Wednesday, 5 Feb 2014

Written Answers Nos. 143-8

Civil Legal Aid

Questions (143)

Mattie McGrath

Question:

143. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will review his decision to implement statutory instrument SI 346 of 2013, Civil Legal Aid Regulations 2013, particularly his decision to increase the minimum financial contribution for legal advice and his increase in the minimum financial contribution for legal aid representation from €50 to €130; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5758/14]

Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

I wish to advise the Deputy that the Regulations recently introduced are intended, inter alia, to raise additional funding to be retained by the Board to better fund the provision of services to those in need of them and reduce waiting times for those services. At a time when the State is facing significant demands on its resources, an increase in contributions allows the Board to achieve its objectives without money being diverted from other programmes. The increased contributions should result in increased funding of up to €700,000 per annum being available to the Board once the increases have full impact.

There has been a very significant increase in demand for civil legal aid in the last number of years and while I have sought to protect the Board's budget, waiting times for the Board's non-prioritised services have increased due to a major increase in demand for services. I believe this additional resource for the Board will assist it in tackling those waiting times. Moreover, in approving the fee increase I decided to introduce a provision that abolished the contribution where a parent is seeking legal services from the Legal Aid Board to defend proceedings instituted by the Health Service Executive is relation to the welfare of the child. This reduction would not be possible in the absence of the fee increase.

I am conscious that the increase in the minimum contribution as a percentage is significant. However I believe the contributions payable still compare favourably with other jurisdictions, many of which require ongoing payments for certain legal aid matters. Provisions remain in place to allow the contribution to be waived in hardship cases. I know that the Board has in place a process for considering applications for waivers or reductions in the contribution and that it does so where not to do so would create undue hardship.

Finally, I also wish to advise the Deputy that I have no plans at present to review my decision to implement Statutory Instrument No. 346 of 2013.

Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Reports

Questions (144)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

144. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 92 of 10 December 2013, if the report referred to in the reply is now to hand. [5770/14]

Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

I have been advised by the Ombudsman Commission that the information requested by the Deputy is not readily available and the generation and collation of that information would place an inordinate burden on the organisation in terms of time and resources.

The information sought was in respect of complaints received by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission from family members of those killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions. The Ombudsman Commission point out that such a complaint could arise in various scenarios, for example where a member of the Garda Síochána was the driver, but also where the family were unhappy with a Garda investigation of an incident where the driver was not a member of the Garda Síochána.

In an attempt to assist the Deputy, the Ombudsman Commission would be happy to meet with the Deputy to discuss in more detail the information he is seeking and to ascertain what is feasible. If the Deputy would like to accept the offer from the Ombudsman Commission he may contact them directly or, should he prefer, I can ask my officials to set up a meeting at a convenient time.

Question No. 145 answered with Question No. 140.

Road Traffic Offences

Questions (146)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

146. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 704 of 11 June 2013, if the report referred to in the reply is now to hand. [5810/14]

Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

As I indicated in my previous response, I sought a report from the Garda authorities in relation to the Deputy's request to provide, in tabular form, the number of fixed penalty notices issued by members of An Garda Síochána to motorists in the years 2011, 2013 and to 11 June, 2013 in County Donegal including a breakdown of the various road traffic offences for which these notices were issued. I also sought a report from the Courts Service regarding the Deputy's request for the number of motorists convicted in court following the issue of a fixed penalty notice during this period in County Donegal, and a breakdown of these offences which did not result in a conviction in court; and the number of motorists who were not convicted in court but who instead made a donation to charity.

After examination of the detailed request, I am now informed by the Garda authorities that the total number of fixed charge notices, by road traffic offence type, issued in County Donegal for the years 2011, 2012 and up to 7 June 2013 is illustrated in Table 1.

Fixed charge notices are an alternative to prosecution and give the individual the opportunity to acknowledge the road traffic offence, pay the fixed charge, and where the offence is a penalty point offence, incur the appropriate penalty points. If the person does not pay the fixed charge, he or she will, in the normal course, be prosecuted for the alleged offence.

In that regard, Tables 2 - 6 set out information provided by the Courts Service in relation to road traffic offences committed in County Donegal during the period 2011, 2012 and 2013. In so far as road traffic offences committed in 2013 referred to in Tables 2 - 4 are concerned, the figures supplied refer to those instances which have resulted in a court outcome by end 2013. Where the defendant was summonsed to court more than once they appear only once in the information provided.

