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Tuesday, 10 Dec 2013

Written Answers Nos. 385-400

Crime Levels

Questions (385)

Dominic Hannigan

Question:

385. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to an increase in reported crime in an area (details supplied); if his attention has been drawn to the action the Garda intends to take to reduce it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53059/13]

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Written answers

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the area referred to is in the Ashbourne Garda District. I am further informed that Garda data show a reduction in most categories of criminal offence in the District, in line with the national trend, including a reduction in Burglary and Related Offences. The area in question is regularly patrolled by uniform and plain clothes crime prevention patrols, which are augmented by the Detective Unit, Community Policing Unit together with the Divisional Traffic Unit and the Regional Support Unit as required.

Local Garda Management closely monitors such patrols, and other operational strategies in place, in conjunction with crime trends and policing needs of the community to ensure optimum use is made of Garda resources, and the best possible Garda service is provided to the public. An Garda Síochána also places great emphasis on the importance of the partnership between An Garda Síochána and the community in preventing and detecting crime, and maintaining a safe environment for everyone. In this regard, community support and engagement is facilitated in the area in question through interaction by Gardaí with Community Alert and Neighbourhood Watch Schemes in particular.

Garda Management is satisfied that a full and comprehensive policing service is being delivered to the community in the area concerned and the situation will be kept under review with paramount consideration given to the needs of residents.

Crime Data

Questions (386, 390)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

386. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of occasions in each of the past four years to date on which bail was granted in situations where An Garda Síochána objected to same on the grounds that those involved would offend or had previously been on bail in respect of a crime when committing an offence; the number of occasions where bail was refused; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53076/13]

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Bernard Durkan

Question:

390. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of crimes committed by persons on bail in the past 12 months to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53080/13]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 386 and 390 together.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the information requested by the Deputy regarding the number of occasions on which bail was granted in situations where An Garda Síochána objected to the granting of bail is not readily available and would require a disproportionate expenditure of Garda time and resources to compile.

Regarding the number of crimes committed by persons on bail, the Garda Síochána Act 2005 makes provision for the compilation and publication of crime statistics by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, and the CSO has established a dedicated unit for this purpose.

I have requested the CSO to provide statistics directly to the Deputy.

Garda Recruitment

Questions (387)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

387. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when Garda recruitment will be resumed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53077/13]

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Written answers

Plans are being finalised for the opening of the recruitment competition very shortly. Those persons who have expressed an interest in joining the Garda Síochána will be notified accordingly by the Public Appointments Service.

Courts Staff

Questions (388)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

388. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which adequate numbers of judges are available at the District Court, Circuit Court or the higher courts to ensure the minimisation of any delays in the processing of cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53078/13]

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Written answers

As the Deputy will be aware, the Courts Service is responsible for the management and administration of the Courts. The scheduling of court cases and the allocation of court business is a matter for the Presidents of the courts and the presiding judge who are under the Constitution independent in the exercise of their judicial functions. The Presidents monitor waiting times across all court lists and seek to ensure the optimum use of court time. The Courts Service has informed me that the primary objective for the Service is to maintain the delivery of front line court sittings and services. The Courts Service continuously works to support the judiciary and assist in ensuring that cases are dealt with as effectively and as speedily as possible. Available resources and operational and organisational structures are under ongoing review to ensure that resources are targeted and focused on keeping waiting times in the provision of services to a minimum.

The Deputy may also be aware that, following the appointment of two additional Supreme Court Judges on 17 October, the Supreme Court has begun to sit in two panels to address the backlog that has accumulated in the Supreme Court over the past number of years and the proposed establishment of a Court of Appeal will provide long-needed reform of our courts system.

There are currently three judicial vacancies in the High Court, one in the Circuit Court and one in the District Court. The Government recently nominated a Circuit Court judge who is due to be appointed shortly and the other vacancies will be filled as soon as possible.

Prison Accommodation Provision

Questions (389)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

389. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which adequate and sufficient prison spaces are available to meet requirements at the present time; the extent to which more than one prisoner is accommodated in a cell; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53079/13]

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Written answers

I wish to inform the Deputy that at the end of October 2013, there were 3093 usable cells in the prison system. 1,799 prisoners were accommodated in single cells which accounted for 44% of all prisoners (4,086). In addition, there were 878 cells which accommodated 2 prisoners, 133 cells which accommodated 3 prisoners and 30 cells which accommodated 4 or more prisoners. As the Deputy will appreciate the Irish Prison Service must accept all prisoners committed by the Courts into its custody and does not have the option of refusing committals.

