Written Answers Nos. 191-199
191. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the residency status and eligibility for update in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52379/13]
View answerThe person concerned was granted temporary permission to remain in the State for three years, under stamp 4 conditions in 2008. This permission was renewed for a further three years in 2011, until 29 December, 2014. However the person concerned failed to register this permission to remain with the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) at this time.
I am informed that on 8 July, 2013, the person concerned sought to have her permission registered with her local Immigration Officer, GNIB. However, her request was refused due to the considerable time lapse between renewal of permission to remain and her attempt to register this permission. She was advised to write to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department regarding same.
Correspondence was received from the person concerned on 19 November, 2013. Currently, the case file of the person concerned is being reviewed by my officials in the INIS and she will be contacted shortly requesting clarification of her current family situation.
Queries in relation to general immigration matters 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.
192. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the current residency status and procedure to be followed to regularise their residency position in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52380/13]
View answerIrish Naturalisation and Immigration Service records indicate that the person concerned is a failed asylum applicant. She then proceeded to lodge an application for subsidiary protection. This application must next be considered.
In relation to the determination of applications for subsidiary protection, the Deputy may wish to note that I recently signed into law a Statutory Instrument to introduce new procedures for the determination of subsidiary protection applications by the Offices of the Refugee Applications Commissioner at first instance and, on appeal, by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.
When consideration of the subsidiary protection application has been completed, the person concerned will be notified in writing of the outcome. In the event that the application for subsidiary protection is refused, the position in the State of the person concerned will then 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. Any 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.
193. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when the appropriate authorisation will issue to facilitate travel to the UK to obtain passport documentation in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52381/13]
View answerThe person concerned is a sibling of an Irish born citizen child of non-EEA parents, born in the State prior to 1 January, 2005, whose mother was granted temporary permission to remain in the State on 24 January, 2006 under the revised arrangements for the non-EEA national parents of children born in Ireland prior to January, 2005, commonly known as the IBC/05 Scheme.
The person concerned was granted permission to remain in the State on 11 April, 2008, in line with the period of permission already granted to her mother. The permission of the person concerned was subsequently renewed and is due to expire on 31 January, 2014.
An Irish Temporary Travel Document issued to the person concerned by registered post on 29 November 2013 to facilitate her travel needs in order to procure a national passport. I wish to thank the Deputy for the documentation which has been supplied on behalf of the person concerned. Her case is currently being examined and a decision regarding renewal of permission to remain in the State will be conveyed to her in writing in the near future.
Queries in relation to general immigration matters may be made directly to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (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.
194. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which further examinations can be undertaken in the case of their wish to adopt a family relative in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52382/13]
View answerI am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that, if the placement of a non national child has been affirmed by The Adoption Authority of Ireland with a person or persons, then it may be possible for that person or persons to seek an Immigration Clearance Letter from the INIS.
An Immigration Clearance Letter is a process whereby prospective persons who wish to adopt a child from outside the State are issued with permission to bring the child into the State. The permission is required by Irish nationals or persons resident in Ireland who have been deemed suitable by the Adoption Authority of Ireland and who wish to adopt a non national child from outside the State. An Immigration Clearance Letter will only issue on verification of proof that all the criteria set by the Adoption Authority of Ireland have been fully met. This requires receipt by the Foreign Adoption Unit of the INIS of the original declaration of eligibility and suitability from the Adoption Authority of Ireland attesting to the prospective parents.
An application for an Immigration Clearance Letter can be made to the Foreign Adoption Unit, Immigration Services Section, INIS, 13/14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2. Contact details and documentation required are posted on the INIS website "www.inis.gov.ie" listed under Foreign Adoption.
I am advised by the INIS that no application for an Immigration Clearance Letter has been received in the Foreign Adoption Unit in respect of the person concerned.
The Deputy may wish to note that 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 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 the INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
195. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide information on resources allocated to the Property Services Regulatory Authority; the timeline in which a person should expect a complaint submitted to the PRSA to be adjudicated upon; if his attention has been drawn to any delays in addressing complaints; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52431/13]
View answerThe budget provision allocated to the Property Services Regulatory Authority in 2013 is €848,000.
