legal representative on 29th June 2011.
I am satisfied that the application for asylum made by the person concerned was fairly and comprehensively examined. The effect of the Deportation Order is that the person concerned must leave the State and remain thereafter outside the State. The enforcement of the Deportation Order is an operational matter for the Garda National Immigration Bureau.
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.
471. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the progress made to date in respect of determination of an application for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18398/13]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that a valid application for a certificate of naturalisation was received from the person referred to by the Deputy in September, 2010. The application is at an advanced stage of processing and the applicant will be informed of my 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.
472. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of individuals adjudged bankrupt in the State in each of the years 2010, 2011 and 2012. [18408/13]
View answer473. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the overall number of individuals in the State whose bankruptcy has not yet been discharged. [18409/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 472 and 473 together.
As the Deputy may be aware, ahead of drafting the Personal Insolvency Act 2012, I introduced a number of amendments to the existing bankruptcy regime in the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 providing for the reduction of the application period to the court for discharge from bankruptcy from 12 years to 5 years, subject to the same conditions, and for the automatic discharge of bankruptcies on the twelfth anniversary of the bankruptcy adjudication order. The new Personal Insolvency Act 2012 continues the reform of the Bankruptcy Act 1988 and, when commenced, will provide for an automatic discharge from bankruptcy, subject to certain conditions, after 3 years in place of the current 12 years.
The Deputy will be aware that, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service and I have no role in the matter. Section 4(3) of the 1998 Act provides that the Courts Service is independent in the performance of its functions, which includes the provision of statistics. In order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made with the Courts Service and have been informed that 143 bankrupt persons remain undischarged. The number of adjudications in the period from 2010 to 2012 were as follows:
|
Year |
Number of persons adjudicated bankrupt |
|
2010 |
29 |
|
2011 |
33 |
|
2012 |
35 |
474. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the steps that he has taken to implement the recommendations of the Moriarty Tribunal. [18413/13]
View answer475. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Questions os. 502 on 1 May 2012,153 on 12 December 2012 and 470 on 12 March 2013, if he is concerned at the time taken by An Garda Síochána to examine the report of the Moriarty Tribunal published on 22 March 2011; and his views that there is a risk of damage to public trust in the institutions of the State with the elapse of over two years since the report was published. [18417/13]
View answer476. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he has received requests from An Garda Síochána or from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for additional resources to assist in the investigation of matters arising from the publication of the report of the Moriarty Tribunal on 22 March 2011. [18418/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 474 to 476, inclusive, together.
Insofar as the report of the Moriarty Tribunal made recommendations concerning the future operation of tribunals of inquiry, many of these recommendations are anticipated by the Tribunals of Inquiry Bill 2005 which awaits Report Stage debate in the Dáil. Other recommendations are the subject of consultation with the Attorney General and other relevant Departments.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that, following their examination of the report of the Moriarty Tribunal, the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions has been sought on the findings of that examination, with a view to determining whether or not a full Garda investigation should now be commenced. As this process is ongoing it would not be appropriate to comment in any further detail at this stage. The Deputy will appreciate that the deployment of Garda resources is a matter for the Garda Commissioner, who has not raised with me the question of additional resources in relation to the above matters. I have no role with respect to the resources of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
477. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will confirm the total number of appointments of judges to the judiciary between 9 March 2011 to date in 2013. [18419/13]
View answerThis Government has nominated 30 people for appointment by the President to judicial office since 11 March 2011. Details of the appointments in each Court are set out in the following table. The current process for judicial appointments is set out in the Courts and Court Officers Act 1995 and is currently under review in my Department.
|
- |
Supreme Court |
High Court |
Circuit Court |
District Court |
Total |
|
Number of appointments |
3 |
5 |
9 |
13 |
30* |
*Includes the appointment of The Hon. Mrs. Justice Susan Denham as Chief Justice on 25 July 2011, the appointment of The Hon. Mr. Justice Raymond Groarke as President of the Circuit Court on 13 July 2012 and the appointment of Her Hon. Judge Rosemary Horgan as President of the District Court on 13 July 2012.
478. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he has had discussions with the Troika about the commencement of all the provisions contained in the Personal Insolvency Act 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18421/13]
View answer479. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will onfirm when the new personal insolvency arrangements were required to be introduced under the original Memorandum of Understanding with the programme finance troika; and if will provide an explanation for any delays with meeting the original condition in the Memorandum of Understanding. [18422/13]
View answer480. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason there have been delays in the commencement of all the provisions contained in the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 which was signed into law on 26 December 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18423/13]
View answer481. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide the date on which all the provisions contained in the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 will be commenced; and if he will identify the principal person or persons responsible for ensuring processes are in place before all of the provisions can be commenced. [18424/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 478 to 481, inclusive, together.
The original commitment under the EU/ECB/IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland required the development and publication of the necessary legislation for reform of personal insolvency. The initial commitment was to publish the Bill in Quarter 1 of 2012. However, given the complexities involved in drafting comprehensive reform legislation of this nature, the deadline was ultimately extended to the end of June 2012. The commitment to the Troika was met by the publication of the Personal Insolvency Bill 2012 on 29 June, 2012.
The Troika team was in Dublin in January 2013 as part of their normal quarterly review of the Programme of Financial Support for Ireland and met with officials from my Department as part of that review process. The Troika team noted the enactment of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 which represented significant progress since their last visit. The measures being taken by my Department, the Insolvency Service and other relevant parties to bring about the full operation of the new debt resolution processes were discussed. The Personal Insolvency Act 2012, was passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas on 19 December, 2012 and signed into law by the President on 26 December, 2012.
Part 6 of the Act was commenced on 18 January 2013. The provisions of Part 1 (other than section 6), Part 2 (other than section 13), sections 25 and 47, sections 126 to 141, Part 5 and Schedules 2 and 3 of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 came into operation on 1 March 2013. The Insolvency Service was established on 1 March 2013 by Ministerial Order made on 20 February last.
The Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) Public Information Campaign was formally launched on 18 April, 2013. Since the Director of the Service took up his position at the end of last October, he has overseen a great deal of work within a short period of time. This included setting up an implementation team to address all of the operational matters necessary for the new Service; arranging office accommodation; recruiting and training specialist staff; and designing and implementing the new regulatory and IT frameworks required to accept applications. The dedicated ISI website and information line went live on 18 April. Trained ISI staff have begun taking calls from the public and will be able to advise people in regard to which debt resolution process may be most appropriate to their situation from the three new processes available.
The Act will be fully commenced as soon as all of the remaining necessary preparations for administration of its provisions are finalised which is expected by the end of June 2013.
482. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when he expects the Oireachtas Committee's report on Ireland's prostitution laws to be published; the reason for the delay in publishing the report in view of the fact that it was due to be published in 2012; if he expects to introduce legislation to deal with the issues in this area on foot of this report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18494/13]
View answerThe Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality is conducting a public consultation on the future direction of prostitution legislation. The committee's work is being done independently of my Department. Consequently, I am not in a position to say when it is likely to report. It has been reported that many hundreds of written submissions were made to the committee and there is considerable public interest in this issue. The Joint Committee will report back to me when it has completed its work. Its report and the views expressed at a conference on prostitution organised by my department in October will be fully considered in the framing of any necessary legislative proposals to be submitted to Government in due course.
483. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an update on the direct provision system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18504/13]
View answerThe Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) of my Department is responsible for the operation of the system of direct provision. There are currently 35 asylum accommodation centres under contract to RIA, providing accommodation and ancillary services to approximately 4,800 persons. It is worth noting the decline in the number of persons seeking accommodation in the RIA system in recent years. During the four year period ending on 31 December, 2012, RIA had closed 25 centres and was accommodating 2,161 fewer persons. During this period, RIA spending had declined from €91.5 million to €62.3 million i.e.32%.