The Deputy will appreciate that my officials are concentrating on aligning our prisoner population numbers with the Inspector of Prisons' recommendations in those prisons with the highest levels of over-crowding, namely Cork Prison, Limerick Prison and the Dóchas Centre.

In addition, a 40 month capital programme is being implemented to eliminate slopping out and to improve prison conditions in the older part of the prison estate. I am advised by my officials that work is continuing on the modernisation project at Mountjoy prison. Refurbishment of the Mountjoy B and C wings was completed in 2012. A wing commenced in early January 2013 and is substantially completed and will be ready for occupancy early in the new year. D Wing is on track to have a contract awarded by end 2013 for the refurbishment and modernisation of the D wing and workshops. On completion of the refurbishment of D wing all cells in Mountjoy prison will have in-cell sanitation facilities.

In relation to Cork Prison, the tender process is now complete and a preferred tenderer has been identified. The contract is due to be signed at the end of this month and construction is due to begin in January 2014. The Business Case for the Limerick Prison project was submitted to the Department of Public Expenditure Reform in June of this year and approval has been received to advance the project to detail design stage. A number of enabling project works have commenced and the main tender documents are due to issue in early to mid 2014. When the Limerick project is completed there will be additional spaces available to the female prisoner population there also.

Question No. 390 answered with Question No. 386.

Organised Crime

Questions (391)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

391. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which he is satisfied regarding the availability of adequate resources to An Garda Síochána to deal with the threat of gangland criminal activity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53081/13]

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Written answers

The Garda strength at the end of October 2013, the latest date for which figures are readily available, was 13,137 members of the full time force, over 1,000 Garda Reserve members and over 2,000 civilian staff.

The Deputy will also be aware that addressing gangland criminality activity remains a key ongoing priority for both the Government and for An Garda Síochána and this is clearly reflected in the Garda Policing Plan for 2013 and in the Programme for Government. In this respect, An Garda Síochána continues to undertake 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.

Furthermore, members of An Garda Síochána continue to utilise all available legislation, including the additional legislative provisions introduced by the Oireachtas in 2009 which amended the Criminal Justice Act 2006 relating to organised crime.

Recent crime statistics show that An Garda Síochána continue to be successful in this work and I commend them on their achievements. I will continue to support An Gardaí Síochána in every way I can, including through maintaining Garda strength at a time of resource constraint and the enhancement of the legislative and operational resources available to the force, for example, through the establishment of the new DNA database.

Garda Investigations

Questions (392)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

392. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which conclusions continue to be reached in respect of the various cold cases which have been identified over several years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53082/13]

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Written answers

I am informed by the Garda authorities that local District Officers take direct responsibility for the investigation of all crime within their respective Districts. Local investigation teams are appointed by the District Officer and all means necessary, including the services of specialist units, are deployed to assist in these investigation.

The Garda Serious Crime Review Team was established in 2007 to assist Senior Investigating Officers in the investigation of serious crime by identifying new and potential investigative opportunities and operational practices based on lessons learned and identification of good practice for dissemination back into the investigative and operational units. I am informed that reviews carried out by the Unit should not be regarded as a re-investigation of any incident, but as an integral element of the investigation, designed to assist and support the Senior Investigating Officer.

The Serious Crime Review Team continues to review serious cases that remain unsolved and continues to unearth evidence and witnesses to assist in the development of these cases.

State Pathologists

Questions (393)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

393. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which resources are available to the State Pathologist's office to ensure the earliest possible conclusion of examination of the victim takes place in the shortest possible time, thereby facilitating early detection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53083/13]

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Written answers

As the Deputy may be aware, Dr Khalid Jaber has recently tendered his resignation from the post of Deputy State Pathologist. Dr Jaber's resignation has been accepted and he has been notified accordingly.

Following the resignation of Dr Jaber the primary service operated by the State Pathology Office is being provided by the State Pathologist, Professor Marie Cassidy and the Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Michael Curtis. This service is supplemented, as required, by Dr Margot Bolster, Assistant State Pathologist.

