Written Answers Nos. 131-136
131. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the exact date on which section 157 of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 will be commenced; the reason for the delay in the commencement of this Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48515/13]
View answerSection 157 of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 concerns the introduction of a much shorter discharge period from bankruptcy of three years. I expect to be in a position to commence this section and the relevant Parts of the Personal Insolvency Act and, the further refinements to bankruptcy law contained in the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013, later this month. I am awaiting confirmation that the necessary and relevant Rules of the Superior Court in regard to bankruptcy have been made.
132. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding an application for Garda vetting in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; if the application will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48533/13]
View answerI am informed by the Garda authorities that it is not possible to check the status of the application referred to in the absence of the individual's date of birth. If the Deputy will provide the additional information, I will have further enquiries made in the matter.
133. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 540 to 545, inclusive, of 21 May 2013, if he will be recommending that the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission retains more detailed statistics of the kind of request in those questions when compiling data on complaints received by that office. [48535/13]
View answerThe Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission informs me that GSOC's Case Management System, which is under constant internal review, provides GSOC with comprehensive data and statistics (as can be seen in its various statutory reports that can be found on its website www.gardaombudsman.ie). However, responses to very specific queries can involve compilation of data over many years that can be very resource intensive.
The Ombudsman Commission is however always happy to engage directly with any interested party in order to manage and progress any queries.
134. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding the case of a person (details supplied). [48567/13]
View answerI am informed by the Garda authorities that the matter referred to by the Deputy relates to an ongoing civil dispute and that there is no criminal investigation ongoing in relation to this matter.
The Deputy will appreciate that I have no function in relation to the issue which he has raised.
135. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Defence if there is any funding opportunity within his Department for voluntary emergency response organisations such as search and rescue organisations that respond to call-outs in remote areas of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48423/13]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware my Department has responsibility for the management and development of Civil Defence at national level. Civil Defence is the principal statutory volunteer based organisation in Ireland with over 4,600 active volunteers who are based in each local authority area. The role of Civil Defence is to provide second-line support to the frontline services in responding to emergencies across a wide range of disciplines such as Casualty/First-Aid, Rescue, Boating, Communications and Welfare in addition to providing community support activities. In the current year my Department provided a total of €4.243m in funding to Civil Defence to support the efforts of the volunteers in assisting with emergency response efforts nationwide.
The Irish Red Cross Society is an independent charitable body corporate whose volunteers provide Ambulance Services, Search and Rescue Services and a broad range of community based health, social care and youth programmes across the country.
My Department supports the valuable work carried out by the Society's volunteers through the provision of a grant in aid, which currently amounts to €739,000 per annum. This grant is provided as a contribution towards the salary and administration costs of running the Society's headquarters.
It is my intention, despite the current economic climate, to maintain that level of funding to both organisations to support their emergency response efforts.
136. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding payments in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48394/13]
View answerThe person named submitted a Single Farm Payment/Disadvantaged Areas’ Scheme application on 12 March 2013. EU Regulations governing the administration of the schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including in some cases on farm inspections, be completed before any payments issue.
The application of the person named was selected for a ground eligibility/cross compliance inspection. This inspection identified discrepancies between the area declared and the area found, resulting in an over-declaration in area of between 3% and 20%. Based on the Terms and Conditions of the schemes, this results in the 2013 payments being based on the found area having being reduced by double the difference between the area found and the area claimed.
The person named was notified of this decision on 4 November 2013. The person named was also informed of the right to seek a review of this decision. In the event that the person named in dissatisfied with the outcome of the review, the decision can be appealed to the Independent Agriculture Appeals Office, within 3 months.
Payments due under the 2013 Single Payment Scheme and Disadvantaged Areas’ Scheme were finalised and issued directly to the nominated bank account of person named on 7 October and 8 October 2013, respectively.
