Written Answers Nos. 130 -136
130. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which it is likely to be possible to improve or upgrade Garda stations as necessary throughout the country in the current year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5712/14]
View answerThe programme of refurbishment of Garda stations is based on accommodation priorities which are established by An Garda Síochána. The programme is advanced in close co-operation with the Office of Public Works, which has responsibility for the provision and maintenance of Garda accommodation. Funding for such works is met from the Vote of the Office of Public Works. This programme will be pursued in the context of An Garda Síochána's identified accommodation requirements and in the light of available resources within the Vote for the Office of Public Works.
As the Deputy is aware, the provision of three new Garda Divisional Headquarters for Kevin Street in Dublin, Galway and Wexford was included in the special Government stimulus package announced in July 2012. It is intended that the projects in question will be delivered by means of a Public Private Partnership and work is being undertaken by the relevant agencies in the light of the Government announcement. As the arrangements to be put in place for Public Private Partnerships are complex, it is not possible at this stage to indicate when the specific elements of the projects will be completed. However, I can assure the Deputy that the matter is being treated as a priority.
131. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which the Garda recruitment programme is progressing in accordance with expectations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5713/14]
View answerI was very pleased to announce the commencement of a Garda recruitment campaign on 12 December 2013, the first such recruitment since 2009. The closing date for applications was 9 January 2014, and some 25,000 applications were received by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) through their website www.publicjobs.ie.
The competition itself involves a number of stages of assessment and evaluation including online questionnaires and assessments, on-site assessments, interviews, and physical and medical examinations. The first stages are being conducted by the PAS, with candidates who qualify through these being placed in order of merit for consideration by the Garda Commissioner for assessment through physical, medical and security checks. The initial phase has commenced in the timeframe as planned. It is intended that new Garda trainees, who have successfully completed all stages of the recruitment competition, will enter the Garda College in the middle of this year.
132. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the degree to which adequate resources remain available to the Criminal Assets Bureau; the extent to which that body can combat organised crime by way of confiscation of assets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5714/14]
View answerThe Criminal Assets Bureau has been at the forefront of fighting organised crime since its inception in 1996. The Bureau is being actively utilised to identify and target funds accumulated by those involved in criminal activity, in order to seize such assets and to deprive those involved of the profits of their criminal activity. Furthermore, 196 asset profilers trained by the Bureau are providing a criminal asset profiling service across the Garda Divisions in relation to persons or suspects operating within the area, with particular reference to those involved in drug dealing and serious criminal activity.
In accordance with section 21 of the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996, an annual report on the activities of the Criminal Assets Bureau is prepared and laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. This report sets out matters relating to resources allocated to the Bureau and sets out in detail the activities of the Criminal Assets Bureau during the period.
I can assure the Deputy that I am committed to ensuring that the necessary funding is made available to the Criminal Assets Bureau from within the available public finances and I am satisfied that an appropriate level of funding has been made available for the year 2014. For the Deputy's information, the resources provided to the Criminal Assets Bureau in terms of budget and staffing numbers in recent years are set out in the following table. Finally, I can assure the Deputy that the resources of the Bureau are, and will continue to be, kept under ongoing review by both the Criminal Assets Bureau and my Department.
Criminal Assets Bureau Budget and Staff Employed 2011 - 2013
|
Year |
Budget Outturn |
Staff employed |
|
2013 |
€6,940,000 |
71 |
|
2012 |
€6,410,000 |
70 |
|
2011 |
€6,673,000 |
70 |
133. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the degree to which An Garda Síochána continues to have access to adequate resources to combat organised crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5715/14]
View answerAs the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of all resources, including 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.
The Policing Plan of An Garda Síochána for 2014 sets out the continued commitment of An Garda Síochána to pro-actively target groups and individuals engaged in criminal activity. I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that multi-disciplinary approaches are utilised to ensure the activities of individuals and groups involved in criminal enterprise are effectively targeted. This includes the effective use of a number of legislative provisions including proceeds of crime legislation, money laundering legislation, the additional legislative provisions introduced by the Oireachtas in 2009 which amended the Criminal Justice Act, 2006, relating to organised crime and the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau.
