Bernard Durkan
Question:218. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding determination of eligibility for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15 [23593/13]
View answerNaturalisation Applications
Questions (218)
Written answers
I am advised by the Citizenship Division of 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 July, 2009.
Section 15 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956, as amended, provides that the Minister may, in his absolute discretion, grant a certificate of naturalisation provided certain statutory conditions are fulfilled. One such condition is that the applicant intends in good faith to continue to reside in the State after naturalisation.
As the person referred to by the Deputy did not confirm on her application form that she intended to reside in the State after naturalisation, one of the Statutory conditions for naturalisation, her application was deemed ineligible. The person concerned was informed of this in a letter dated 27 July 2009.
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 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 (219)
Bernard Durkan
Question:219. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding long term residency/determination of eligibility for naturalisation in the case of persons (details supplied) in Dublin 15; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23594/13]
View answerWritten answers
I am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that the person concerned was granted temporary permission to remain in the State, on Stamp 4 conditions, on 25th June 2010. This permission was renewed subsequently and is currently valid until 3 January, 2014.
I am informed by staff in Citizenship Division that there is no record of the person referred to by the Deputy having submitted an application for a Certificate of Naturalisation. 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.
Immigration Status
Questions (220)
Bernard Durkan
Question:220. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the positionregarding eligibility for updated Stamp 4 in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23595/13]
View answerWritten answers
I am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that the person referred to by the Deputy has permission to be in the State as a Student until 09/11/2013. This person arrived in the State on 05/12/2006 and currently has no entitlement to Stamp 4. The person has no pending application with the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service. Information on the immigration requirements and conditions for non-nationals studying in Ireland, including the new student pathway, is available on the INIS website www.inis.gov.ie.
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 (221)
Bernard Durkan
Question:221. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding long term residency/eligibility for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare who is married to an Irish national; if their Stamp 4 card, previously submitted to immigration will be returned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23596/13]
View answerWritten answers
I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that the person referred to by the Deputy was granted temporary permission to remain in the State under stamp 4 conditions for an initial one year period on 10th June, 2002, on the basis that she was part of a family unit where the parents had been granted residency on the basis of parentage of an Irish citizen child. This permission appears to have been renewed on a regular basis by her local Immigration Officer until March 2010. I am informed that when she attended the registration office of the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) in May 2010, she was advised to contact my officials in the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) regarding same. However it appears that the next contact from the person concerned was in March 2012 when she presented to her local Immigration Officer. She was refused registration on this occasion as she has been out of permission since March 2010. The local Immigration Officer advised her to write to INIS outlining her situation prior to renewal of registration. I am informed that she was given this direction by him on 26th August 2012.
I understand that some documentation has since been received from the person concerned by INIS. However, in order to assist in regularising her status in the State, further documentation was requested from her in writing on 13th March 2013. To date no response has been received. On receipt of the documents requested, her case will then be examined by the relevant officials in INIS. Once a decision has been made on her status, this decision and the consequences involved will be conveyed in writing to the person concerned.
I am also informed that the person concerned submitted an application for a Certificate of Naturalisation in August 2005. This application was refused by my predecessor at his absolute discretion. The person's legal representative was notified of the decision and the reason for same by letter dated 31th March 2009. She may re-apply at any time when in a position to satisfy the 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.
Crime Prevention
Questions (222, 223)
Dominic Hannigan
Question:222. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the steps the Garda is taking to reduce crime in an area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23625/13]
View answerDominic Hannigan
Question:223. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the steps the Garda is taking to reduce crime in an area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23626/13]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 222 and 223 together.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the areas referred to are within the Nobber Garda Sub-District which is part of the Navan Garda District. The area is patrolled regularly by the local uniform crime prevention patrols which are augmented as necessary by resources from the District Headquarters of Navan together with the Divisional Traffic Unit. All crime trends are closely monitored by local Garda management to ensure that resources are deployed across the District both for the prevention and detection of crime.
The Deputy will be aware that the Garda Commissioner has put Operation Fiacla in place in order to address incidents of burglary, aggravated burglaries and related offences throughout the country. Specific burglary operations have been implemented in each Garda region, in support of Operation Fiacla, to target suspected offenders, disrupt their activities and secure their attendance before the courts. Crime prevention operations are in place in the District in question which combine the activities of uniform, plain clothes, traffic and Regional Support personnel in a coordinated manner to ensure checkpoints are carried out in target areas, while searches, arrests and detentions are conducted against all identified targets.
An Garda Síochána also places great emphasis on the importance of the partnership between An Garda Síochána and the community in preventing and detecting crime, and maintaining a safe environment for everyone. In this regard, community support and engagement is facilitated in the area in question through interaction by Gardaí with Community Alert and Neighbourhood Watch Schemes in particular.