Table 1 : Total number of fixed charge notices issued in County Donegal in 2011, 2012 and up to 7 June, 2013

Road Traffic Offence Type	2011	2012	to 7 June, 2013
Speed - Intercept	634	330	125
Speed - Non-Intercept	6,346	5,230	646
Tax / Registration	1,514	1,177	468
Parking	752	260	48
General Bye Laws	607	302	146
General Road Offences	587	311	105
Dangerous Driving (s.51A RTA)	172	111	43
Insurance	117	49	23
Intoxicated driving a vehicle	8	55	15
P.S.V. Regulations	4	5	0
Construction / Use of Vehicles	0	1	0
Lighting Regulations	0	0	7
Total	10,741	7,831	1,626

Note: 'General Road Offences' category refers mainly to mobile phone offences and 'General Bye Laws' refers to a range of offences including seatbelt, traffic signs, red light and failure to yield offences.

I am informed by the Courts Service that the number of people convicted in court in County Donegal following the issue of a fixed penalty notice in respect of a road traffic offence, that did not require a mandatory court appearance, committed in the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 is set out in Table 2.

Table 2: The number of people convicted in court in County Donegal on foot of a fixed charge penalty notice in 2011, 2012 and 2013

Road Traffic Offence Date	No. of Defendants
Jan - Dec 2011	211
Jan - Dec 2012	165
Jan - Dec 2013	51

I am further informed by the Courts Service that the number of people who were not convicted in court in County Donegal in respect of road traffic offences committed in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and who made a donation to charity is set out in Table 3.

Table 3: The number of motorists not convicted in court in County Donegal who made a donation to Charity in 2011, 2012 and 2013

Road Traffic Offence Date	No. of Defendants
Jan - Dec 2011	75
Jan - Dec 2012	105
Jan - Dec 2013	14

I am further advised that Table 4 provides a detailed breakdown of the road traffic offences which did not result in a conviction in court in County Donegal in respect of road traffic offences committed in 2013.

Table 4 : Breakdown of road traffic offences which did not result in a conviction in court in County Donegal in respect of offences committed in 2013

Road Traffic Offence	Dismiss	Dismiss on Probation	Strike Out	Poor Box	Strike Out not Served	Taken Into Consideration	Total
Adult Occupant Failing to Wear Safety Belt (Driver of Category M1 Vehicle)	1	2	1	1	10		15
Adult Occupant Failing to Wear Safety Belt (Driver of Category N1 Vehicle)					4	1	5
Adult Occupant Failing to Wear Safety Belt (Driver of Category N2 Vehicle)		1					1
Crossing continuous white line - (Single)		1	1		1		3
Driver failing to Restrain Child of 3 years or more in a Child Restraint					2		2
Driver failing to Restrain Child under 3 years in a Child Restraint					2		2
Driving across/along a median strip					1		1
Driving past a red traffic light			2		1		3
Driving without reasonable consideration			2		5		7

Table 4 (continued): Breakdown of road traffic offences which did not result in a conviction in court in County Donegal in respect of offences committed in 2013

Exceed built up area speed limit 50 km/h					8		8
Exceed regional and local road Speed Limit 80 km/h	5		3	2	31		41
Exceed regional and local Speed Limit 80 km/h			2		2		4
Exceeding National Road Speed Limit 100km/h			3	3	31		37
Exceeding Special Speed Limit 100 km/h					4		4
Exceeding special speed limit 60 km/h	1		6	8	28		43
Failing to stop for Garda					2	1	3
Failure to stop at Stop Sign					1		1
General obligation regarding speeding			1				1
Holding a mobile phone while driving			1		16		17
Total	7	4	22	14	149	2	198

I am also advised that Table 5 provides a detailed breakdown of the road traffic offences which did not result in a conviction in court in County Donegal in respect of road traffic offences committed in 2012.

