Written Answers Nos. 427-444
427. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the legislative provisions in respect of her Department that have been passed by the Oireachtas since 2011 but have not come into effect to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24154/14]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is contained in the table.
|
Provisions not yet enacted |
Commencement Order |
Date for Commencement Order |
|
Property Service (Regulation) Act 2011 Part 10 (Maintenance of Professional Competence of Licensees) |
Yet to be commenced. |
Intended to commence Part 10 during 2014. This will require the putting in place of a range of courses for licensed Property Service Providers. |
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Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 Section 2(2) and 2(3) |
Yet to be commenced. |
Commencement expected shortly. |
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Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014 |
Act will be commenced in stages. |
It is expected that an order to commence the first stage, which will provide for the payment of fines by instalments, will be made at the end of 2014. |
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Criminal Justice Act 2011 |
Partially commenced. Section 5 of Part 1 and section 7 (c) and sections 9 to 14 of Part 2 have yet to be commenced. |
It is expected that the remaining sections will be commenced shortly. |
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National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 |
Yet to be commenced. |
As I have previously indicated, elements of the Act concerning the disclosure of convictions are under review at present having regard to a recent judgment of the UK Court of Appeal in (On the Application of) T and others - v - Chief Constable of Greater Manchester [2013]. Any modifications necessary to the Act will be addressed in advance of commencement by way of amendments to the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012 to which this Act is closely linked. That Bill is awaiting Report Stage in the Dáil and it is expected that the Act will be commenced this year. |
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Criminal Justice Act 2013 |
Section 5 of Part 2 has yet to be commenced. |
Commencement of section 5 is not imminent. Progress on the negotiation of the proposed 4th EU Directive on Money Laundering will have a bearing on the issue. |
428. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if, in the case of applicants for Irish visas who are members of the LGBT community, and whose home countries retain punitive laws against homosexuality and-or transgender persons, there exists a difficulty for these persons to supply full information to consular staff which may be required for certain types of visa if there is a risk that doing so would prompt a referral to the domestic authorities; the guarantees the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service offer to LGBT applicants in order that they can safely disclose all relevant information; if this is clearly communicated prior to application; if her attention has been drawn to any cases where this discrepancy led to an inadvertent rejection of a visa application; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24161/14]
View answerThe Irish visa application system does not require an applicant to state their sexual orientation nor is it relevant to the consideration of the application. Where the application is for the purpose of family reunification, applications based on same-sex or heterosexual relationship are treated in exactly the same way. This is made clear throughout the Policy Document on Third Country Family Reunification which has been in force since the start of this year. I acknowledge that, in such cases, the nature of the relationship would be clear to the visa officer where they are aware of the gender of both the applicant and a sponsoring partner in Ireland.
However, I can assure the Deputy that information supplied in a visa application is subject to all Irish data protection legislation and cannot be, without the permission of the applicant, supplied to a third party. It is not the practice to refer information supplied in a visa application to domestic authorities in the applicant's home country. If an applicant feels that they are constrained in submitting supporting documentation to a Visa Office or Irish consular mission in their own country, it is open to them to submit that documentation by post or courier to the headquarters of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service in Dublin where it can be associated with the on-line visa application and the decision made there. Arrangements can also be made to return this documentation directly to the applicant.
I am advised by INIS that it is not aware of any discrepancy in this area as stated by the Deputy nor is it aware of any case where there has been a refusal, inadvertent or otherwise, of a visa application on grounds of a person's sexual orientation or lack of full disclosure thereof. If the Deputy has any information which suggests otherwise, she should forward it to me and I will arrange to have it investigated.
429. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she is satisfied that the new personal insolvency regime is providing a solution to the many persons in insolvency; if she is further satisfied with the level of engagement the financial institutions are taking in the service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24177/14]
View answerThe Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) has overseen the introduction of the new alternatives to bankruptcy introduced by the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 - the Debt Relief Notice (DRN), the Debt Settlement Arrangement (DSA) and the Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA), as well as a reformed bankruptcy regime. As a result, insolvent debtors now have a suite of options available to them to deal with their indebtedness.
