Written Answers Nos. 530 - 541
530. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the start date of the new personal insolvency regime; the reasons for the delay in its establishment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36243/13]
View answer531. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of personal insolvency practitioners who have been appointed to date and the number due to be appointed by the end of 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36244/13]
View answer532. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the associated costs with applying for a position as a personal insolvency practitioner; the qualification levels expected of a personal insolvency practitioner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36245/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 530 to 532, inclusive, together.
The Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) hopes to be in a position to accept applications from debtors in August. It is important to note that all of the necessary elements must be in place before the ISI can begin to receive applications. These elements include: the authorisation of Practitioners; finalisation of the necessary IT framework and Case Management systems to interface between practitioners, the ISI and the Courts Service; and necessary amendments to the Personal Insolvency Act 2012, as contained in the Courts Bill which is currently before the Houses of the Oireachtas.
I can advise the Deputy that no Personal Insolvency Practitioners (PIPs) have yet been authorised. However, the ISI is currently in the process of verifying and approving applications it has received to date. Applications for authorisations as a PIP are made through the ISI's online portal system. To date over 90 people have initiated the application process by logging onto the Portal since the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 (Authorisation and Supervision of Personal Insolvency Practitioners) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 209 of 2013) were published in late June. There is no set target on the number of practitioners to be authorised. The ISI expects to begin issuing authorisations for persons to act as Personal Insolvency Practitioners by the end of this month. The names of practitioners will be published as soon as they are authorised on the relevant Register on the ISI's website, www.isi.gov.ie.
As the Deputy may be aware, Section 4 of the Regulations referred to above detailed the qualification criteria for application as a Personal Insolvency Practitioner. An individual may make an application to carry on practice as a PIP if that individual:
- is a Solicitor in respect of whom a practising certificate (within the meaning of the Solicitors Acts 1954 to 2011) is in force; or
- is a Barrister at law called to the Bar of Ireland; or
- is a qualified Accountant and a member of a prescribed accountancy body (within the meaning of Section 4 of the Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act 2003; or
- is a Qualified Financial Advisor who holds a current qualification from the Life Assurance Association of Ireland (LIA), the Insurance Institute or the Institute of Bankers School of Professional Finance; or
- holds a qualification in law, business, finance or other appropriate similar qualification to the satisfaction of the Insolvency Service recognised to at least level 7 of the National Qualifications Framework by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (or equivalent).
The Personal Insolvency Act 2012 (Personal Insolvency Practitioner Authorisation and Renewal of Authorisation Prescribed Fees) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 246 of 2013) were also published in recent weeks. These Regulations relate to the fees associated with making an application to become a Personal Insolvency Practitioner. The application fee is €1,500, with an annual renewal fee of €1,000.
533. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the total number of new specialist judges appointed to date, and due to be appointed, under the new personal insolvency regime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36246/13]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that, under the Constitution, judges are appointed by the President on the advice of the Government. Further to my response to Parliamentary Question No. 4 of 13 June 2013, in which I indicated that the Government had nominated six persons for appointment by the President as a Specialist Judge of the Circuit Court, I can confirm that these appointments were made by the President on 15 July 2013.
534. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on the recent comments by the Ombudsman on the treatment of asylum seekers; his plan to address her concerns; if, in view of the events at the asylum accommodation centre in Millstreet, County Cork, he will order an investigation into the system of direct provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36247/13]
View answerThe Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) is a functional unit of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department and is responsible for the accommodation of asylum seekers while their application for protection is being processed.
I assume the question refers to a recently published article by the Ombudsman on asylum seekers. The Ombudsman says in her article that her examination of a specific case, involving the HSE and the Department of Social Protection around the issue of a social welfare entitlement to a family which had been in Direct Provision, led her to comment on the asylum accommodation system more generally. It should be noted that the Ombudsman Act, 1980 does not provide for the investigation by the Ombudsman of any action taken by or on behalf of a person in the administration of the law relating to, inter alia, asylum. Notwithstanding that, I should add that INIS has administrative arrangements in place with the Office of the Ombudsman to assist and provide information and help resolve any matters brought to its attention.
The Ombudsman is, of course, perfectly entitled to the personal opinions expressed in the article but I do not share many of them. In particular, I do not accept the attempted correlation between the residents of direct provision accommodation centres and past residents of industrial schools or Magdalene laundries. It is to be expected that asylum seekers, if given a choice in this jurisdiction or elsewhere, would prefer to have independent accommodation, a right to welfare and work and so on, instead of being restricted to the system of direct provision to meet their needs. For the avoidance of any misunderstanding, it should be noted that all EU Member States operate systems for dealing with asylum seekers which in one form or another greatly restrict their access to welfare, work or independent housing. In reality, the system in this State is at least on a par and often significantly better than that in operation in many other Member States. In the circumstances, it is grossly misleading to characterise our treatment of asylum seekers as being akin to that meted out to subjects of abuse who had no protection of the law or relevant State bodies.