Table 5: Breakdown of road traffic offences which did not result in a conviction in court in County Donegal in respect of offences committed in 2012

Road Traffic Offence	Dismiss	Dismiss on Probation	Strike Out	Poor Box	Strike Out not Served	Taken Into Consideration	Total
Adult Occupant Failing to Wear Safety Belt (Driver of Category M1 Vehicle)		1			3		4
Crossing "broken" white line and causing danger					1		1
Crossing a "broken" white line (in parallel with continuous white line)					1		1
Crossing a continuous white line (in parallel with "broken" white line)					1		1
Crossing continuous white line - (Double)					1		1
Crossing continuous white line - (Single)					6		6
Driving across/along a median strip					3		3
Driving past a red traffic light			1		2		3
Driving without reasonable consideration			4	1	11	1	17
Entering "hatched markings" Area of Roadway			1				1
Exceed built up area speed limit 50km/h	1		12	13	48		73
Exceed Ordinary Speed Limit (General) (Certain Vehicles)		1		2	2		5
Exceed regional and local road speed limit 80km/h	3		6	8	63		80

Table 5 (continued): Breakdown of road traffic offences which did not result in a conviction in court in County Donegal in respect of offences committed in 2012

Exceeding National Road Speed Limit 100km/h	2		13	11	100		126
Exceeding Special Speed Limit 50 km/h	1		28	15	58		102
Exceeding Special Speed Limit 100 km/h			1				1
Exceeding Special Speed Limit 60 km/h	7	3	32	31	109		182
Exceeding Special Speed Limit 80 km/h				2	2		4
Failing to stop for Garda			1			1	2
Failing to Wear A Safety Belt (Driver)		1	3		14		18
Failure to stop at Stop Sign					1	2	3
Holding a Mobile Phone While Driving			5	7	16		28
Overtaking/Attempting to overtake in a dangerous manner					2		2
Permit person under 17 years occupy a forward facing front seat no child restraint			1				1
Total	14	6	108	90	444	4	666

I am further advised that Table 5 provides a detailed breakdown of the road traffic offences which did not result in a conviction in court in County Donegal in respect of road traffic offences committed in 2011.

Table 6: Breakdown of road traffic offences which did not result in a conviction in court in County Donegal in respect of offences committed in 2011

Road Traffic Offence	Dismiss	Dismiss on Probation	Strike Out	Poor Box	Strike Out not Served	Taken Into Consideration	TOTAL
Crossing continuous white line - (Double)			1				1
Crossing continuous white line - (Single)					4		4
Driver Permitting Rear Seat Passenger Under 17yrs Not To Wear A Safety belt				1			1
Driving across/along a median strip					1		1
Driving past a red traffic light		1			1		2
Driving without reasonable consideration	1		1		1		3
Exceed built up area speed limit 50 km/h		1	5	4	13		23
Exceed regional and local road speed limit 80 km/h	1		2	2	11		16
Exceeding National Road Speed Limit 100km/h	3	1	3	3	13		23
Exceeding Special Speed Limit 50 km/h	1		5	8	26		40
Exceeding special speed limit 60 km/h	2		21	17	64		104

Table 6 (continued): Breakdown of road traffic offences which did not result in a conviction in court in County Donegal in 2011

Exceeding special speed limit 80 km/h					1		1
Failing to stop for Garda					1	1	2
Failing to Wear A Safety Belt (Driver)			2		3		5
Failure to stop at stop line where both stop sign and line are provided					1		1
Failure to stop at Stop Sign					1		1
Holding a Mobile Phone While Driving	1		5		7		13
Permit person under 17 years occupy a forward facing front seat no child restraint					1		1
TOTAL	9	3	45	35	149	1	242

Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission

Questions (147)

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

Question:

147. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality in view of the fact that several members of the GSOC have had their penalty points wiped out, whether it is lawful and fair that those same persons are effectively investigating the penalty points issues arising at present; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5834/14]

Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

Section 98 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 provides that designated officers of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) have all the powers, immunities and privileges conferred and all the duties imposed on any member of the Garda Síochána by or under any enactment or the common law. This means that the exemptions under the Road Traffic Acts apply to GSOC officials when using their section 98 powers while carrying out their official duties.

I have been advised by GSOC that they are committed to conducting a professional, ethical and independent investigation into the allegations concerning the cancellation of fixed charge notices requested by me. GSOC also advise me, however, that no officers to whom such an exemption has been applied has been assigned to duties involving them in participation in the current section 102(5) investigation.

Charities Regulation

Questions (148)

Billy Timmins

Question:

148. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 154 of 29 January 2014, if he will obtain the net profit by lottery type for the years 2011 and 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5853/14]

Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

The information sought by the Deputy is not available in the Department of Justice and Equality. As already confirmed in Parliamentary Question No. 154 of 29 January 2014, a breakdown of net profit by lottery product type was not supplied for those years by Rehab.