Finian McGrath
Question:138. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an update on the assault of a person (details supplied). [48709/13]
View answerGarda Investigations
Questions (138)
Written answers
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the matter referred to by the Deputy is the subject of an ongoing investigation. As the matter is under investigation it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this time.
Departmental Staff Promotions
Questions (139)
Finian McGrath
Question:139. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a competition for promotion held in 2011 for the position of assistant principal officer gave rise to a number of complaints among candidates; if he will confirm that complaints were made to the Commission for Public Service Appointments in respect of this competition; his views on the findings and recommendations made by the CPSA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48712/13]
View answerWritten answers
The competition in question was a confined appointment process for the position of Assistant Principal and took place in 2010. There were a total of 102 applicants of which 55 were short-listed for interview. Three applicants sought a review in accordance with the Commission for Public Service Appointments' Code of Practice.
Two of the requests for review related to decisions in the short-listing process. The third request for review was related to the interview process and it was this request that was referred to the Commission by way of an appeal of the review carried out by the Department.
The Commission was satisfied that all of the candidates in the process were treated in a consistent manner. Some shortcomings in how the selection criteria were defined were identified and the Department has taken account of the Commission's recommendations in any subsequent competitions.
Ministerial Appointments
Questions (140)
Finian McGrath
Question:140. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will list the persons that he has appointed or reappointed to the Parole Board; if he will provide the criteria to determine who to appoint and reappoint; if the selection process is transparent and accountable; his plans to appoint a person to the board from an organisation representing the victims of crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48713/13]
View answerWritten answers
I can inform the Deputy that I made the following appointments to the Parole Board:
|
Year |
Appointments |
|
July, 2011 |
Mr. John Costello, Chairman |
|
Mr. Ciarán de Buis |
|
|
July, 2012 |
Mr. Willie Connolly |
|
Mr. Eddie Rock |
|
|
Ms Nora McGarry |
|
|
Mr. Shane McCarthy (re-appointed) |
|
|
August, 2012 |
Mr. Brian Murphy (ex-officio) |
|
Mr. Vivian Geiran (ex-officio) |
|
|
January, 2013 |
Mr. Ray Kavanagh |
|
Mr. Mick Duff |
The members appointed by me represent a diverse range of experience and expertise which I believe is invaluable to the work of the Board. Further details on membership are set out in the Board's Annual Report which I recently published and is available on my Department's website at www.justice.ie.
I announced my intention in 2011 to enact legislation to place the Parole Board on a statutory footing which I believe will help to strengthen the Board and improve its functions. Work is under way and progress is being made. Decisions have yet to be finalised on exactly what role a statutory Parole Board should play, what powers it should have, and how it should fit into the overall criminal justice system. I addressed the inaugural conference of the Parole Board in that regard on Friday 25 October, 2013. The discussions focussed on several aspects of the parole process, including the role of victims and the extent to which they should be involved in the process, and experience from other jurisdictions. Those discussions will also help inform this process.
I have also appointed a group to carry out a strategic review of penal policy. This is a wide-ranging and important review with implications for the future direction and implementation of penal policy in Ireland. I expect the group to report early in the new year. When I have considered their recommendations, I will bring proposals forward to Government for a statutory Parole Board. As I have said before, in that context I will bear in mind the Deputy's suggestion on victim representation.
Residency Permits
Questions (141)
Bernard Durkan
Question:141. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding residency-eligibility and or entitlement to naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48734/13]
View answerWritten answers
The person concerned was granted permission to remain in the State on 18 May, 2005, for an initial two year period, under the revised arrangements applicable to the non-EEA national parents of Irish born citizen children born in the State before 1 January, 2005, more commonly known as the IBC/05 Scheme. This permission was later renewed for a further three years, to 18 May, 2010. Subsequently the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) renewed his permission with this latest permission due to expire on 9 May, 2016.
The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956, as amended, provides that the Minister may, in his absolute discretion, grant an application for a certificate of naturalisation provided certain statutory conditions are fulfilled. One such condition is that I must be satisfied that the applicant is of good character.
An application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person concerned was received in the Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department and I decided to refuse the application. The person concerned was informed of this and the reasons for it in a letter issued on 13 September, 2013. It is open to any individual to lodge an application for citizenship if and when they are in a position to meet the prescribed statutory requirements.
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.
Deportation Orders Issues
Questions (142)
Bernard Durkan
Question:142. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the procedure to be followed in order to regularise residency in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath who has spent the past five years in employment here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48735/13]
View answerWritten answers
The person concerned arrived in the State on 24th August, 2006 and has remained in the State without permission since that date. As a result, the Deputy should note that the person concerned has never held a right of residency in the State of a nature as would have allowed him to take up a position of paid employment.
Given that he had no valid basis to remain in the State, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned was notified, by letter dated 3rd July, 2013, that the Minister proposed to make a Deportation Order in respect of him. He was given the options, to be exercised within a period of 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 he should not have a Deportation Order made against him. Written representations have been submitted 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 final decision has been made, this decision, and the consequences of the decision, will be conveyed in writing to the person concerned.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department 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.
Residency Permits
Questions (143)
Bernard Durkan
Question:143. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the procedure to be followed to regularise residency in this case of a person (details supplied) in County Carlow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48736/13]
View answerWritten answers
I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that an application for a change of status for the person concerned and his partner was received on 21st August, 2013. Applications are dealt with in chronological order and INIS expect to be in contact with the applicants in the near future.
I understand that the person concerned entered the State on 3/11/2007 and that his partner entered on 24/08/2008, however there is no record of their seeking or obtaining permission to remain in the State prior to this current application. The Deputy will be aware that no non-national may be in the State other than in accordance with the terms of any permission given to him or her by or on behalf of the Minister.
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.
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.
Residency Permits
Questions (144)
Bernard Durkan
Question:144. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the procedure to be followed to regularise residency status in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48737/13]
View answerWritten answers
I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person named by the Deputy does not appear to have any permission to be in the State. If this is the case, she is in breach of Section 5(1) of the Immigration Act 2004 which provides that no non-national may be in the State other than in accordance with the terms of any permission given to them by or on behalf of the Minister. Furthermore, Section 5(2) of the Act provides that a non-national who is in the State in contravention of subsection (1) is for all purposes unlawfully present in the State.
The person concerned should immediately contact the Registration Officer, An Garda Síochána regarding their immigration status. In the Dublin area this is the Garda National Immigration Bureau and outside that area it is the office of the Superintendent in charge in the Garda district in which the person is residing.
The Deputy may wish to note that queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been established specifically 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.
Deportation Orders Issues
Questions (145)
Bernard Durkan
Question:145. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if it is intended to proceed with a deportation order in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48738/13]
View answerWritten answers
I refer the Deputy to my detailed reply to his earlier Parliamentary Question, PQ No. 285 of Tuesday, 15th October, 2013 - copy of which follows. The position in the State of the person concerned is unchanged since then.
The person concerned is a failed asylum applicant. Arising from the refusal of his asylum application, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned was notified, by letter dated 26th May, 2010, that the then Minister proposed to make a Deportation Order in respect of him. He 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 then Minister setting out the reasons why a Deportation Order should not be made against him. In addition, he was notified of his entitlement to apply for subsidiary protection in accordance with the provisions of the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006.
The person concerned initiated judicial review proceedings in the High Court, challenging the decision of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal in his case. His judicial review leave application was refused by the High Court on 13th May, 2013 meaning that the earlier decisions of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal and the then Minister stood.
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 fully considered before a final decision is made. Once a final decision has been made, this decision, and the consequences of the decision, will be conveyed in writing to the person concerned.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department 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.