It is of course a matter for the State Pathologist to determine how her Office operates and in that regard I understand she is in the process of putting the necessary operational arrangements in place to take account of the resignation of Dr Jaber. In particular, I have been informed by the State Pathologist that she has arranged for Dr Bolster to assume on-call call duties which would previously have fallen to be undertaken by Dr Jaber.

In this context it is my view that a professional and comprehensive pathology service will continue to be delivered by the Office of the State Pathologist and in that regard I have full confidence in the State Pathologist Professor Cassidy and her staff.

Finally, I can assure the Deputy, and the members of this House, that the question of finding a replacement for Dr Jaber is being pursued very actively by my Department. In this connection the filling of the vacancy has been approved by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

Garda Equipment

Questions (394, 396)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

394. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which the technology available to the Garda remains up to date and in keeping with requirements to assist its efforts in the prevention and detection of crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53084/13]

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Bernard Durkan

Question:

396. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which the technical equipment available to An Garda Síochána is on a par with best practice in other jurisdictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53086/13]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 394 and 396 together.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda authorities are continually looking 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 tackle crime and to meet the additional needs of an effective police force.

In particular, 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. In addition I might mention that a dedicated Garda data entry service is operating very successfully in Castlebar and it has freed up substantial resources for operational duties.

Legal Aid Applications

Questions (395)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

395. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which free legal aid is available to those who have committed a further crime while on bail; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53085/13]

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Written answers

Under the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 the courts, through the judiciary, are responsible for the granting of legal aid. Applicants for legal aid must establish to the satisfaction of the court that their means are insufficient to enable them to pay for legal aid themselves. The Act specifies that the court must also be satisfied that, by reason of the "gravity of the charge" or "exceptional circumstances", it is essential in the interests of justice that the applicant should have legal aid. An applicant's previous convictions are not a criterion for access to legal aid under the Act.

The Deputy will appreciate that an accused person who faces serious charges is entitled to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence and if they cannot afford to pay for legal representation there is a right to legal aid. Under the Constitution, the State is obliged to provide an accused person with the means to obtain appropriate legal representation. Moreover, the European Convention on Human Rights provides that every person charged with a criminal offence is entitled to defend him/herself in person or through legal assistance of his/her own choosing or, if he/she has insufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests of justice so require. The Deputy will also appreciate that the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme must operate with due regard to these rights and that any unreasonable block on legal aid could give a convicted defendant an avenue for appeal or prohibition of the prosecution. The overriding concern is to ensure that no risk arises in relation to the prosecution of persons charged with criminal offences before the courts.

Question No. 396 answered with Question No. 394.

Prison Security

Questions (397)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

397. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the total number of prisoners deemed to have absconded or left prison by whatever means without permission in the past ten years, the number recaptured, the number who remain at large; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53087/13]

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Written answers

I can inform the Deputy that on 6 December 2013, the figures on a year by year basis were as follows:

Year

No. absconders

No. returned

No. of those who remain at large

2004

66

64

2

2005

81

77

4

2006

90

87

3

2007

136

130

6

2008

122

115

7

2009

133

117

16

2010

112

103

9

2011

86

85

1

2012

61

54

7

2013

15

12

3

I wish to advise the Deputy that it is not possible to establish the means of return without individually examining the records of each prisoner in each of the years involved as this would involve an inordinate drain on the resources of the Irish Prison Service at a particularly busy time. Prisoners usually return voluntarily, are re-arrested by An Garda Síochána or are re-committed by the Courts. The Gardaí are informed when prisoners abscond and have the power to detain, arrest, and return such persons to prison. Experience has shown that the vast majority of offenders who abscond return or are returned to custody to complete their sentences within a short time frame.

I wish finally to advise the Deputy that in October 2012, the Director General of the Irish Prison Service established a project team, chaired by himself, to examine means of tackling the issue of Unlawfully at Large prisoners. The work undertaken by the project team along with the close co-operation of the Gardaí and the Department of Social Protection has recently led to the recapture of 4 prisoners, one of whom had absconded in 2002. This project is ongoing.

