Written Answers Nos. 127-131
127. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the response he has received from the Garda Síochána regarding whether the telephone of the Taoiseach was bugged by the United States National Security Agency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47683/13]
View answerThe House will appreciate that it is not the practice to comment on matters of national or personal security. But I can say that there is no evidence available to indicate that the phone of the Taoiseach was subject to the types of activities referred to by the Deputy.
The Irish Government’s concerns in relation to surveillance issues have been conveyed bilaterally in contacts with the US Embassy in Dublin and it has been made clear to the US Embassy that any such surveillance here would be unacceptable.
In a response to a previous Parliamentary Question on this matter my colleague the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade indicated that following allegations of US surveillance of European Union institutions earlier this year, the EU has engaged regularly with the US authorities in both Washington and Brussels to seek clarification on the issues raised. An EU-US High Level Expert Group on data protection has been established, where this and related matters are discussed. The EU is represented on this working group by the European Commission, the Presidency of the Council and the European External Action Service (EEAS), and the work of the group is ongoing. A number of meetings have already taken place in Brussels and in Washington. Following this work, the Commission and the Presidency are expected to issue a public, factual report.
128. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will arrange to have an application for a visa reviewed as a matter of urgency in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53301/13]
View answerThe visa application referred to by the Deputy was made by a person who wished to join their spouse in Ireland on a permanent basis. It was received in the Visa Office, Dublin on 27 June, 2013. Following full consideration, the Visa Officer decided to refuse the grant of the visa on 18 October, 2013. The decision to refuse was appealed on 24 October, 2013 and was upheld by an Appeals Officer on 14 November, 2013 and a letter providing the reasons for this was issued to the applicant.
The Visa Appeals Officer did not consider that the person concerned provided sufficient evidence of their relationship history with their spouse in Ireland. Such evidence is key to establishing to the satisfaction of the Appeals Officer the bona fides of the relationship. Furthermore, the Visa Appeals Officer deemed the evidence provided to demonstrate adequate levels of available finances to be insufficient. This increases the likelihood that the granting of a visa in this case could result in a cost to State funds or resources.
It is open to the person concerned to make a new application should she so wish. Where doing so, the applicant should be in a position to address the reasons for the refusal. Guidelines regarding the visa application procedure are available on the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service - www.inis.gov.ie.
Queries in relation to general immigration matters may be made directly to 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 INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
129. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the procedure in place for a Magdalen laundry restorative justice applicant who does not respond within the two months of being offered a lump sum payment as calculated by length of stay by the restorative justice implementation unit; if the applicant disagrees with the length of stay as calculated by the restorative justice implementation unit due to inadequate record keeping by a particular Magdalen laundry, the options that are available to that applicant if this correction process takes longer than two months in the case of the applicant needing more than two months to address the inaccuracy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53308/13]
View answerIf an applicant receives a provisional letter of offer from my Department she should respond to the Restorative Justice Implementation Team within 2 months advising if she agrees or disagrees with the provisional assessment made by my officials on whether she falls within the scope of the Scheme and her duration of stay in a relevant institution. If she disagrees with the provisional assessment she should state her reasons and the case will then be reviewed.
Every case will be dealt with on its own merit. If an applicant has any queries in relation to the letters issued or the Scheme in general she should contact the Restorative Justice Implementation Team who will address any concerns she may have in a helpful and sensitive manner.
If an applicant does not respond at all during the period in question and makes no contact with the Restorative Justice Implementation Team, the presumption will be that she has decided not to accept the offer and not to participate in the ex gratia scheme.
130. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will indicate the number of coroners approved by his Department who practise in County Mayo; the number of inquests held and completed by each coroner for each of the past five years; the total remuneration paid to each of these for each of the past five years; and if he will compare the number of inquests in County Mayo with the corresponding inquests in each county for each of the past five years. [53340/13]
View answerCounty Mayo is divided into three coronial districts, Mayo East, Mayo North and Mayo South, and there is one coroner serving each of these districts. Details of the number of inquests held in Mayo for the past five years are set out in the following table, in addition to comparable figures for Dublin and Cork City. Further data is available on the website of the Coroner Service (www.coroners.ie).
|
YEAR |
DUBLIN |
CORK CITY |
MAYO |
|
2008 |
792 |
239 |
71 |
|
2009 |
960 |
235 |
86 |
|
2010 |
769 |
221 |
104 |
|
2011 |
950 |
215 |
92 |
|
2012 |
606 |
223 |
88 |
The remuneration paid by Mayo County Council to the coroners concerned over the past five years is outlined in the following table. These amounts incorporate annual retainers paid to cover the costs of staffing, accommodation and general office expenses - approximately €21,000 in the case of Mayo South and approximately €12,000 in the case of the other two districts.
|
Year |
Mayo East |
Mayo North |
Mayo South |
|
2008 |
€19,437.97 |
€28,976.30 |
€96,279.62 |
|
2009 |
€18,223.90 |
€25,494.55 |
€96,670.10 |
|
2010 |
€22,984.06 |
€23,215.25 |
€110,167.40 |
|
2011 |
€21,889.49 |
€30,234.03 |
€94,581.54 |
|
2012 |
€22,665.08 |
€32,440.32 |
€97,877.36 |
131. Deputy Anthony Lawlor asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of EU directives related to his Department that have yet to be transposed into Irish law despite the deadline date having passed; when it is proposed that these directives will be transposed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53356/13]
View answerMy Department is responsible for one EU Directive that is overdue for transposition. This is Directive 2010/64/EU on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings, for which the transposition due date was 27 October 2013. Regulations to give formal effect to the Directive are being finalised and I expect to be in a position to bring these into force shortly.