An Garda Síochána will continue to develop and implement strategies available to dismantle and disrupt criminal networks, utilising advanced analytical and intelligence methods to facilitate targeted operations in order to enable early intervention and prevention of such crimes.
134. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of prisoners currently in receipt of educational or rehabilitative training in each of the prisons throughout the country; the number of such places occupied by first time offenders; the number held by repeat offenders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5716/14]
View answer
135. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of prisoners remaining untraced having absconded prior to the completion of their sentence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5717/14]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that since 1996 the number of prisoners recorded as having absconded or escaped from the custody of the Irish Prison Service, and who have not been returned to custody is 64. Of these 64, 60 prisoners have absconded from the Open Centres, two have escaped from a closed prison and two have escaped from the custody of prison officers outside the confines of a prison, and remain at large.
An Garda Síochána are informed when prisoners abscond and they have the power to detain, arrest, and return such persons to prison. Experience has shown that the vast majority of offenders who abscond return voluntarily or are returned to custody by An Garda Síochána to complete their sentences, usually within a short time frame.
I also wish to advise the Deputy that in October 2012, the Director General of the Irish Prison Service established a project team to examine how the Irish Prison Service might reduce the number of prisoners who are unlawfully at large from custody. The project team has worked closely with An Garda Síochána and the Department of Social Protection and its work has led to the re-committal of a number of prisoners who had absconded from custody. This project is ongoing.
136. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which backlogs in the court system are likely to be overtaken in the short and medium term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5718/14]
View answerAs 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 courts lists and seek to ensure the optimum use of court time. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and 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.
I am informed that waiting times in the Circuit and District Courts vary from venue to venue based on the number and complexity of cases. In the District Court there were in excess of 500 additional sitting days and in excess of 700 out of hours court sittings held in 2013. Scheduled sittings of the District Court continued during the months of August and September last year and the President continues to target judicial resources at the areas experiencing longest waiting. In the Circuit Court there were over 80 weeks additional sittings held in 2013. It should be noted that in 2011 there were 674 weeks of sittings in Circuit court venues outside Dublin. This increased to 767 weeks in 2012 and to at least 880 weeks in 2013 – an increase of over 30%.The additional weeks were provided across crime, family law and civil matters.The additional sittings have ensured that waiting times in the Circuit Court have been reduced. In addition, six specialist judges of the Circuit Court were appointed in July 2013 to deal with the new work arising as a result of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012.
I am informed that High Court waiting times also continue to improve. The President of the High Court keeps waiting times under continuous review and has introduced a number of initiatives including the reorganisation of sittings of the High Court outside Dublin and arranging for additional court sittings during court recesses. The delegation to court officials of administrative functions previously dealt with by High Court judges has also yielded significant savings in judicial time resulting in increased judicial availability for trial work. More than 10,000 matters have been dealt with in this way in 2013. These case management initiatives continue to be reviewed and expanded. During September 2013, the President of the High Court scheduled additional sittings with a view to maintaining and reducing waiting times or facilitating urgent hearings. There were 20 additional weeks sittings overall involving a total of 32 Judges and 1,016 orders were made.
In respect of the Court of Criminal Appeal, the Chief Justice, in consultation with the President of the High Court, convened 9 additional sittings during September and the first week of October 2013 to deal with sentence appeals/undue leniency applications. In the Supreme Court there were 3 weeks additional sittings at the end of the summer recess with judges sitting in two panels and following the appointment of two additional Supreme Court Judges in October 2013 the Supreme Court has continued to sit in two panels. While some immediate improvement is anticipated over the coming year, the backlog that has accumulated in the Supreme Court over the past number of years is such that it will take a longer period to reduce the waiting time for the hearing of appeals to a more appropriate level. While considerable efforts are being made to manage the waiting times, the issue of capacity in the Supreme Court can only be fully resolved through the introduction of the Court of Appeal, which is due to be established later this year.
