Written Answers Nos. 86-106
86. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans in relation to the cases submitted to his office on 17 October 2013 by residents from across the State in relation to allegations of Garda malpractice. [45975/13]
View answerOn 17 October 2013 my office was handed correspondence from 24 individuals. These letters contained a variety of expressions of dissatisfaction in relation to the handling or outcome of complaints that had previously been made. Some of these complaints date back a number of years, and some relate to bodies other than the Garda Síochána. This correspondence has been acknowledged and will now need to be carefully examined in order to see whether the individuals concerned have availed in each case of the appropriate mechanisms for the consideration of such complaints.
As the Deputy will appreciate, until this examination is complete I will not be in a position to come to a conclusion as to whether options remain for the further consideration of these complaints, or whether the individuals concerned have exhausted all available mechanisms but are simply dissatisfied with the outcome.
I will of course respond to all of this correspondence as soon as possible.
89. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when he will publish the Family Relationships and Children Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45967/13]
View answerWork on the General Scheme of a Family Relationships and Children Bill is at an advanced stage in my Department, and subject to the necessary consultations between Departments and at Government level, I hope to be in a position to publish my detailed legislative proposals by the end of the year. It is not yet possible to give a date for publication of the Bill as the General Scheme must first be finalised and necessary consultations undertaken. However, I am keen to proceed quickly with the essential reforms to this very sensitive area of the law.
90. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the degree to which the existence of organised criminal gangs continue to prosper and grow; if the number of such gangs and membership therein has increased or decreased in recent years; the extent to which the Gardaí continue to have available to them adequate resources with particular reference to modern technology and equipment in the fight against organised crime; if any further initiatives are desirable in this context; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45957/13]
View answerThe Deputy will appreciate that organised crime, by its very nature, is constantly evolving and diversifying in both its structures and activities and that membership of organised crime groups tends to be fluid in nature.
Given the fluidity of membership, it can, therefore, be challenging to identify definitive numbers of groupings and members. Furthermore many modern organised criminal groupings are transnational in nature and engage in a wide range of disparate criminal activities.
Addressing such criminality remains a key ongoing priority for both the Government and for An Garda Síochána and these priorities are clearly reflected in the Garda Policing Plan for 2013 and in the Programme for Government.
However, I can say that An Garda Síochána continues to vigorously tackle organised crime through undertaking a range of targeted activities designed to disrupt and dismantle the operations of criminal organisations.
This approach involves targeting serious criminals and organised criminal groups on a number of fronts and across all geographical locations, including through the use of focused intelligence led operations by specialist units such as the Organised Crime Unit, the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the work of the Criminal Assets Bureau.
As the Deputy will also be aware, the Garda authorities are continually looking at opportunities to employ new technologies to achieve their goals and to contribute to the services they provide. This is a policy that is designed to ensure that the Garda Síochána will be in a position to take advantage of proven up to date technological developments to meet the needs of an effective police force.
Additionally, considerable progress has been made within the Garda force in the field of modern technological support. In addition to a class-leading computer system, PULSE, these include the full roll-out of the state of the art National Digital Radio System, the Automated Fingerprint Information System and Automated Number Plate Recognition.
With regard to Garda transport, I am conscious of the continuing pressures on the Garda fleet and I am very pleased to have secured a further €9m for investment in the fleet, made up of €5m between now and the end of the year and a further €4m in 2014. At this stage, arising from the additional €5m being made available between October and December, the Garda authorities have arranged for the delivery of 305 new vehicles by the end of 2013. These are in addition to the 133 new Garda vehicles already made available during the year.
I would also draw the Deputy's attention to the recently published Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Bill 2013 which provides for the establishment of a DNA database. Enactment of this legislation will represent a major step forward in the fight against serious crime.
91. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on the outcome of the referendum on Friday 4 October 2013 which established provision for a new Court of Appeal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45979/13]
View answerFollowing the successful outcome of the referendum on the proposed Thirty-third Amendment of the Constitution (Court of Appeal) Bill I will shortly bring forward an "Implementation Bill" that will deal with many practical issues in regard to the new Court of Appeal, such as the formal establishment and membership of the Court of Appeal, the appointment of judges, the organisation of the Court, and provision for the office of Registrar of the Court, among other issues. It is planned that the Bill will be enacted during the first half of 2014 and that the new Court of Appeal would be up and running in the new law term next Autumn.