I have recounted in responses to many Dáíl Questions how the rights of residents of accommodation centres are protected both within the Direct Provision system and, of course, by the laws of our country. The Ombudsman's article, rightly, places great emphasis on the rights of children in the Direct Provision system. Again, I have explained before how children are protected in a number of ways - primarily through the Reception and Integration Agency's (RIA) Child Protection policy; its House Rules; its requirement that all centre staff are Garda vetted; and through the coordination role of a dedicated Child and Family Services unit in RIA. Children in Direct Provision centres, of course, enjoy the same educational and health entitlements as Irish citizen children. Sight must not be lost of the fact that applicants for refugee status, who otherwise would have no permission to be in the State, have their protection claims dealt with in accordance with a prescribed legal framework and exclusively on their merits having regard to their subjective and objective elements. They have full recourse to the judicial review process in the courts and to the general protection of the State.
I accept that the direct provision system is not ideal and many residents spend too long there. But it is a system which facilitates the State providing a roof over the heads of those seeking protection or the right to remain in the State on humanitarian grounds or other reasons. It allows the State to do it in a manner that facilitates resources being used economically in circumstances where the State is in financial difficulty. It is acknowledged that the Direct Provision system provides value for money. A key finding in the 2010 Value for Money Report on the Direct Provision system was that 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.
In her article, the Ombudsman does not say that the direct provision system is in breach of international conventions. Rather, she references a number of reports critical of the direct provision system which argue that it is. She acknowledges that, ultimately, such judgements are matters for a court. Over the years, the direct provision system has been open to scrutiny by many international bodies. Centres have been visited by various UN bodies, including the UNHCR, and by the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner. I appeared before the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva in connection with its scrutiny of Ireland under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Process In October, 2011. No recommendation was made in relation to the Direct Provision system in the Committee's subsequent UPR report on Ireland.
There is no question but that the asylum system is slow, fragmented and is in need of reform and I am determined to see this reform through. For me, the length of time spent in the Direct Provision system, rather than the quality of provision within the system itself, is the real issue and I am committed to remedying that. Work 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 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.
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. 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 subject to 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 before the end of the 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 relation the accommodation centre in Millstreet, Co. Cork, issues inevitably arise in a system as complex and diverse as the Direct Provision system and it is important that they are dealt with quickly. I am advised by RIA that there are ongoing discussions between residents and management. Senior officials in RIA have already visited the centre and will do so again today to provide any assistance required to achieve a resolution acceptable to all parties.
537. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his Department will be introducing further reforms in the domestic violence legal framework; and the level of funding provided to Cosc, the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence in 2013 and 2014. [36250/13]
View answerThe Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce consolidated and reformed domestic violence legislation to address all aspects of domestic violence, threatened violence and intimidation, in a way that provides protection to victims. Cosc, the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, is currently considering a wide range of proposals including proposals for reform from voluntary sector organisations. I look forward to receiving and examining a package of workable and effective proposals for the legislation. The development of the consolidated and reformed legislation will be progressed as soon as possible having regard to the need for these on-going consultations and other legislative priorities in my Department.
In advance of this wider reform, I have introduced reforms to domestic violence legislation by means of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011. That Act removed the minimum required period of cohabitation before one of a cohabiting couple may apply for a safety order (previously, the applicant was required to have resided with the respondent for at least six of the previous twelve months) and gave equal access to the protections of the Domestic Violence Act to opposite-sex and same-sex couples (the relevant provision previously referred only to couples “living together as husband and wife”). The 2011 Act also widened the scope of section 2 of the 1996 Act, which specifies who may apply for a safety order, to enable a person to obtain a safety order against a person with whom they have a child in common. This is the only exception to the general rule that the protections available under the Domestic Violence Acts are for the benefit of persons who have lived together in the same household.
Finally, I am happy to state that I have been able to retain Cosc's sub-head at almost the same level in 2013 as in 2012 - €2.029m as opposed to €2.091m. The Deputy will be aware that the Estimates process for 2014 is still ongoing. I would also like to state that funding for front-line community and voluntary domestic violence services is provided at present by the Health Service Executive for whom the Minister for Health has responsibility. I understand that responsibility for funding these services will transfer to the Child and Family Support Agency, when established, and that agency will come under the remit of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.
538. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 587 of 12 January 2011, the progress to date on the provision of information to parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36251/13]
View answerThe Deputy's question concerns the disclosure, to parents, of information relating to persons on the sex offenders' register. In exceptional circumstances, the provision of appropriate information to the public is already possible. This includes the disclosure of such information to parents. Currently, this is done on an administrative basis but, subject to Government approval, I intend to put these arrangements on a statutory footing. Our primary objective has to be to minimise the risk posed to the public. The High Level Group which produced and published a discussion document on sex offenders was of the view that, if the Gardai have reason to believe a particular high risk sex offender poses a real and immediate danger, they should be free to tell individuals who need to know. Disclosure in such circumstances is perfectly reasonable.