The Direct Provision system remains a key pillar of the State's asylum and immigration system. I, and previous Ministers for Justice and Equality, have explained in response to previous Dáil Questions how the normal structures dealing with homelessness could not cope when the number of asylum seekers arriving in Ireland increased dramatically, and how the Direct Provision system was the only realistic accommodation solution. There are no cheaper alternatives to the direct provision system. In fact, if we were operating a system which facilitated asylum seekers in living independent lives in individual housing with social welfare support and payments, aside from the asylum 'pull factor' it would likely create, the cost to the exchequer would be double what is currently paid under the direct provision system. This was a key finding in the recent Value for Money Report on the direct provision system which was published in 2010 and is on the RIA website - www.ria.gov.ie. I have also explained the nature of the full board accommodation system provided; how RIA coordinates through other Government bodies a number of ancillary services to residents; how residents are offered free medical screening on arrival in the State and have access to health services; and how residents have access to primary and secondary education services, on the same basis as Irish citizens.
In relation to the broader asylum issue, I acknowledge that the length of time spent in direct provision and the complexity of the asylum process is an issue to be addressed. The system is inextricably linked to the surrounding asylum process. The Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill, which I intend to re-publish, should substantially simplify and streamline the existing arrangements for asylum, subsidiary protection and leave to remain applications. It will do this by making provision for the establishment of a single application procedure, so that applicants can be provided with a final decision on all aspects of their protection application in a more straight forward and timely fashion.
Pending the enactment and commencement of the new legislation and with a view to improving processing, I am proposing to introduce new arrangements for the processing of subsidiary protection applications in light of recent judgments in the Superior Courts. My Department, in consultation with the Attorney General's Office, is developing a new legislative and administrative framework for the processing of current and future subsidiary protection applications. This work is being given high priority and applicants will be advised of the new arrangements as soon as possible.
484. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an update on his plans to reform the immigration system in relation to the length of time for court cases in this area to be heard and decided upon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18505/13]
View answerWork on the details of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2010 is ongoing at my Department pursuant to current Government policy which is committed, under the Programme for Government and National Recovery, to "introduce comprehensive reforms of the immigration, residency and asylum systems, which will include a statutory appeals system and set out rights and obligations in a transparent way". The Bill also makes provision, as part of these undertakings, for the introduction of a single application procedure for the investigation of all grounds for protection and any other grounds presented by applicants seeking to remain in the State. These are key reforms that should reduce the number of court proceedings that arise under the current, multi-layered regulatory framework and, by the same token, reduce the waiting time for a final decision. These are among the many aspects of the Bill that are under ongoing consideration at my Department, including in cooperation with the Offices of Parliamentary Counsel and of the Attorney General, and will modernise and streamline the current immigration regime.
As I have outlined previously to the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality and Defence, several hundred amendments to the Bill are anticipated, the majority of a technical nature. I also expressed the considered view that instead of engaging in an extremely cumbersome process of tabling hundreds of amendments to the 2010 Bill, it would be much more efficient to publish a new and enhanced text. Such an approach can incorporate the many anticipated amendments while addressing key outstanding issues, several of which have been of concern to Members including those being raised by the Deputy on this occasion. This proposition was broadly welcomed by the Joint Committee and work on the Bill continues, therefore, on that basis while also taking account of any intervening matters of relevance such as decisions by the Courts. It remains my objective under this new approach, and mindful of our having to deal with the competing legislative demands of our EU/IMF/ECB Programme commitments, to be in a position to bring a revised Bill to Government for approval and publication later this year.
Pending the enactment and commencement of the new legislation and with a view to improving processing in the area of international protection, I am proposing to introduce new arrangements for the processing of subsidiary protection applications in light of recent judgments in the Superior Courts. My Department, in consultation with the Attorney General's Office, is developing a new legislative and administrative framework for the processing of current and future subsidiary protection applications. This work is being given high priority and applicants will be advised of the new arrangements as soon as possible.
In addition, and with a view to streamlining the management and processing by the Courts of applications for judicial review in the asylum and immigration areas, I propose to bring forward proposals to amend the statutory provisions relating to judicial review which are set out in the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000.