My Department will be working closely with the Courts Service during this process and I can advise that an Implementation Committee has been established by the Courts Service which includes representation from my Department. The Committee, which has held its first meeting, will examine and make recommendations in relation to all aspects of administrative support for the new Court, such as organisational structure, staffing, accommodation, ICT systems and facilities, and rules of court to regulate court procedures. The aim is to ensure that the required accommodation, structures and systems are in place in time for the establishment of the new Court of Appeal.
The current level of delay in the Supreme Court of four and a half years is unsustainable for individuals and businesses seeking to pursue important appeals. The establishment of a Court of Appeal provides a long-needed reform of our courts system. It will have significant benefit for individual citizens, but will also maintain the internationally recognised standing of Ireland as a competitive and efficient economy in which to do business.
92. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of new vehicles he intends to add to the Garda fleet over the next nine months. [45966/13]
View answerDecisions in relation to the provision and allocation of Garda vehicles are a matter for the Garda Commissioner in the light of his identified operational demands and available resources.
I am conscious of the continuing pressures on the Garda fleet and, in that regard, I am very pleased to have secured a further €9m for investment in the fleet, made up of €5m between now and the end of the year and a further €4m in 2014. At this stage, arising from the additional €5m being made available between October and December, the Garda authorities have arranged for the delivery of 305 new vehicles by the end of 2013. These are in addition to the 133 new Garda vehicles already made available during the year.
This investment will bring to €18m the total amount spent on the Garda fleet for the three years 2012 to 2014. This represents a very considerable financial investment in Garda transport, particularly at a time when the level of funding available across the public sector is severely limited. It is a clear indication of my commitment to ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, An Garda Síochána are provided with sufficient resources to enable them to deliver an effective and efficient policing service.
93. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when the Penal Policy Review Group’s report on penal policy will be published. [45968/13]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that the Working Group conducting a Strategic Review on Penal Policy is expected to report early in 2014.
94. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when he will publish an updated version of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2010. [45972/13]
View answerAs I have outlined previously to the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, it is my 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. Work on the Bill continues, therefore, on that basis, including in co-operation with the Offices of Parliamentary Counsel and of the Attorney General while also taking account of any relevant rulings by the Courts. By necessity work on Trioka-related legislation such as the establishment of the Insolvency Service and reform of the delivery of legal services has been a priority for my Department. Pending the completion of this legislative workload, I expect that work on the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill will be advanced to enable it to be published as soon as resources allow.
Pending the enactment and commencement of the new legislation and with a view to improving processing in the area of international protection, I will be introducing new arrangements for the processing of subsidiary protection applications. The legislative provisions to underpin the new system for determining applications for subsidiary protection are currently being finalised in my Department in co-operation with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government. When these legislative provisions are settled, the intention is to bring the new applications processing arrangements into operation as soon as possible.
95. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the action he will take to deal with the systemic leaking of information by An Garda Síochána to the mainstream media, which is a criminal offence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46594/13]
View answerI understand from the Garda Commissioner that it is the policy of An Garda Síochána that overall responsibility for releasing Garda information to the media rests with the Garda Press and Public Relations Office. Members of An Garda Síochána are prohibited, except in specified circumstances, without the authority of the Commissioner from communicating either directly or indirectly with the media or furnishing to the media any information in connection with the investigation of crime or other official matters.
Any member of the Garda Síochána who leaks information to the media is not only contravening clear Garda policy, but is also, as the question notes, contravening the law. It is an offence under the Official Secrets Act 1963 for a member of the Garda Síochána, as for any public official, to disclose official information without lawful authority. It is also, quite separately, a distinct offence under section 62 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 for a member of the Garda Síochána to make an unauthorised disclosure to the media of information obtained in the course of duty if the member knows that such disclosure is likely to have a harmful effect. The section sets out a list of instances of harmful effect covered by this offence, which includes for example disclosures which result in the publication of personal information constituting an unwarranted and serious infringement of a person's right to privacy.
Any member of the public who believes that he or she has been the subject of unauthorised disclosure of information by a member of the Garda Síochána may make a complaint to the independent Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, which has extensive powers of investigation.
96. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of direct meetings he has held with representatives of the legal profession and other interested parties in relation to the Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011. [45970/13]
View answer99. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when we can expect to see the regulatory impact analysis relating to the Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011. [45969/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 96 and 99 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, consultations in relation to the Legal Services Regulation Bill have been ongoing since its publication both directly and by submission. The Bill and key responses to it have also been considered at Second Stage and in detail by the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality prior to the Bill's Committee Stage which commenced on 17 July.
Alongside those groups representing the legal professions with whom I have had both formal and informal direct meetings and from whom I have received a series of substantial submissions, I have had direct meetings with the Competition Authority, the Consumers' Association, the Honorable Society of King's Inns and the Committee of Heads of Irish University Law Schools and with the legal service regulators of other jurisdictions such as Australia and England and Wales. In terms of written submissions, I have, as previously disclosed to the House, received just under 50 since publication of the Bill representing nearly 30 interested parties, along with dozens of individual letters from concerned members of the public and practitioners and the formal observations of other Government Departments. For their part, the Law Society, the Bar Council and the King's Inns have provided substantive views on a number of occasions and on key issues which are among those to which consideration continues to be given. Submissions have come from a wide range of bodies in addition to the legal professional bodies including from associations, academics, civil liberties and human rights organisations, private businesses and Government agencies or Departments. They range in their scope from that of the entire Bill to that of particular provisions or issues arising within it.
A wide range of stakeholders have therefore provided, and continue to submit, views on the Bill which I am more than happy to consider. These views continue to inform the development of the Bill and have to be considered against the Bill's modern balance of interests between those of the legal professions and those of business or private citizens who avail of legal services. The Deputy will appreciate the importance of the Government, in exercising its policy prerogative, maintaining this balance and conducting its consultations, direct or indirect, so as as to avoid any actual or perceived regulatory capture by any particular lobby or interest group. At this point in time, there are a large number of issues upon which the respective views of stakeholders have been clearly expressed or continue to be aired including in the public domain and in readily accessible formats on the internet. Direct and indirect contacts with stakeholders continue to take place at official level.
Finally, as I have previously stated, amendments to the Bill and a Regulatory Impact Analysis will be made available for consideration prior to its forthcoming resumption of Committee Stage which is to take place as soon as possible in the current session.
97. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the level of IT facilities in place across each of the Courts Service's districts; and the facilities in place to record data in respect of persons appearing in court to answer charges on road traffic offences. [45955/13]
View answerThe Courts Service has a network of 6 District Court offices in the greater Dublin area with a further 32 such offices distributed throughout the country. Each office has access to the Criminal Case Tracking System (CCTS). This system records details of all prosecutions initiated by An Garda Síochána including offences under the Road Traffic Acts. In relation to road traffic offences, details of the prosecutor and accused, details of alleged offences, details of all court appearances associated with a case and final court outcomes are recorded on the system. Details of any appeals lodged, set asides etc. are also recorded on the system.
Summary of the Criminal Case Tracking System
The Criminal Case Tracking System (CCTS), an Oracle Relational Database, is in operation in all District Court Offices. There are approximately 200 concurrent users of the application which provides for the processing, scheduling, enforcement and reporting of criminal cases. In addition, it can produce a variety of documents that are required in the course of a criminal case such as summonses, warrants and copy orders. The CCTS also produces a number of key reports to assist in the administration of criminal business such as prison lists and legal aid lists.
Summary of the CCTS functionality relating to penalty points
Where a fixed charge penalty is not paid or where a prosecution is being initiated in respect of other road traffic offences which attract penalty points, the Garda Síochána make an application to the courts for the issue of a summons against the offender. In the majority of cases this is an electronic process. Where the driving licence number for the offender is collected during the detection/investigative process, the licence number is included in the electronic summons application process and is updated to the CCTS.
Summonses produced from the CCTS and issued for service include a requirement for the offender to produce to the court their driving licence or learner permit and a legible copy of same. Where the offender before the court is convicted and produces their licence or permit, the number is recorded by the Court Registrar and updated to the CCTS.
Details of all convictions recorded on the CCTS in respect of offences which attract penalty points, including the driving licence number where provided, are collated and transferred electronically to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. This occurs approximately 28 days after the date of the convictions as time must be allowed for any possible appeals to be lodged. The file transferred also includes the outcomes of any appeals, set asides and judicial reviews in respect of penalty point convictions.
98. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which crimes continue to be committed by persons while on bail, sometimes while on bail for more than one offence; the extent to which this restricts subsequent applications for bail particularly where recidivism occurs repeatedly while on bail; if legislation is required to address this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45956/13]
View answerA decision to grant bail in a particular case is a matter for the court, which is, subject only to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of its judicial functions. There is a constitutional presumption in favour of bail, since, in the eyes of the law, a person is innocent until proven guilty. The provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights also restrict the extent to which the right to bail can be limited.
Prior to the Sixteenth Amendment of the Constitution, bail could be refused essentially only on the grounds that a person would be likely to abscond or interfere with witnesses. Section 2 of the Bail Act 1997, which gave effect to the terms of the Sixteenth Amendment of the Constitution, provides for the refusal of bail to a person charged with a serious offence where it is reasonably considered necessary to prevent the commission of a serious offence by that person. Section 2(2)(d) provides that in exercising its jurisdiction under that section, a court shall take into account and may receive evidence or submissions concerning any conviction of the accused person for an offence committed while he or she was on bail.
In addition, section 6 of that Act, as amended by section 9 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007, provides that every bail recognisance is subject to the condition that the accused person shall not commit an offence while on bail.
The criminal law takes a serious view of offences committed by persons on bail. Section 11 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 provides that any sentence of imprisonment passed on a person for an offence committed while on bail must be consecutive on any sentence passed on him or her for a previous offence, or on the sentence last due to expire, if more than one is being served. It also provides that the fact that an offence was committed while on bail must be treated as an aggravating factor at sentencing and that the court shall impose a sentence that is greater than that which would have been imposed otherwise, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
I am conscious of public concern about the extent to which offences continue to be committed by persons on bail. I share that concern and believe that bail law must be continually reviewed to ensure that all possible avenues are taken to protect the public against the commission of crime, particularly serious crime, by persons on bail.
Accordingly, my Department has been engaged in work to consolidate and update bail law with a view to presenting a clear, accessible and modern statement of the law. In the context of that modernisation of the law, I will be seeking to restructure the law so that it has a focus on the protection of the individual and of the public. The intention is that the new proposals will provide better guidance to the courts on how such protection might be provided. I intend to bring proposals to Government on the matter as soon as possible, having regard to other legislative priorities.
In relation to the extent to which crimes are committed by persons who are already on bail, I have asked the Central Statistics Office, as the national statistical agency responsible for the publication of crime statistics, to provide relevant information directly to the Deputy.
100. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality where the €70 million cut to the justice budget will take effect. [45964/13]
View answerThe reduction of €70 million in the Justice budget relates to the gross current expenditure allocation for the Vote Group in 2014 compared with the corresponding allocation in the 2013 Revised Estimate Volume.
Given the composition of the Vote Group where circa 77% of all current expenditure refers to pay and pensions, the greater proportion of the reduction relates to payroll costs. In all €45 million of the budgetary adjustment relates to payroll reductions encompassing the impact of measures under the Haddington Road Agreement and staffing reductions across all areas of the sector.
In the region of €13 million of the adjustment relates to reductions in non-payroll expenditure across the votes, including a reduction of €5.2 million in relation to the provision for Asylum Seekers Accommodation in the Justice and Equality Vote, mainly due to the decrease in the numbers in Direct Provision. There are other reductions in various administrative and operational areas across the various votes.
The final element of the reduction, approximately €12 million, is in respect of non-recurring costs in 2014 relating to events such as Ireland‘s Presidency of the European Union.
There are also a number of smaller technical adjustments in Estimates 2014, including the provision of €2 million in additional funding for the redeployment of staff from elsewhere in the Civil Service to the Garda Vetting Unit.
102. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will have the case of the murder of Garda Richard Fallon on 3 April 1970 independently reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46431/13]
View answerGarda Richard Fallon’s murder in April 1970 was a terrible tragedy for his family and I want to, again, express my deepest sympathy to them. Garda Fallon’s callous killing was a heinous crime perpetrated by ruthless individuals.
