Sandra McLellan
Question:34. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he has consulted wit the Department of Finance on the issue of equality budgeting. [39754/13]
View answerEquality Proofing of Budgets
Questions (34)
Written answers
I refer the Deputy to the Government's position on this matter, as set out in Minister of State's Kathleen Lynch's statement to the Dáil on 2 July 2013 in the context of the debate on her party's Private Members Bill, the Equal Status (Amendment) Bill 2013, on this topic. Ministers were formally consulted on and involved in agreeing the Government's position on this issue.
In our democratic State, budgetary decisions are for the democratically-elected Government of the day to make and for the Dáil Éireann to approve. The reality is that resources are limited and additional expenditure demands or costs arising - for whatever reason - will have to be paid for through expenditure reductions elsewhere or through the raising of additional revenue. Nothing in the equality budgeting approach canvassed by the Deputy's party can change that reality or be of any help to the Government in making the difficult decisions its members have been elected to make on behalf of the people as we work to restore the country’s economic sovereignty.
Question No. 35 answered with Question No. 18.
National Traveller-Roma Integration Strategy
Questions (36)
Clare Daly
Question:36. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to an earlier Parliamentary Question and in view of the fact that there are no actions in the National Traveller/Roma Integration Strategy and no framework for evaluating progress, if he will agree to the immediate establishment of a steering group with Traveller and Roma representation, representatives from his Department and an independent chair in order to drive the development of a progressive National Traveller/Roma Integration Strategy in an inclusive manner. [39783/13]
View answerWritten answers
Ireland's National Traveller/Roma Integration Strategy was developed following an EU Commission communication which required Member States to submit a National Roma Integration Strategy for improving the situation of Roma in proportion to the size of the Roma population living in their territories and taking into account their specific circumstances.
It is important to note that the term "Roma", as defined by the Council of Europe, refers to Roma, Sinti, Kale and related groups in Europe, including Travellers and Eastern groups (Dom and Lom), and covers the wide diversity of the groups concerned, including persons who identify themselves as "Gypsies".
From the Irish perspective, with regard to this definition, the vast majority of Travellers/Roma in the Irish State are indigenous Irish Travellers. This is reflected in the national strategy document which sets out strategies already in place for the Traveller Community in the areas of Education, Accommodation, Healthcare and Employment. It also mentions initiatives in place in the same areas to assist the Roma community who are citizens of the European Economic Area and are legally resident in the country.
As a first step towards a national strategy, the State brought together all of the initiatives that already exist across Government so as to include them in a national strategy document. It is important to note, however, that the strategy is envisaged to be a living document and, as time goes on, there is nothing to prevent the development and inclusion of any new actions in any of the sectors. It should be noted that Traveller representatives are active participants on National Committees dealing with policy in the areas of Education, Health and Accommodation, in addition to the National Traveller Monitoring and Advisory Committee and, in this way, are involved in the development of policy.
My Department is currently collating reports on progress achieved in relation to Traveller actions which are in the National Traveller/Roma Integration Strategy with a view to reporting on progress to the EU Commission . I am aware of the recent evaluation by the EU of all the National Traveller/Roma Integration Strategies and the results in relation to Ireland are not how I would like them to be. In this context I have asked my Department to consider the existing mechanisms for consultation,implementation, monitoring and review of the National Strategy with a view to recommending any necessary changes.
Peace Commissioners Appointments
Questions (37)
Sandra McLellan
Question:37. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the criteria for the appointment of peace commissioners across the State. [39765/13]
View answerWritten answers
The Office of Peace Commissioner is an honorary appointment under section 88 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 for which there is no remuneration or compensation by way of fees or expenses for their services. An application for appointment may be submitted by a person who is interested in obtaining an appointment, or a third party may submit a nomination in respect of a person considered suitable for appointment. Nominations are generally received from public representatives. A local Garda Superintendent can also request an appointment in a particular area in the public interest.
There is no qualifying examination involved but appointees are required to be of good character and they are usually well established in the local community. Persons who are members of professions or employed in occupations which engage in legal work or related activities and members of the clergy are, as a matter of practice, not appointed because of their occupation and civil servants are usually only appointed where the performance of their official duties requires an appointment on an ex-officio basis. Persons convicted of serious offences are considered unsuitable for appointment.