Overseas Missions
Questions (224)
Andrew Doyle
Question:224. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Defence if further consideration has been given to the deployment of Irish observers to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in Syria; if deployed, the number that would be sent and the length the deployment would be expected to last; if he will outline Ireland's potential role in the UNDOF; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23540/13]
View answerWritten answers
On 14 May 2013, the Government approved the deployment of a number of members of the Permanent Defence Force for service at the headquarters of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in Syria. The UNDOF Mission was established by the United Nations on 31 May 1974 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 350 (1974) following the agreed disengagement of the Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights in May 1974. Since 1974, the mandate of UNDOF has been renewed every six months.
The exact date of the deployment of the Irish personnel to UNDOF headquarters is yet to be confirmed. However, it is expected that Irish personnel will deploy into the mission area circa 15 June 2013. The Irish contribution to the mission will comprise a total of three personnel - two officers and one senior Non-commissioned officer - to staff officer appointments in the Information Analysis Cell in the headquarters of the mission at Camp Faouar. Irish personnel will serve tours of duty of twelve months in duration.
UNDOF makes an important contribution to stability in the Middle East and participation by the Defence Forces in this mission will be a tangible demonstration of Ireland’s support for the United Nations in the challenging operating conditions it faces in the region.
Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Payments
Questions (225)
Denis Naughten
Question:225. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will facilitate an early release of Exchequer funds to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to allow it to issue a proportion of the disadvantaged area payment to farmers without delay due to the financial crisis caused by the poor weather; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23551/13]
View answerWritten answers
Mindful of ongoing difficulties, I have decided that a formal request should again be made to the EU Commission seeking agreement to pay an advance from 16 October of the 2013 Single Farm Payment which, being the first day of the new EU financial year is the earliest potential payment date and almost two months ahead of the standard timeline. It will be recalled that my successful approach to Commissioner Ciolos for agreement to making an advance payment of the 2012 Single Farm Payment was prompted by the very wet weather experienced throughout last summer.
My Department will continue to make every effort to ensure that payments under the 2013 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme commence as early as possible in September, while taking into account of the need to adhere to the requirement in the governing EU Regulation, which provides that all eligibility checks must be finalised before full payments can commence.
In light of the difficulties experienced by farmers in sourcing fodder supplies, I announced the allocation of €1 million to fund the Imported Fodder Transport Scheme, which is designed to reduce the cost to farmers of imported forage (hay, silage, haylage) from outside the island of Ireland. In light of the continuing difficulties being experienced, I extended the duration of the scheme to Friday 24 May, a broadening of its scope to include maize silage and a doubling of the budget to €2 million. I am pleased to note that since the introduction of this Scheme that significant quantities of fodder have been imported and are reaching those in most need.
Following the issue of approximately 1,500 AEOS payments valued at €1.6m over the last two weeks, close to a further 600 AEOS payments valued at close to €1.5 million will issue this week. Both AEOS 1 and 2 payments will continue to issue in the weeks ahead as outstanding queries are resolved. This will bring the total paid out in respect of the 2012 application period to just over €40m.
To date approximately 29,200 of the remaining 30,200 REPS 4 participants have been paid a total of €167m in respect of the 2012 application period. An additional €1m will issue this week to a further 200 REPS 4 farmers. I am, of course, keeping the situation under review in light of the ongoing situation.
Suckler Welfare Scheme Payments
Questions (226)
Michael Moynihan
Question:226. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a person (details supplied) in County Cork has been paid all outstanding moneys under the animal welfare recording breeding scheme 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23375/13]
View answerWritten answers
The person named registered forty one animals for the 2012 Scheme.
Payment issued in respect of four of these animals on 19 December 2012 and for a further twenty animals on 2 May 2013. In August 2011, applicants were informed of the requirement to notify the details of all measures required under the Scheme within one year from the date of birth of the animal. This requirement was also outlined on each of seven post weaning forms that issued to the person named in 2012. This data was not received for ten of the animals before they reached one year of age and these ten animals are now deemed ineligible for payment. One further animal was not eligible because it was born to a dam under 24 months of age.
The remaining six animals were not born until December 2012 and cannot be considered for payment until all of the prescribed measures under this Scheme have been undertaken and the details notified and found to be in order.
Coillte Teoranta Harvesting Rights Sale
Questions (227)
Billy Timmins
Question:227. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding the State sale of Coillte; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23403/13]
View answerWritten answers
The Government is fully conscious of the concerns that have been raised in relation to the proposed sale of Coillte harvesting rights. The issues raised by interested parties had been identified and considered by NewERA, Coillte, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and my Department as part of the comprehensive analysis undertaken pursuant to the Government’s decision that a concession for the harvesting rights to Coillte’s forests be considered for sale. The overall analysis is currently being finalised and, as I advised last week, a report on the process to date and a set of recommendations will be considered by the Government shortly.
Sheep Fencing-Mobile Equipment Scheme Applications
Questions (228)
Brendan Griffin
Question:228. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payment will issue for a fencing grant application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23416/13]
View answerWritten answers
The person concerned is an applicant for grant-aid under the TAMS Sheep Fencing/Handling Scheme and has received approval to proceed with the investment works concerned. To date, my Department has no record of having received a payment claim in relation to the application concerned.