Written Answers Nos. 40-46
40. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an update on implementing the Irish Prison Service Strategic Plan 2012–2015 and implementation of its key recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5249/14]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that I published the Irish Prison Service 3-Year Strategic Plan in April 2012. I am pleased to note that significant progress has already been achieved by the Irish Prison Service with regard to the implementation of the Strategy. The Community Return Programme has been successfully rolled out across all prisons. In excess of 800 prisoners have participated in the scheme since its introduction with 583 prisoners having successfully completed the programme.
Dedicated committals units have now been established in all committal prisons and appropriate assessment procedures to ensure that prisoners are accommodated according to their security status have been introduced.
Significant work has been completed on the plan for the closure of St Patrick's Institution. In December last year all sentenced juveniles were transferred from St Patrick's Institution to a dedicated unit in Wheatfield Place of Detention. The transfer of the 18-21 cohort has commenced and will be completed by mid-February 2014.
A national Incentivised Regimes policy has been introduced to provide tangible incentives to prisoners to participate in structured activities and reinforce incentives for good behaviour. Work has also continued on the implementation of the Irish Prison Service Drugs Policy and Strategy to develop drug treatment services and enhance supply reduction measures across the prison estate. Drug free units have been established in the majority of prisons.
The Deputy will also be aware that significant action has been taken to modernise the prison estate and to introduce in-cell sanitation in every locked cell. The refurbishment project in Mountjoy Prison is continuing. The refurbishment of the A, B and C wings is now complete and the work on the final wing, the D Wing, is due to commence shortly. In addition, construction has now commenced on the construction of the new prison in Cork. On 14th January the number of prisoners slopping out had reduced to 465 and this will reduce further when the D wing of Mountjoy is closed for refurbishment. A detailed update on the Year 2 Implementation Plan for the Irish Prison Service Strategy will be included in the 2013 Irish Prison Service Annual Report which is due to be published in March.
41. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the timeframe for the creation of a charities regulator; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5299/14]
View answerI am pleased to inform the Deputy that I recently issued a call for Expressions of Interest from suitably qualified persons who wish to be considered for appointment to the Board of a new Charities Regulatory Authority, with a view to making appointments before Easter. I have also recently received sanction from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to appoint an interim CEO and a number of other staff from within existing resources. I intend to have these staff in place by the end of February to enable the new Authority to carry out the necessary preparatory work before coming formally into operation later this year.
An early priority for the new Authority will be the preparation and publication of a statutory register of charities. All registered charities will be required to provide reports to the Authority each year on their activities and these reports will be made available to the public. This will provide a much needed increase in transparency and accountability in the charitable sector, and will support the good practice in charity governance and management that is critical to a vibrant charity sector that commands the trust and confidence of donors and beneficiaries alike.
42. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will investigate the circumstances of a family (details supplied) in Dublin 8 and their current immigration status and housing status. [5193/14]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, if the members of the family concerned have made an application for asylum or subsidiary protection, the position is that it is not the practice to comment on such applications for so long as they are in the protection process. The Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) of my Department is responsible for the accommodation of protection applicants in accordance with the Government policy of direct provision and dispersal. Direct provision provides for full board accommodation supports while a final decision is awaited by a person on their protection or any related leave to remain application.
The family referred to in the details supplied comprise a father, mother and three small children. The father only presented for direct provision accommodation in December, 2013 to join his wife and children who had been accommodated there for some time previously and his request was granted. To date, no transfer request has been received by RIA in respect of this family.
As stated in response to a written PQ in respect of this family on Wednesday 29 January, 2014, if the family wish to be accommodated at an alternative accommodation centre, they should apply in writing to the Reception and Integration Agency at PO Box 11487, Dublin 2. In relation to Watergate House accommodation centre, this is a self-catering facility which is designated for cases where there is an exceptional need, for example, serious medical concerns. There is no suitable accommodation for this size of family at Watergate House at present and no documentation has been provided to support an exceptional need in this instance. If the family choose to apply for a transfer from Clondalkin accommodation centre, RIA will look at alternative accommodation options around the country for the family and respond directly to the family.
43. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will undertake a review of the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board so as to further ensure its complete independence from political interference; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5254/14]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that, under the Constitution, judges are appointed by the President on the advice of the Government. The current process for the appointment of judges in Ireland is set out in sections 12 to 17 of the Courts and Courts Officers Act 1995 which established the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board.
Under the existing system of judicial appointments, the Board submits to me, as Minister for Justice and Equality, the names of the persons who have applied for appointment and whom it recommends as suitable for appointment. This procedure has been in place since 1995 and, at my request, my Department is currently undertaking a review of the judicial appointments process. This review will consider how best to ensure and protect the principle of judicial independence and includes consideration of issues such as the appointment process, eligibility criteria, the role of the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board and the need to promote equality and diversity.
In December I initiated a public consultation process which involved not only members of the judiciary and the legal profession generally, but also engaged the broader public who benefit daily in innumerable ways from the protection of an independent judiciary. A number of submissions have been received to date and they will now be considered within my Department. The consultation process sought submissions within the current Constitutional provisions and any proposal to introduce a new system of appointments which would require statutory amendments would, of course, be a matter for consideration by Government in the first instance.
44. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which educational and rehabilitative training remain available throughout the Prison Service with particular reference to the availability of such facilities to first-time offenders; the extent to which the results of this training continue to be monitored with particular reference to preventing recidivism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5330/14]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware from my replies to previous Parliamentary Questions that the Irish Prison Service provides a wide range of rehabilitative programmes that include education, vocational training, healthcare, psychiatric, psychological, counselling, welfare and spiritual services. These programmes are available in all prisons and all prisoners are eligible to use the services. On committal, all prisoners are interviewed by the Governor and are informed of the services available in the prison. At this point prisoners may be referred to services or they can self-refer at a later date. Where Governors consider, on the information available, that a prisoner needs a particular intervention they will initiate a referral.
The Irish Prison Service has also been expanding the number of accredited courses and opportunities available to prisoners in Work Training in recent years. Enhanced partnership arrangements with accrediting bodies such as City and Guilds, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), and the Guild of Launders and Cleaners and the centralising of co-ordination and quality assurance arrangements have enabled the extension of the number of available courses and activities with certification.
The development of prisoner programmes forms a central part of the Irish Prison Service Three Year Strategic Plan 2012 - 2015. There is a clear commitment in the Strategy to enhance sentence planning, including Integrated Sentence Management and the delivery of prison based rehabilitative programmes such as education, work training and resettlement programmes. International research indicates that vocational training and employment can reduce the risk of re-offending. However, there is no comparable research currently available on the Irish System.
45. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to introduce the Scrap and Precious Metals Bill 2013 as a matter of public urgency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5253/14]
View answerI published a report in June, 2012 on the criminal justice aspects of the cash for gold trade. The Report prepared by my Department is available on www.justice.ie. I requested the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality and Defence to consider the content of the report, to ensure that it obtains the views of all relevant interested parties and that it makes such report and recommendations to the Houses of the Oireachtas and to Government as it deems proportionate and appropriate in the public interest. The current position is that I have received the Committee's response and, having considered it, I have asked my Department to develop proposals in relation to the matter.
Regarding the separate issue of measures to address metal theft including the traceability of scrap metal, you may be aware that An Garda Síochána published a Metal Theft Crime Prevention and Reduction Plan, on 6 February 2013 to address the law enforcement and crime prevention aspects of this matter. The Garda Plan was developed in close co-operation with the stakeholders who participated in the Metal Theft Forum and it is designed to provide for an effective and multi-agency response to the problem. An Garda Síochána is implementing a range of measures arising from the plan, including relevant actions under Operation Fiacla.
With regard to the question of traceability of scrap metal, my colleague the Minister for the Environment, Community & Local Government has published draft regulations under the Waste Management Act which aim to enhance the traceability of scrap metal purchases. I am advised that this proposal remains under consideration in Minister Hogan’s Department.
46. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of applications that have been received and approved for the immigrant investor programme and the start-up entrepreneur programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5247/14]
View answerTo date there have been 22 applications for the Immigrant Investor Programme. 15 of those applications have been approved and the remaining 7 applications are under consideration. 35 applications have been received for the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme. 20 of those applications have been approved, 10 applications have been refused, 2 applications have been withdrawn and 3 applications are under consideration.
