Written Answers Nos. 403-418
403. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans for enforcing speed limits in view of the clear disregard for speed limits on certain roads as evidenced on National Slow Down Day; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33477/13]
View answerThe Policing Priorities I have set for 2013 include an emphasis on continuing to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads and An Garda Síochána has my full support in this regard. The Deputy will appreciate that we have seen very positive sustained improvements in the attitudes and behaviour of all road users which underpinned another record year in terms of road safety in Ireland in 2012 and enforcement by the Garda authorities continues to focus on high risk behaviour, including speeding, and on identified vulnerable road users with the key objective of reducing the number of serious injury collisions and fatalities on our roads.
I can assure the Deputy that An Garda Síochána is committed to working closely with all road safety agencies and continues to conduct further specific targeted visible enforcement initiatives, in addition to the recent Operation Slowdown and related enforcement activity, in areas where fatal and serious injury collisions are likely to occur. The introduction of the safety camera network has seen sustained improvements in driver behaviour across the speed enforcement zones, and earlier this year An Garda Síochána announced extensions to these zones, based on an analysis and speed and collision data. Awareness and education campaigns with a focus in speeding are also conducted as part of An Garda Síochána's ongoing commitment to work with all road safety partners and contribute fully to the effective implementation of the Road Safety Strategy 2013 - 2020.
404. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide further financial assistance to enable the installation of speed cameras. [33478/13]
View answerIn November, 2009 a contract was concluded for the provision of an outsourced safety camera network to An Garda Síochána. The outsourced safety camera network commenced operations in November 2010. The service provider, Go Safe, provides 6,000 speed monitoring hours and 1,475 traffic survey hours per month across the country and is contracted to provide the service for five years (from November 2010) with an option to extend provision of the service for one further year.
There are no current proposals to provide additional funding for the installation of safety cameras, other than that already provided for in accordance with the existing contract. In this regard I am advised that speed enforcement zones are continually reviewed in light of survey data, collision history and local feedback to ensure that enforcement activity is properly targeted. An Garda Síochána recently announced that a review of the existing zones has been undertaken using collision data from 2006 to 2012 and speed surveys. It was further announced that, as of March, 2013, an additional 243 stretches of road have been identified as having a collision history suitable for inclusion as a speed enforcement zone and that there are now a total of 727 sections of road identified as speed enforcement zones. The locations of these speed enforcement zones are in the public domain and are available on the Garda website www.garda.ie
405. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason a decision has not been reached in the application submitted in 2010 for citizenship in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32884/13]
View answerI am advised by the Citizenship Division of 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 October, 2010.
The application is currently being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible. While good progress continues to be made in reducing the large volume of cases on hands, the nature of the naturalisation process is such that for a broad range of reasons some cases will take longer than others to process. It is a statutory requirement that, inter alia, applicants for naturalisation be of good character. In some instances that can be established relatively quickly and in other cases completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time. I can, however, inform the Deputy that enormous progress has been made in dealing with the backlog and steps are being taken to process all outstanding applications as quickly as possible.
The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour 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.
406. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on the recent examination of the feasibility of Wi-Fi Internet, wireless telecommunications systems and communications infrastructure in a prison environment by the Irish Prison Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32887/13]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, an online notice was recently posted which outlined that the Irish Prison Service intends to examine the feasibility of using Wi-Fi in a prison environment. The purpose of this trial, which will be conducted in a non-live environment, is to ascertain if Wi-Fi may represent a suitable alternative to wired cabling, which is expensive and time consuming to deploy.
This investigation will examine technical issues surrounding the use of Wi-Fi in a prison, including especially whether the signal could be restricted to meet the security requirements of the Irish Prison Service. In particular, there could be no question of Wi-Fi being used to give prisoners open access to the internet. I am advised that this is a feasibility study only, and no decision has been made on the future deployment of Wi-Fi in prisons.
407. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will outline the means whereby regularisation of residency or possible entitlement to naturalisation may be considered in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32902/13]
View answerThe person concerned arrived in the State in March, 2011. Given that she did not have any legal basis to remain in the State, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), she was notified, by letter dated 26th November, 2012, that the Minister proposed to make a Deportation Order in respect of her. She 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 written representations to the Minister setting out the reasons why she should not have a Deportation Order made against her. Representations have been submitted by and 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. The Deputy should note that as the person concerned has no current right of residency in the State, she 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.
408. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Question No. 177 of 20 June 2013, in the matter of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32903/13]
View answerI wish to thank the Deputy for the documentation which has been supplied on behalf of the person concerned. Her case is currently being examined and a decision will be conveyed to her in writing in the very near future.
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.
409. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if all information relative to an application for review and appeal in respect of appeal against refoulement has been received in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Waterford having particular regard to the extent to which circumstances have changed since the making of the original order; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32932/13]
View answerI am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that the person concerned has no current application outstanding for review/appeal. I wish to refer the Deputy to previous replies to Parliamentary Questions numbers 536 and 470 of 19 February, 2013 and 23 April, 2013 respectively. The status of the person concerned is as set out in those replies.
The person concerned is the subject of a Deportation Order signed on 11 September 2003. His application for asylum was fairly and comprehensively examined as was his application to have his Deportation Order revoked under Section 3(11) of the Immigration Act, 1999 (as amended). The outcome of the latter examination was that the Deportation Order was affirmed.
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.
410. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason a person (details supplied) in County Mayo has not received Garda clearance; the reason for the delay in processing this application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32936/13]
View answerI am informed by the Garda authorities that a vetting application on behalf of the individual referred to by the Deputy was received by the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) on 11 April 2013. The application is currently being processed and once completed will be returned to the registered authority.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the processing of vetting applications may fluctuate for seasonal reasons and that the necessity to seek additional information on particular applications can result in this processing time being exceeded on occasion. All organisations registered for Garda Vetting are aware of the processing time-frames for the receipt of Garda vetting and have been advised to factor this into their recruitment and selection process.
411. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Question No. 372 of 18 June 2013 in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare in respect of an application for family reunification, if previous applications may be reconsidered on the basis that both children in respect of whom the application was made are family members and grandchildren; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32963/13]
View answerI refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 372 on Tuesday, 18th June 2013. The position remains unchanged.
Reply to PQ Number 372 of the 18 June 2013
I am informed by my officials in the Visa Unit of my Department that the person referred to by the Deputy made an application in 2009 on behalf of a child whom she had adopted in Ghana.
All inter-country adoptions must be carried out in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption 1993. Ghana is not a signatory to this Convention nor is there any administrative arrangement between the Adoption Authority of Ireland and the Ghanaian authorities.
A visa will only be granted in respect of a child adopted in another State where that adoption will be legally recognised in this State. That was not the case in relation to this application. Therefore, there was no possibility of this application succeeding. The person in question was contacted by an official in my Department and advised of this fact and invited to withdraw the application, which she subsequently did, thus preventing the creation of a visa refusal record which could have negatively impacted on any future visa applications made or sponsored by her.
At all times, the protection of children is paramount to INIS. I am extremely mindful of the potential risks associated with the irregular cross-border movement of children, and therefore my officials must always abide by the law in relation to inter-country adoptions and err on the side of caution in cases such as this.
412. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of applications received in the Garda vetting unit from March 2012 to June 2013 in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32970/13]
View answer414. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of applications currently waiting to be processed in the Garda central vetting unit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32974/13]
View answer415. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the length of time currently taken to process applications in the Garda central vetting unit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32975/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 412, 414 and 415 together.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the number of applications received at the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) between March 2012 and June 2013 is as set out in the following table.
|
Month |
No. |
|
March 2012 |
24,264 |
|
April 2012 |
21,183 |
|
May 2012 |
26,393 |
|
June 2012 |
24,284 |
|
July 2012 |
23,105 |
|
August 2012 |
17,807 |
|
September 2012 |
25,935 |
|
October 2012 |
33,713 |
|
November 2012 |
28,317 |
|
December 2012 |
21,366 |
|
January 2013 |
21,670 |
|
February 2013 |
25,446 |
|
March 2013 |
25,953 |
|
April 2013 |
27,777 |
|
May 2013 |
28,805 |
|
June 2013 |
27,442 |
I am further informed that Garda records indicate that there are 67,319 applications currently waiting to be processed at the GCVU. This number fluctuates on an ongoing basis, depending on the numbers of applications received.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the current average processing time for applications is approximately 14 weeks from date of receipt. However, seasonal fluctuations and the necessity to seek additional information on particular applications can result in this average processing time being exceeded on occasion. All organisations registered for Garda Vetting are aware of the processing time-frames for the receipt of Garda vetting and have been advised to factor this into their recruitment and selection process.
413. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of staff working in the Garda central vetting unit for each month from September 2012 to June 2013 in tabular from; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32971/13]
View answerI have requested the information sought by the Deputy from the Garda Commissioner and as soon as it is to hand I will pass it on to the Deputy.
416. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to any instances in which the American National Security Agency and-or the British use of National Security Agency records has compromised any Irish citizens and-or their lawyers; and if he will raise the issuance of the second subpoena of the Boston College oral history archives, as a result of electronic eavesdropping on Irish citizens and their lawyers, with his counterparts in the United States and the United Kingdom. [33046/13]
View answerAs I have indicated to the House previously I, of course, fully understand the concerns which have arisen in the wake of recent media reports about the PRISM programme. These concerns mainly centre on data privacy rights not being adequately respected. I raised these concerns with the US Attorney General Eric Holder at my recent meetings with him in Dublin. At these meetings, the US Attorney General provided clarity on a number of issues, in particular with regard to the nature of the information collected and processed, i.e. phone numbers, duration of calls etc - but not the content of calls. He also advised that the data was collected under judicial authority and only where there was a reasonable suspicion of serious crime, such as terrorism or cybersecurity/cybercrime.
We cannot ignore the very important fact that there is a recognised need to protect our citizens from terrorist threats and dealing with that does require access to certain data. In doing so, however, it is necessary to ensure that the information used is properly obtained and subject to appropriate safeguards. The importance of protecting individual rights to privacy and ensuring respect for individual human rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights was emphasised to the US side, as was the crucial need to ensure that any security surveillance undertaken is balanced and proportionate. The US authorities have indicated that their practices are proportionate to the threat they are trying to deal with.
In this country we have data protection legislation to protect individuals against unwarranted invasion into their privacy. Access to telephone call content is governed by the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 and may only take place under Ministerial warrant. Access to retained telecommunications data in this jurisdiction is governed by the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011. Under the Act access may only be granted following a request to the particular mobile phone company or internet provider in connection with the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of a serious offence, the safeguarding of the security of the State or the saving of human life.
The operation of both Acts this is subject to judicial oversight and there is also a complaints procedure which individuals can avail of if there is a concern that the Acts have been breached in relation to their calls or their data. There are also procedures in place under Mutual Assistance legislation to cover requests to and from other countries for this type of information. I am not aware of any instances of the kind referred to by the Deputy. My Department has no function in relation to the Boston College oral history archive.
417. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason small contractors are being squeezed out by the Private Security Authority; and if he will act on this matter. [33085/13]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the Private Security Authority (PSA), an independent agency under the remit of my Department, is the regulatory body with responsibility for regulating and licensing the private security industry in the State. Contractors operating in the Cash-In-Transit, Door Supervisor, Security Guarding and Installer of Security Equipment sectors of the private security industry are currently subject to licensing and are therefore required to pay a licence fee to the Authority. I am aware of the concerns of smaller contractors within the private security industry and I expect measures to ameliorate their position to be introduced shortly.
418. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he is satisfied with the length of time it is taking to bring Anglo Irish Bank officials to trial; the reason for the delay in compiling and analysing evidence in the Anglo Irish Bank case; if at any stage the investigating team faced obstruction or delay in the delivery of evidence from either Anglo Irish Bank or witnesses; and if he will set out the date he now believes the trial will be initiated. [33087/13]
View answerAs I have stated previously in this House I share the widespread concern that the criminal investigations into the former Anglo-Irish Bank be resolved as soon as possible. However, my overriding concern is that nothing be said which would in any way risk the possibility of prejudicing any criminal proceedings.
I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that the investigation into the former Anglo-Irish Bank has been one of the most complex investigations of its kind ever undertaken in the State, as part of which the Gardaí have obtained an enormous range of documents and recordings which required analysis. Immediately upon taking up office I sought and was given assurances that there were sufficient resources available to these investigations and have made it clear to the Commissioner that if at any stage he believed that additional resources were required I would respond immediately. While I have no role in relation to the management of the investigations and cannot comment on any specific challenges faced, shortly after taking up office I moved to introduce additional powers contained in the Criminal Justice Act 2011, to assist the Gardaí in obtaining information in complex investigations such as these.
The Deputy will be aware that a number of Garda investigation files have been submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions as have several files from the parallel investigation taking place under the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement. Three persons are currently charged with offences under the Companies Acts and a number of files remain with the DPP awaiting her independent directions. I understand that trial dates have been set by the courts in respect of the persons charged and the question of any further charges is a matter for the DPP.