Sentencing Policy
Questions (38)
Catherine Murphy
Question:38. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the fact that in some criminal cases where a suspended sentence is imposed the term of the suspended sentence may expire due to delays in appeals being heard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39856/13]
View answerWritten answers
As the Deputy will be aware, under the Courts Service Act 1998, the management and administration of the courts is a matter for the Courts Service while the allocation of the business of the courts, scheduling of cases and management of lists are matters for the judiciary and in particular the Presidents of the courts. The Deputy will also be aware that judges are, subject to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions.
A suspended sentence imposed by the District Court is appealable to the Circuit Court. In such instances the District Court would normally, or on request, fix recognisances in the event of an Appeal. Once the appellant has lodged an original of the Notice of Appeal, together with a statutory declaration as to service and entered into a recognisance as fixed by the Court the suspended sentence is stayed pending determination of the Appeal by the Circuit Court. Where an appeal is to the Court of Criminal Appeal there are established procedures in place for applications for priority to be made to the judge having management of the List and the basis for any such application could include an assertion that the term of the suspended sentence is likely to have expired before the hearing. The Courts Service has indicated that an appeal by a convicted person against a suspended sentence is rare except perhaps where the terms of the suspension are deemed to be too onerous. An appeal against conviction might be brought in a case where a suspended sentence was imposed but where the suspended sentence is of itself not the subject of an appeal. In addition, the imposition of a suspended sentence can be the basis of an undue leniency application by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). There are currently 154 cases in the Court of Criminal Appeal list awaiting hearing; sixteen of these are undue leniency applications by the DPP and four of those applications concern sentences where sentence was suspended.
The President of the Circuit Court is determined to achieve improvements in waiting times and has been working with the Courts Service to target judicial resources at the areas with longest waiting times. It should be noted, for example, that in 2011 there were 674 weeks of Circuit Court sittings in venues outside Dublin. This has increased to 767 weeks in 2012 and the President plans to increase capacity to 888 weeks during 2013, a 30% increase over 2011. The additional weeks will be provided across crime, family law and civil matters as well as dealing with District Court Appeals. With the increase in capacity assigned to date in 2013, significant progress has been achieved in reducing waiting times across the Circuit Court.
The Service has indicated that waiting times in the Court of Criminal Appeal vary depending on the category of the case. As already mentioned, priority applications may be made to the court and the judge will decide such applications on a range of competing priorities. I am informed that the Chief Justice, in consultation with the President of the High Court, has convened 9 additional sittings during September and the first week of October to deal with sentence appeals and undue leniency applications. A total of 55 such cases have been allocated hearing dates comprising 36 sentence appeals and 19 undue leniency applications.
Court Accommodation Provision
Questions (39)
Michael Colreavy
Question:39. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if there are further closures of rural court houses expected in the coming year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39750/13]
View answerWritten answers
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 which is independent in exercising its functions which include the provision of accommodation for court sittings. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and have been informed that the Courts Service is continually reviewing all aspects of its organisational and operational structures throughout the country, a specific objective of which is to ensure that the Service, in the current environment, can continue to maintain the delivery of frontline court services and the maintenance of an appropriate level of service to court users. It is in this context that the Service keeps the number of court venues it maintains under continuous review with no court venue being singled out or exempt from the review process. During the course of 2012 the Service completed a comprehensive review of all venues throughout the country. The purpose of this review was to establish a framework within which venues could be considered for closure taking account of a range of criteria such as caseload, proximity to an alternative venue, physical condition of the building, availability of cells etc. The likely impact on other Justice agencies, such as An Garda Síochána and the Irish Prison Service, is also taken into account.
The Deputy may be aware that in July 2013, the Board announced the closure of eight venues which are due to close on or before 1 January 2014 - Ballyhaunis, Baltinglass, Birr, Clones, Edenderry, Kells, Kinsale, Swinford. The Courts Service has informed me that further venues have been identified for consideration for closure, detailed assessments have been completed in respect of four venues and they are currently under consideration. The Courts Service has again assured me that no decision in relation to the future of any courthouse will be taken without prior consultation with local interested parties and court users. Such consultation has already begun and the views received will be taken into account in the decision making process which will be a matter for the Courts Service Board.