Written Answers Nos. 132-137
132. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to change the way the Garda vetting process operates in order that a person who has Garda vetting with one organisation can move to a different organisation without having to reapply for a new clearance from the Garda vetting section; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18126/14]
View answerVetting procedures in this country are in place to protect children and vulnerable adults. As such they demand rigorous procedures to ensure their integrity and to maintain the highest level of confidence by the public and organisations availing of them.
A full vetting check is conducted for each new application received to ensure that the most recent data available is taken into account. The non-transferability and contemporaneous nature of the certificate protects against the risk of fraud or forgery and is a guarantee of the integrity of the vetting service. It also affords the registered organisation the facility to assess suitability based on the most up to date information available on the applicant. The Deputy will appreciate that the safety of children and vulnerable adults is the primary consideration and this must remain the case.
Elements of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 relating to the disclosure of convictions are under review at present. While I intend bringing proposals before the Oireachtas to provide that certain old minor convictions will not be disclosed under the provisions of the 2012 Act, I do not intend making provisions in the Act to provide that a person who has been Garda vetted with one organisation can move to a different organisation without having to reapply for a new clearance from the Garda vetting section.
This is because once there has been any significant time lapse between one employment and another, the original Garda Vetting Disclosure would not include information regarding any recent criminal convictions, and the second employer could not safely rely on it. Under the Data Protection Acts, any sensitive personal data which employers use in regard to their employees must be current, accurate and up-to-date. Separately, employers would be exposed to civil liability if they knowingly recruited staff based on out-of-date criminal records information where the person in fact has a more recent criminal conviction.
The Deputy may also wish to note that the current average processing time for vetting applications is four weeks which is a significant improvement on this time last year when it stood at 12 weeks.
133. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an update on Operation Fiacla. [18164/14]
View answerOperation Fiacla was established by the Garda Commissioner to coordinate a sustained national drive against those involved in burglary, aggravated burglaries and related offences. It is an intelligence driven national operation and specific burglary initiatives have been implemented in each Garda Region to target suspected offenders. As of 31 March, 8,687 persons have been arrested and 4,954 persons have been charged with burglary offences under Operation Fiacla.
Operation Fiacla has proved to be a robust and effective response to those who seek to prey on law abiding householders and this is borne out by the full year Crime Statistics for 2013 which are the latest figures published by the Central Statistics Office. These show a welcome reduction of 7.2% in burglary and related offences over the 12 month period and continue a trend which has been evident since the introduction of Operation Fiacla.
134. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide in tabular form on a county basis the numbers availing of the new personal insolvency options; the number of PIPS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18165/14]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that there are currently 132 Personal Insolvency Practitioners and 32 Approved Intermediaries (representing 75 responsible persons) authorised by the ISI. The ISI recently published its Quarter 1 statistics for 2014. The geographic spread of insolvency applications by county, up to 31st March 2014 is set out in the table.
The ISI has advised that statistics will be updated on a quarterly basis and will be published in the Statistics section of the ISI’s website www.isi.gov.ie.
|
County |
No. of Applications |
|
Carlow |
2 |
|
Cavan |
4 |
|
Clare |
17 |
|
Cork |
34 |
|
Donegal |
6 |
|
Dublin |
186 |
|
Galway |
27 |
|
Kerry |
12 |
|
Kildare |
27 |
|
Kilkenny |
7 |
|
Laois |
5 |
|
Leitrim |
2 |
|
Limerick |
17 |
|
Longford |
1 |
|
Louth |
22 |
|
Mayo |
9 |
|
Meath |
14 |
|
Monaghan |
7 |
|
Offaly |
3 |
|
Roscommon |
4 |
|
Sligo |
4 |
|
Tipperary |
8 |
|
Waterford |
13 |
|
Westmeath |
8 |
|
Wexford |
6 |
|
Wicklow |
9 |
|
To be confirmed |
69 |
|
TOTAL |
523 |
135. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of An Gardaí Síochána by rank who have retired in 2013 and to date in 2014. [18200/14]
View answerI have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that the number of Garda by rank who have retired in 2013 and as of the 31 March, 2014, the latest date for which figures are available, was as set out in the following table:
|
Rank |
2013 |
2014 |
|
Commissioner |
0 |
1 |
|
Deputy Commissioner |
1 |
0 |
|
Assistant Commissioner |
1 |
0 |
|
Chief Superintendent |
12 |
1 |
|
Superintendent |
16 |
0 |
|
Inspector |
13 |
3 |
|
Sergeant |
84 |
19 |
|
Garda |
178 |
30 |
136. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of anti-social behaviour orders that were served by members of An Garda Síochána in 2013 and to date in 2014. [18201/14]
View answerI have requested a report from the Garda authorities in relation to the matter referred to by the Deputy. I will contact the Deputy directly as soon as the report is to hand.
137. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will report on Garda Operation Yard; the number of persons arrested and charged to date; the number of successful convictions obtained as part of the operation; and if the operation is still active. [18202/14]
View answerI am informed by the Garda authorities that 'Operation Yard' is an active road traffic enforcement initiative targeting unofficial public motoring events in the Garda Western Region with the overall objective of reducing incidents of anti-social driving behaviour and the impact it has on local communities.
Arising from this focussed Garda operation, 8 persons have been arrested and charged with various offences including 10 charges of dangerous driving; 3 charges for breaches of Section 5 Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994; 4 charges of breaches of Section 9 Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 and 2 forgery charges in respect of forged driving licence and ID Card. In addition, 6 behavioural orders were served on individuals who participated in anti-social driving behaviour. I am further informed that the charges arising from this operation are listed for court later this month.
