Written Answers Nos. 187-195
187. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will in the context of correspondence regarding the need to provide replacement and additional gardaí and Garda transport for this large geographical area (details supplied) in County Westmeath, the Garda Commissioner's plans to address this situation in both the short term and the long term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9924/14]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that the allocation of all resources in An Garda Síochána, including vehicles and personnel, is a matter for the Garda Commissioner and his senior management team in the light of identified operational demands. Garda management closely monitors the operational strategies in place on a District, Divisional and Regional level to ensure that the optimum use is made of available resources and that the best possible Garda service is provided to the public.
Kinnegad Garda Station forms part of the Mullingar Garda District and I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that the personnel strength of Kinnegad Garda Station and Mullingar Garda District, on the latest date for which figures are readily available, was 4 and 160 respectively. The District is also supported by 16 Garda Reserves and 14 civilian staff. Responsibility for the efficient deployment of official Garda vehicles in each Division is assigned to the Divisional Officer, who may allocate vehicles between stations, as required by operational circumstances. The Deputy will appreciate that a degree of flexibility in allocating and re-allocating vehicles among stations, so as to best match the allocation of resources with policing priorities, is essential to the efficient management of the Garda fleet.
I am, of course, conscious of the importance of the Garda fleet and, in that regard, the Deputy will be aware that I recently secured a further €9m for investment in the fleet. This investment resulted in the purchase of 305 new Garda vehicles towards the end of 2013, at a cost of €5 million. These were in addition to the 133 new Garda vehicles which had already been procured during the year. The remaining €4 million has been made available for the purchase and fit out of Garda vehicles in 2014. I understand that specific details in relation to the deployment of the new Garda transport have yet to be fully finalised but the Deputy can be assured that the vehicles will be allocated as effectively as possible in line with operational circumstances, including the requirements of area referred to by the Deputy.
188. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the training available for gardaí in dealing with persons with suicidal ideation operating motor vehicles; the new training that will be made available to deal with suicidal ideation and driving; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9942/14]
View answerI have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that the Garda Roads Policing Manual was issued in July 2013 and sets out guidance on Roads Policing. The manual includes policy and procedures in relation to Organisation & Responsibilities, Driver Training and Health & Safety. The Garda Roads Policing Manual will be reviewed on an annual basis, ensuring up-to-date policy and procedures are in place. The roles and responsibilities of Garda members involved in pursuit incidents are clearly set out and the policy manual outlines the policies and procedures to be followed where an individual appears to be intent on harming themselves, with the safety of all those involved in such situations, including the general public, being paramount.
As the circumstances of each incident will be unique, there is, no one size fits all, no "formula based" or set plan approach that can be applied from the perspective of the Garda driver who encounters such a situation. Each potential case has to be dynamically assessed by the responding Garda driver, given the unique circumstances, (driver's mindset, location and proximity of nearest assisting Garda vehicle, vehicle performance, available reaction time etc) relevant to each potential case. Since 2008, "Specific Response Training" (not to be confused with pursuit training) has been delivered through stages 2 and 3 of An Garda Síochána's Competency Based Driving Programme (C.B.D.).
189. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if the Commission’s EU anti-corruption report is informing the work of his officials in drawing up the proposed criminal justice (corruption) Bill; the timeline for introduction of this Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9948/14]
View answerI am pleased to say that the recently published EU Anti-Corruption Report on Ireland noted, in positive terms, the implementation in the State of a broad anti-corruption legislative reform programme. The Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Corruption) Bill 2012, aims to strengthen the law on corruption and repeal and replace the existing provisions contained in the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889 to 2010. In the context of the preparation of this anti-corruption measure, my officials take account of relevant recommendations made by the various organisations involved in this area, including the OECD, the Council of Europe GRECO Group, and the UN. As regards the content of the Bill, the Deputy will note that the EU Report makes reference to the Scheme of the Bill incorporating various recommendations contained in the Report of the Mahon Tribunal. These new provisions include, for instance, an offence of making reckless payments to a third party, while knowing or being reckless to the fact that that party intends to use the payments to pay bribes. It is intended that the Criminal Justice (Corruption) Bill 2012, which is currently with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel for drafting, will be published later this year.
190. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he is satisfied with the number of women currently serving on State boards under his remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10027/14]
View answerI am pleased that the percentage of women on State Boards under the aegis of my Department increased from 31 per cent in 2010 to 36.5 per cent in 2012, the most recent year for which data are available. As the data show, I have taken active steps to increase female representation on State Boards since I came into office in accordance with the Government's commitment to achieve a representation of at least 40 per cent of each gender on State Boards. I will continue to monitor appointments and to report progress annually to Government while being cognisant of the commitment in the Programme for Government when making future appointments to State boards under my responsibility.
191. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Defence if he will indicate, in tabular form, the total expenditure by his Department on external consultancy advice services, including legal services, in 2011, 2012 and 2013; if this spend is in line with the overall value for money objective of his remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10010/14]
View answerThe following tabular statement contains details of all the total expenditure by my Department on external consultancy advice services, including legal services, in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
|
Name |
Purpose |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
AL Goodbody |
Legal Advice |
€21,169 |
€- |
€- |
|
Maurice Collins SC |
Legal Advice |
€9,075 |
€- |
€- |
|
Conor Flynn T/A ISAS |
ICT Security Advice & Support |
€10,395 |
€- |
€- |
|
Col. E. V. Campion |
To provide expert advice to the Army Equitation School’s Horse Purchase Board |
€5,000 |
€5,000 |
€5,000 |
|
DQ Networks |
ICT Technical assistance |
€3,978 |
€- |
€- |
|
Bianconi Research Ltd T/A RITS |
ICT Security Advice & Support |
€- |
€37,872 |
€30,645 |
|
Central Health & Safety Services Ltd. |
Review of Health & Safety |
€- |
€6,273 |
€3,998 |
|
Sandra McDonald |
Taxation Advice |
€- |
€6,000 |
€- |
|
Jacques Michaud |
Review of the Air Corps’ Safety Management System |
€- |
€- |
€20,000 |
My Department is always mindful of the costs involved in engaging consultants. In line with Department of Finance guidelines for engagement of consultants in the Civil Service, 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.
192. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Defence if he is satisfied with the number of women currently serving on State boards under his remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10021/14]
View answerThe only State Board under the aegis of my Department is the Army Pensions Board. The Army Pensions Board comprises three members: a chairman, an officer of the Army Medical Corps and a civilian medical doctor. There is one female member of the Board.
193. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Defence the number of employee share ownership plans in operation in the commercial semi-State sector agencies under the remit of his Department; his views on whether they offer good value to the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10046/14]
View answerThere are no commercial semi-State bodies under the aegis of the Department of Defence.
194. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the action he will take in regard to providing compensation for fishermen who suffered losses as a result of recent adverse weather conditions (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9795/14]
View answer201. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will apply to the EU solidarity fund for emergency funding for fishermen whose incomes have been devastated by the recent adverse weather; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9898/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 194 and 201 together.
Fishing through the winter is difficult in normal circumstances but I am acutely conscious that the severe weather has caused the fishing fleet to be tied up for quite an extended period, a longer period than would be the norm with more typical winter weather. As the catching sector is by definition dependant on being able to go out and catch fish, and crews earn their living through a share of the catch, many fishermen have suffered financially because of this extended period restricted to port. Thankfully, we had a long overdue break in the weather last week and many of the vessels that were harbour bound due to the severe weather were able to return to fishing and to some extent make up for lost time. No doubt we will continue to have intermittent stormy conditions in the weeks and months ahead, as is normal for this time of year, but I am hopeful that fishermen will be able to put to sea on a regular basis so that they can put that difficult period behind them.
As income from fishing is derived from landings of catch, the amount that can be caught and therefore the income from most fisheries is determined by the EU quotas which are restrictive, and made available under our management arrangements with catch limits set for whitefish each month. The quotas are managed to allow for access to quota for the full twelve months of the year, as far as possible. This may mean in many cases that the allocations made available for certain months are set at low levels, certainly less than Industry would like and would be capable of landing.
I always work very closely with, and I am advised by industry when setting catch limits during the year. Each month, a quota management advisory committee, involving Industry representatives and my Department, meets and examines available quota, uptake levels and the market situation and make recommendations to me on catch limits for the following month. The quota uptake figures for January 2014 and for the first part of February are significantly down. In order that vessel owners and their crews are enabled to compensate as early as possible for these low catch levels, allocations for March were set for a number of the key economic stocks at a higher level than in February. The level recommended by industry took account of concerns not to glut the market with very high landings in a single month and on that basis the arrangements recommended and put in place involve modest increases in key whitefish stocks including cod, haddock and whiting in the Celtic Sea, monkfish and megrim in the Celtic Sea and the hake stock in the Celtic Sea and the north west. These increased quotas and fishing opportunities for March will help to re-balance the landings to bring them more into line with planned annual spread of quota uptake. They can be further adjusted in April to take into account of the low level of landings in the first 6 weeks of the year.
In relation to any specific payments to compensate for lost earnings, the Minister for Social Protection has overall responsibility for funding income support to individuals and families who have been unable to work because of adverse weather conditions. Minister Burton’s Department runs a number of schemes to support people in circumstances of loss of income.
While the co-legislators have reached political agreement on the proposed Regulation establishing the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, it will not be adopted in law until probably June this year. My Department is working to prepare a new Operational Programme for the seafood sector under the EMFF. That Programme is dependent on the progress of the proposed Regulation and so is likely to be finalised towards the end of the year. Decisions on what to do with the finite resources available to Ireland under that Operational Programme will be a key element of that work and I am working closely with all stakeholders in making those hard choices between many competing and worthwhile investment priorities. It is thus premature from both a legal and practical perspective to consider employing the EMFF to assist fishermen in the present situation.
195. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding REP scheme payments in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry. [9804/14]
View answerThe person named commenced REPS 4 in May 2009 and received payments for the first four years of their contract. REPS 4 is a measure under the current 2007-13 Rural Development Programme and is subject to EU Regulations which require detailed administrative checks on all applications to be completed before any payments can issue. Following an On Farm Inspection in September 2013 issues were discovered in relation to Measure 3 “Protect and Maintain Watercourses, Waterbodies and Wells”. This issue has now been resolved and the 2013 Year 5 payments are currently being processed for payment.