However, giving the general public unrestricted access to names and addresses on the sex offenders' register would be likely to be counter-productive. That kind of access would drive offenders underground and make it more difficult to monitor and supervise them. This was the universal view of those who responded to the discussion document and participated in the public forum on the management of sex offenders. General access to the register would also raise issues concerning the rights of persons who have completed their sentences and pose no future threat to society. My Department has been conducting a wide-ranging examination of the law on sexual offences. Arising from the review, l expect to seek Government approval for legislative proposals, including amendments to the Sex Offenders Act 2001 to provide a statutory basis for necessary disclosure, shortly.
539. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons in the direct provision system; the total cost to the Exchequer of the current system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36252/13]
View answerThe Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) is a functional unit of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department and is responsible for the accommodation of asylum seekers while their application for protection is being processed. The following are the details of expenditure by RIA and occupancy in recent years.
|
Year |
Expenditure outturn |
Occupancy at year end |
|
2010 |
€79.1 million |
6,107 |
|
2011 |
€69.5 million |
5,423 |
|
2012 |
€62.3 million |
4,841 |
|
2013 to date |
€25.75 million - end June (Full year estimate is €57.5 million) |
4,616 (at 7 July) |
The above expenditure does not include the cost of welfare, educational or medical provision to asylum seekers.
540. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15 was refused a tourist visa to visit Ireland; the additional details he or must furnish in order to have a visa application accepted and the policy of the INIS for such applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36253/13]
View answerThe visa application referred to by the Deputy was received in the Visa Office, Dublin on 27 February 2013. Following full consideration, the Visa Officer decided to refuse the grant of the visa on 3 May 2013. The decision to refuse was appealed on 16 May 2013 and was upheld by an appeals officer on 5 June 2013. The visa appeals officer did not consider that the person concerned provided sufficient evidence of her obligations to return following a visit to Ireland and had concerns that she would not observe the conditions of a visa were it to be approved. It was noted the person concerned indicated on their application they were not employed or engaged in education. At appeal she indicated she was self employed but did not provide evidence of this.
It is a fundamental consideration in any visa application that the deciding visa officer is satisfied that the conditions of the visa will be abided by including that the applicant will return home at the expiry of the permission to remain in the State. At the core of this consideration is an assessment of the applicant's obligations to return to their home country. It is open to the person concerned to make a new application should she so wish. Where doing so, the applicant should be in a position to address the reasons for the refusal, in particular in this case, by showing stronger evidence of obligations to return.
Guidelines regarding the visa application procedure are available on the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service - www.inis.gov.ie. Queries in relation to general immigration matters 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.
541. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an update on the progress of the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence on the implementation of its strategy and evidence of the impact it is making on the recent figures which show an increase in domestic abuse against children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36254/13]
View answerCosc, the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence is an executive office of my Department. Cosc's key task is to ensure the delivery of a well coordinated "whole-of-government" response to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence against women and men. Cosc carries out its co-ordination functions primarily within the framework of the first National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence. The strategy was published in March 2010 and covers the period 2010 to 2014.
Monitoring of the implementation of the strategy is achieved through a six monthly exercise to establish progress to date on the activities in the Strategy. Cosc undertakes the regular monitoring. The process is overseen by the National Steering Committee on Violence Against Women, the National Steering Committee on Violence Against Men and a high-level group of officials known as the Strategy Oversight Committee. Each six monthly monitoring exercise is published on the Cosc website. In addition, a mid-term review of the implementation of the strategy was completed in 2012 and published on the Cosc website following consideration by the National Steering Committees and the Oversight Committee.
The Deputy will appreciate that this is a complex plan involving four objectives and 59 activities. The mid-term review of the National Strategy noted, in broad terms, that good progress had been made in relation to around a quarter of the planned activities, that a further fifty per cent of the activities were making progress with some delays and that approximately a fifth of the planned activities had limited or poor progress. The review resulted in a re-prioritisation of many of the actions of the strategy and an update of the time-frames for delivery of the actions. An updated table of the actions with the priority and time-frame associated has been published on the Cosc website.
In terms of domestic abuse against children, I assume that the Deputy is referring to statistics recently published by Women's Aid in its annual report for 2012. There are a number of possible reasons for this increase. It is not, for instance, clear whether this represents a greater willingness of people who ring the Women's Aid helpline to discuss the emotional and other impacts of domestic abuse on their children, improved recording of this aspect of domestic abuse by the helpline, or an actual increase in the targeting of children in domestic situations. As one of the strategy's key aims is to increase awareness among the general public of the incidence of domestic violence and among victims of the services available to them, increases in reporting are to be expected and indeed welcomed. There has been an increase in public debate and a range of policy initiatives in relation to children experiencing abuse, violence, neglect and bullying, which may lead to a greater willingness to discuss the impact of domestic violence on children.
I would also like to state that front-line community and voluntary domestic violence services for those suffering from domestic violence are funded at present by the Health Service Executive for which the Minister for Health has responsibility. I understand that responsibility for these services will transfer to the Child and Family Support Agency when established and that agency will come under the remit of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.