The Serious Review Crime Team of the Garda Síochána is carrying out a review of this case. I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that the Serious Review Crime Team met with members of the Fallon family in April this year to apprise them of developments in the ongoing review of their father's case. Since then contact has been maintained with the family on an ongoing basis by the Senior Investigating Officer from the Serious Crime Review Team. The Deputy will appreciate that we must await the outcome of the review.
103. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to racial profiling taking place inside the gardaí, with particular reference to his knowledge of information in relation to Traveller infants being put on the PULSE system; and the steps he has taken to address same. [46596/13]
View answerI am assured by the Garda Commissioner that the Garda Síochána does not engage in discriminatory ethnic profiling, and specifically that it does not engage in data gathering or data mining based upon discriminatory profiling in respect of race, colour, language, religion, nationality, national or ethnic origin, ethnicity or membership of the traveller community.
I am not clear what point the Deputy is making in relation to the storing of information on PULSE relating to traveller children. If it is of any assistance, I would make the general point that PULSE does not solely capture information on offenders, but is used to store information on all Garda interactions with individuals, whether adults or children, such as victims of crime and persons injured in road traffic accidents. This would also include child welfare incidents.
If the Deputy has any specific concerns in mind I would be happy to look into them.
104. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when he will respond to the Constitutional Convention's recommendations on equal access to civil marriage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46205/13]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the procedure is that the Government responds to the Constitutional Convention's recommendations within a four-month period. The response to the recommendations of the Convention on equal access to civil marriage will be available very shortly and will be provided via a statement which I will make in this House.
105. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to reform family law to ensure equal status and protections for children being raised by lesbian or gay parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46206/13]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, I have signalled my intentions to bring legislative proposals to Government as soon as possible in the form of a General Scheme of a Family Relationships and Children Bill. The focus of the Scheme will be on reforming and modernising certain aspects of family law, as provided for in the Agreed Programme for Government, and, in particular, ensuring that children are treated equally irrespective of the marital status of their parents. My proposals will be to ensure, in the best interests of children, that our legal system can recognise and secure the relationship of a person who has a parental role in a child's life but is not the biological or adoptive parent of the child concerned.
106. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Taoiseach if he will detail the value of exports as an percentage of GDP, to the north of Ireland, Britain, America, Germany, France, Japan or others for each of the past five years. [45698/13]
View answerThe information requested is set out in the following two tables.
Table 1: Exports of goods and services in € millions:
|
€ - millions |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
|
Total exports of goods & services |
148,984 |
145,249 |
156,918 |
166,475 |
176,147 |
|
of which: exports of goods & services to United Kingdom * |
30,099 |
26,405 |
27,817 |
28,625 |
32,064 |
|
of which: exports of goods & services to USA |
20,258 |
21,427 |
25,704 |
26,624 |
25,805 |
|
of which: exports of goods & services to Germany |
12,585 |
12,097 |
13,671 |
13,520 |
15,380 |
|
of which: exports of goods & services to France |
9,647 |
8,751 |
9,161 |
9,398 |
9,930 |
|
of which: exports of goods & services to Japan |
2,786 |
2,662 |
3,105 |
3,208 |
4,777 |
|
of which: exports of goods & services to other countries |
73,609 |
73,907 |
77,460 |
85,100 |
88,191 |
|
GDP at current market prices |
180,249 |
162,284 |
158,097 |
162,600 |
163,938 |
* Separate information not available for Northern Ireland and Great Britain
Table 2: Exports of goods and services as a percentage of GDP at Current Market Prices:
|
% of GDP |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
|
Total exports of goods & services |
82.7 |
89.5 |
99.3 |
102.4 |
107.4 |
|
of which: exports of goods & services to United Kingdom * |
16.7 |
16.3 |
17.6 |
17.6 |
19.6 |
|
of which: exports of goods & services to USA |
11.2 |
13.2 |
16.3 |
16.4 |
15.7 |
|
of which: exports of goods & services to Germany |
7.0 |
7.5 |
8.6 |
8.3 |
9.4 |
|
of which: exports of goods & services to France |
5.4 |
5.4 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
6.1 |
|
of which: exports of goods & services to Japan |
1.5 |
1.6 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
2.9 |
|
of which: exports of goods & services to other countries |
40.8 |
45.5 |
49.0 |
52.3 |
53.8 |
* Separate information not available for Northern Ireland and Great Britain
