Written Answers Nos. 452-468
452. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if members of the Garda Reserve gain any credits from their work in the Garda Reserve when making a full application to join An Garda Síochána; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54282/13]
View answerRecruitment to An Garda Síochána is governed by the Garda Síochána (Admissions and Appointments) Regulations 2013. These regulations provide that in a competition for full-time membership of An Garda Síochána, the Public Appointments Service shall give due recognition to any satisfactory service by the candidate as a Reserve member of the Garda Síochána.
454. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans regarding the future district sittings of Mullingar courts while renovations works are been carried out; if his intentions are to temporarily relocate sittings to Longford; the expense this will incur; if he considered utilising some of the ten vacant buildings in Columb Barracks, Mullingar, to avoid moving the court out of the town, albeit on a temporary basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54358/13]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts, including the provision of accommodation for court sittings, is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in exercising its functions.
However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had inquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that they are at an advanced stage in planning the refurbishment and extension of the courthouse in Mullingar as part of the Government's infrastructure stimulus package. This will be delivered by way of Public Private Partnership along with six other courthouse projects. The procurement process will be commencing early in 2014. Construction is expected to commence during 2015 with the project being completed and the courthouse becoming operational during 2016 or early in 2017. I am informed that temporary courtroom and office accommodation will be required for the construction period as the courthouse will have to be vacated. The Courts Service is currently looking at options for temporary accommodation and has indicated that, at this stage, it is not possible to say what arrangements will be in place for district court sittings until all options have been fully examined.
456. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the total number of gardaí by area, in the following areas of operation, Wicklow, Wexford, Kildare, Carlow-Kilkenny, Donegal and Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54423/13]
View answerAs the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts, the various Garda national units and of course Garda Headquarters. Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of these resources.
I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that the personnel strength of the Wicklow, Wexford, Kildare, Carlow / Kilkenny, Donegal and Kerry Divisions on 31st October 2013 of Gardaí, Reserve Gardaí and civilian staff are set out in the table hereunder.
31 October 2013
|
Division |
Total Garda Strength |
Reserves |
Civilians |
|
Wicklow |
329 |
39 |
21 |
|
Wexford |
254 |
30 |
27 |
|
Kildare |
317 |
34 |
28 |
|
Carlow / Kilkenny |
291 |
39 |
25 |
|
Donegal |
412 |
29 |
29 |
|
Kerry |
298 |
35 |
32 |
457. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the type, quantity and street value of illegal drugs seized by gardaí in County Wicklow, by area, in 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54424/13]
View answerI have requested a report from the Garda authorities in relation to the information sought by the Deputy. I will contact the Deputy again when the report is to hand.
458. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the options open to an owner's management company to ensure that common areas are transferred from the developer to the owner's management company in circumstances where the developers company has been struck off and the directors are not contactable. [54427/13]
View answerThe primary purpose of the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 is to reform the law relating to the ownership and management of common areas of multi-unit developments and to facilitate the fair, efficient and effective management of owners' management companies (OMCs) which are the bodies established for the management of such areas.
Section 5 of the Act contains provisions which deal with completed or substantially completed multi-unit developments in which the common areas have not been transferred to the OMCs. They oblige the developer to transfer ownership of the relevant parts of the common areas to the relevant OMC within 6 months of the coming into operation of the section, i.e. before 1 October 2011. Subsection (2) defines "substantially completed" as developments in which sales of not less than 80% of the residential units have been closed.
Section 24 deals with the resolution of disputes and it provides that a person may apply to court for an order to enforce any rights conferred or obligation imposed by the Act. The court, if satisfied that a right has been infringed or an obligation has not been discharged, may make such remedial order as it deems appropriate in the circumstances with a view to ensuring the effective enforcement of the right or the effective discharge of the obligation in respect of the development concerned.
I should add that issues regarding the liabilities and responsibilities of companies which have been struck off are governed by company law and not under the Multi-Unit Developments Act, 2011. Further information on this matter may be obtained from the Companies Registration Office.
459. Deputy Ciara Conway asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the progress that has been made on establishing a charities regulator; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54431/13]
View answerThe Charities Act 2009 provides for an integrated system of mandatory registration and proportionate regulation and supervision of the charities sector in Ireland. The various sections of the Charities Act are subject to implementation through commencement orders. Sections that it was possible to commence in advance of the establishment of the Charities Regulatory Authority, as provided for under the Act, have been commenced. The remainder will be commenced following the establishment of the Authority.
The Deputy will appreciate that the full implementation of the Charities Act, including the establishment of the Authority and Register of Charities, has resource implications that had to be examined in the context of the urgent need to reduce government expenditure. I delayed bringing this legislation into force in order to consider how best to achieve the objectives of the Act in this context. It remains an objective of the Government to strengthen the regulation of the charitable sector in effective and proportionate ways. To advance this, a public and stakeholder consultation on the implementation of the Charities Act 2009, and the establishment of a Register of Charities, was carried out by my Department earlier this year and published in July. At that time the Government also approved my plans to proceed with the establishment of an independent Charities Regulatory Authority under the terms of the 2009 Charities Act. It is envisaged that the new Authority will come into operation in 2014.
460. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the total amount spent on external IT consultants by his Department in 2010, 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; the estimated spending in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54444/13]
View answerMy Department's IT Division provides a centralised IT Shared Service to approximately 2,250 users in 26 offices and agencies. Expenditure by the IT Shared Service on IT external consultants for the years in question was as follows:
|
Date |
Expenditure |
|
2010 |
€0 |
|
2011 |
€0 |
|
2012 |
€25,601 |
|
2013 |
€39,049 |
Estimated expenditure on IT external consultants in 2014 from the IT Shared Service is €30,000.
461. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the cost of legal action against his Department for the the years 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54460/13]
View answerI wish to inform the Deputy that our records have not identified any costs incurred during the period concerned in relation to legal actions against my Department. However, with regard to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) I wish to advise that INIS cannot differentiate between legal actions taken against the Department and/or the Minister without examining every case file. To conduct such an examination would require the expenditure of a disproportionate and inordinate amount of staff time and effort in order to compile the information sought which could not be justified in current circumstances where there are other significant demands on resources.
462. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his Department has renegotiated external IT consultancy contracts and costs since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54476/13]
View answerMy Department's IT Shared Service has not renegotiated any external IT consultancy contracts and costs since March 2011.
463. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Defence the future plans for the old FCA barracks facility in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53733/13]
View answerThe former FCA premises in Loughrea, Co Galway was vacated in March of this year and has been identified as being surplus to military requirements. In accordance with normal procedure for the disposal of State property, my Department invited other Government Departments and Public Bodies to register any interest in this property. As no interest has been expressed, it will be disposed of by public tender or public auction. Preparations are being completed for the disposal of the property in early 2014.
464. Deputy Gerald Nash asked the Minister for Defence the organisation that purchased a site (details supplied) in the ownership of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53773/13]
View answerAgreement has been reached for the sale by private treaty of the property in question to a local community group in Drogheda. As the contract for sale has not yet been signed the Deputy will appreciate that it would not at this stage be appropriate to confirm who the purchaser is. It is expected that the contract will be signed in early 2014.
465. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Defence if he will outline what offices relevant to his Department are located or have been decentralised outside of Dublin; if he will provide the total number of staff in his Department and the number of staff based outside County Dublin as of 2013; the annual cost incurred in 2012 and 2013, respectively, for decentralised staff travelling to meetings in Dublin; the number of times staff travelled to individual meetings in Dublin in each of those years; the costs those staff will be reimbursed; if his Department has procedures or mechanisms in place such as video-conferencing to reduce the cost of travelling for each unit based outside Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53991/13]
View answerMy Department has decentralised offices in Newbridge, Galway and Roscrea. The total number of staff in my Department is 344, with 334 of these based outside Dublin.
The annual cost in relation to home travel and subsistence payments for staff of my Department is outlined in the table below:
|
Year |
Amount € |
|
2012 |
€152,895 |
|
1 January – 30 November 2013 |
€151,795 |
Information on travel to meetings in Dublin is not collated in such a way as to allow for the specific information requested by the Deputy to be extracted from the records.
Every effort is made to minimise travel and subsistence expenditure by managing the location and frequency of meetings and by the use of video conference technology. I am satisfied that all travel & subsistence expenses are paid in line with Department of Public Expenditure & Reform guidelines.
466. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Defence the total amount spent on external IT consultants by his Department in 2010, 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; the estimated spending in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54437/13]
View answer468. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Defence if his Department has re-negotiated external IT consultancy contracts and costs since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54469/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 466 and 468 together.
The information requested by the Deputy in relation to the total amount of expenditure on external IT consultants by my Department, for 2010, 2011, 2012, to date in 2013 and estimated expenditure in 2014 is set out in the table below.
My Department is always mindful of the costs involved in engaging consultants. External consultants are engaged only when there is a clear need for specialised expertise and following a rigorous examination of skills and resources available in-house. The objective of using outside consultants is to ensure that my Department achieves value for money by implementing recommendations for improvements in order to maximise efficiency and effectiveness.
My Department adheres to the standards set out in the Public Procurement rules & guidelines in awarding contracts. My Department has not re-negotiated any external IT consultancy contracts or costs since March 2011. Multi-annual contracts are regularly reviewed to ensure best value for money and are extended, within the terms of the contract awarded, provided that the quality of service required by my Department is being met.
|
Year |
Amount |
|
2010 |
€82,770 |
|
2011 |
€22,009 |
|
2012 |
€201,224 |
|
To-Date in 2013 |
€65,073 |
|
Estimate for 2014 |
€196,000 |
+
467. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Defence the cost of legal action against his Department for the the years 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54453/13]
View answerLegal action taken against my Department is mainly in the form of judicial review, civil bills, plenary summonses and personal injury proceedings.
The Chief State Solicitor's Office is responsible for the costs of the State's legal teams in cases that it manages on behalf of the Department. External legal costs incurred by the State Claims Agency arising from the defence of any claims managed by the Agency for the Department are refunded to the Agency by the Department. In addition, the Department may pay plaintiffs' legal costs as part of awards and settlements.
The total amount of legal costs incurred by my Department in the period 2011 to 2013 is set out below:
|
YEAR |
Legal Costs |
|
2011 |
€2,229,197.80 |
|
2012 |
€1,440,243.60 |
|
2013 (to 16/12/13) |
€1,492,539.71 |
In cases where the State is considered liable or which involve an apportionment of liability as between the State and the claimant, I am informed that both the Chief State Solicitor’s Office and the State Claims Agency’s approach is to settle such cases expeditiously in so far as it is possible to do so on reasonable terms. In cases where liability is fully disputed by the State, all necessary resources are applied to defending such claims robustly.
I should also point out that many of the factors that determine the amount or timing of legal costs that fall for payment lie outside of the control of the Department. These include the timing of court hearings, the progress of cases, and the number, value and timing of awards and settlements.