In relation to staff, there are currently over ten full time equivalent posts assigned to the PSRA's Headquarters in Navan. In both 2012 and 2013, these resources were supplemented by seven temporary clerical officers working in the Navan offices for up to three months to deal with the now annual issuance and renewal of licences in the sectors regulated by the Authority. I understand my Department and the Authority will be looking to provide a similar seasonal increase to the PSRA's resources in 2014.
My Department, the Authority and the Property Registration Authority of Ireland (PRAI) agreed in 2012, to allow for the operation of the first year of registration and licencing, that resources of the PRAI based in Roscommon were made available to the PSRA on a loan basis so that the once-off surge in activity associated with this phase of the PSRA's activities could be managed effectively within the constraints on public service numbers.
My Department is in receipt of a detailed business case from the PSRA setting out its long term resource requirements and I understand my Department has indicated its commitment to providing the appropriate and necessary resources either directly or on a contracted basis having regard, in particular, to pressures on public service staff numbers and competing demands. I am advised that in the current quarter, a Dublin based office has been established through the redeployment of staff from elsewhere in the Department and by year end this office will have over five full time equivalents. In addition to this, I am further advised that through redeployments and transfers from within the Department and Justice Group, it is expected that the Navan office will receive a further three staff members. Therefore, including the assignments proposed, the PSRA staff allocation is expected to grow from just over ten full-time equivalents earlier this year to almost nineteen full time equivalents by early next year.
A key role of the Authority is to set and enforce standards in the provision of property services by auctioneers, letting agents and property management agents and to provide redress mechanisms for consumers of those services. Under the Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011, the Authority is empowered to investigate complaints made against property service providers and to initiate investigations for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the law. Any person may make a complaint, in writing, to the Authority against a property service provider in relation to the provision of a property service provider in the course of providing a property service.
Having regard to the staffing resources available, there has been for some time a backlog in the handling of complaints by the Authority and I am advised that to date the Authority has received of the order of 330 complaints. With the introduction of additional staff resources to the Authority during November, I understand that there has been a specific focus on addressing complaints. With further staff resources to be allocated to the Authority shortly, this should allow for further work in this regard. Notwithstanding this, the Authority has advised that it is not possible to indicate a specific timeframe for the investigation of any individual complaint, since the length of time it takes to investigate a complaint will be dependent on the specific circumstances of each case.
196. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Defence if his Department's annual report for 2012 has been published. [52269/13]
View answerThe Department of Defence and Defence Forces Annual Report 2012 was published earlier this year. The report is available on the Department of Defence website at www.defence.ie.
197. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a 2013 agri-environment option scheme payment will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52241/13]
View answerThe person named was approved for participation in the Agri-Environment Options Scheme with effect from the 1st December 2010 and full payments have issued in respect of the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Scheme years.
Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be completed before any payment can issue. The checking process in respect of the 2013 Scheme year has been successfully completed and 75% payment issued to the person named on the 27th November 2013. I expect that the balancing 25% payment in respect of 2013 will issue shortly.
198. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) in County Roscommon will receive their agri-environment option scheme payment; the reason for the delay in same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52246/13]
View answerThe person named was approved for participation in the 2011 Agri-Environment Options Scheme with effect from 1st September 2011 and full payment has issued in respect of 2011.
Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme, a comprehensive administrative check of all applications, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be completed before any payment can issue. The person named was selected for a ground inspection which took place on 13th November 2012. During this inspection, issues of non compliance with the Terms and Conditions of the Scheme were noted in relation to the Laying of Hedgerows action which resulted in a reduction and a penalty being imposed.
Payments in respect of the 2012 Scheme year are subject to a similar administrative checking process which includes verification of capital investment through checks on receipts. During these checks it was discovered that the person named failed to deliver the Establishment and Maintenance of Habitat action under the Terms and Conditions of the scheme and as a result of this a further penalty was imposed. Officials in my Department are processing the application of the person named on this basis and arrangements are being made to issue payment for the 2012 Scheme year as soon as possible.
Once the 2012 Scheme year payment has issued, the current year’s payment will be processed and paid, subject to the results of administrative checks.
199. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department's annual report for 2012 has been published. [52265/13]
View answerThis Department's 2012 Annual Report was submitted to Government in July 2013. Following translation, the English and Irish versions were posted on the Department's website and laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in September 2013.