Organised Crime

Questions (398)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

398. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which the strength of criminal gangs is being weakened; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53088/13]

View answer

Written answers

The 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. It must also be borne in mind that modern organised criminal groupings are transnational in nature and engage in a wide range of disparate criminal activities. It can, therefore, be difficult to identify definitive numbers of groupings and members involved in such illegal and covert activity at any particular point in time.

However, I can assure the Deputy that the operation of organised crime groups is closely monitored on an ongoing basis by An Garda Síochána and that tackling these groups remains a key ongoing priority for both the Government and An Garda Síochána. This priority is clearly reflected in the Garda Policing Plan for 2013.

In this regard, An Garda Síochána continues to tackle organised crime through a range of targeted activities designed to disrupt and dismantle their operations. This involves targeting serious criminals and organised criminal groups through the use of focused intelligence led operations by specialist units such as the Organised Crime Unit, the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation, the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the work of the Criminal Assets Bureau. An Garda Síochána also maintains close liaison with other law enforcement agencies internationally in this area.

The activities of these units are highlighted in the annual reports of An Garda Síochána, e.g. in 2012, the Organised Crime Unit alone undertook 387 targeted operations against criminal groups. While the challenges and threat posed by such groups remains clear, An Garda Síochána continue to arrest and bring those involved in such criminality before the Courts where substantial sentences continue to be handed down for serious crime offences.

Our law enforcement operations are underpinned by a comprehensive framework of criminal law measures which are being fully utilised by the Gardaí. In this regard I should highlight the recent publication of legislation to provide for the establishment of a DNA database to assist the Garda Síochána in tackling crime. The intelligence generated from this database will be of particular value to the Gardaí, and will greatly assist in the investigation of a wide range of serious crimes perpetrated by criminal gangs.

The Deputy will also be aware that the most recent recorded crime statistics, which were released at the end of October show falling trends in the offence numbers for most categories of crime, including offences relating to homicide, kidnapping, weapons and explosives, and drugs related offences. These crime figures reflect well on the work of An Garda Síochána and demonstrate that those involved in criminal gangs are being vigorously opposed. In concluding, I can fully assure the Deputy that An Garda Síochána will continue to actively pursue all persons involved in criminal gang activity.

Garda Recruitment

Questions (399)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

399. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the total number of vacancies at all ranks waiting to be filled at present; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53089/13]

View answer

Written answers

At a national level, sanction has been given by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for a maximum strength in each rank, based on the objective of a total strength of 13,000, and these strengths for ranks above Garda rank are given in the table below, together with current actual strength (as of the end of October 2013). Where current actual strength is below the approved maximum strength, the Garda Commissioner is making the necessary arrangements to have the balance of posts filled through promotion competitions.

Rank

Actual strength

Approved max. strength

COMMISSIONER

1

1

D/COMMISSIONER

1

2

A/COMMISSIONER

8

9*

C/SUPERINTENDENT

44

45

SUPERINTENDENT

150

166

INSPECTOR

272

300

SERGEANT

1,868

2,000

* to be reduced to 8 on the appointment in 2014 of an Executive Director of HRM.

Missing Persons Data

Questions (400)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

400. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons reported as missing in each of the past three years to date; the number traced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53090/13]

View answer

Written answers

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the following table sets out the total number of missing person reports from 2011 to 5 December, 2013. The table also sets out the total number of persons reported missing during that period who remain untraced. It should be noted that the figures provided are provisional, operational and liable to change.

Year

No. of Missing Person Reports

No. of persons reported missing who remain untraced

2013 (to 5 December)

7,265

82

2012

8,815

28

2011

8,511

25

I am assured that all incidents where persons have been reported missing remain under investigation until such time as the person is located and that An Garda Síochána reviews missing persons cases on a regular basis. The District Officer (Superintendent) in the area where persons have gone missing takes direct responsibility for all investigations and searches carried out. Local investigation teams are appointed by the District Officer, and all means necessary, including the services of specialist units, are deployed to assist in these investigations, as considered appropriate.

Furthermore, the Garda Missing Persons Bureau, which is responsible for all data relating to missing persons, provides expert assistance and advice to District Officers in all high risk missing person cases. The Garda authorities are satisfied that adequate resources, including staff and technology, are in place to deal with this issue and investigations are carried out in line with international best practice.

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