The availability of these options has also encouraged creditors and debtors to reach settlements through informal arrangements. This would not have happened were it not for the introduction of the new debt solutions and the reform of bankruptcy.
I am advised by the ISI that it is seeing a steady increase in the number of cases coming before it and the continued uptake of insolvency arrangements demonstrates that creditors are engaging with the process. The development by ISI of protocols between creditors and practitioners covering DSAs and PIAs are expected to further assist in that regard.
The personal insolvency legislation is not set in stone and I will introduce whatever amendments prove to be necessary to ensure its success. I can assure the Deputy that my Department and the ISI will continue to keep the effectiveness of the legislation under review and any necessary amendments will be introduced when required.
430. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding the State Pathologist's office moving to the former Garda station at Whitehall, Dublin 9. [24184/14]
View answerThe Office of Public Works (OPW) has agreed to make the former Whitehall Garda station available for the relocation of the State Pathology Office and to carry out the necessary refurbishment work. The project is being actively pursued in conjunction with the OPW and in consultation with all relevant stakeholders.
431. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the fact that an Irish citizen (details supplied) is presently incarcerated in Beateberg prison, Stockholm, has applied to be transferred to prison in Ireland and the procedure has already been initiated; the length of time this procedure will take; if same will be expedited in view of the fact that the person's imprisonment is due to terminate at the end of the year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24271/14]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Prison Service that an application by a prisoner (details supplied) for a transfer to a prison in this jurisdiction, under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, was received in May 2014. Requests for the reports necessary to make a decision on the application were subsequently issued and upon receipt of same, the application will be processed in the normal manner.
Each case is judged on its individual merits and cases are processed as quickly as possible. Cases can take anywhere between 3 months and 2 years to be completed and can take even longer in some extreme cases. Some of the reasons for delays include; incomplete documentation which has to be returned to the requestor or their legal representatives, the relevant requested documentation not submitted with the original request which is a common occurrence, for example birth certificate or copy of passport. Delays can also take place in the sending jurisdiction which are out of my Department's control.
432. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to implement an amnesty for asylum seekers who have been here for more than five years, or any other measures to reduce waiting lists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24316/14]
View answerThere are no plans to grant an amnesty to asylum seekers based on the length of time spent in the asylum system. The Deputy might wish to note that at EU Level, the Member States, in agreeing the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum at the European Council in October 2008 made specific commitments "to use only case-by-case regularisation, rather than generalised regularisation, under national law, for humanitarian or economic reasons". While the Pact is not legally binding, the political commitment among Member States, then and now, is clearly against any form of process that would in any way legitimise the status of persons present in the State without first examining the merits of their individual cases. In Ireland's case there are also considerations based on maintaining the integrity of the Common Travel Area with the UK which must be taken into account. Any significant departure from well established policies in this respect would have a major impact on the operation of the Common Travel Area both here and in the United Kingdom.It must also be emphasised that broad regularisation programmes are problematic, in particular as they could give rise to unpredictable and potentially very costly impacts across the full range of public and social services. Clearly there would also be significant issues for the labour marker in the context of the very large number of people unemployed in the State. Similar issues would arise in respect of access to the housing market and its related supports.
Measures have recently been taken with a view to delivering improvements in the processing of protection applications. The Deputy will be aware that the European Union (Subsidiary Protection) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 426 of 2013) were signed into law by my predecessor last November. Under the new Regulations, responsibility for the processing of applications for subsidiary protection was transferred from my Department to the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC) with appeals to be dealt with by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (RAT). Both of these bodies are independent in the exercise of their statutory functions and they have substantial experience in the area of asylum investigations and appeals, respectively. Additional resources have been allocated to the establishment and operation of the new arrangements for the processing of these cases which include the engagement of a panel of legally qualified persons to process cases, personal interviews for each applicant at the first instance and the opportunity for an applicant to appeal a negative recommendation of the ORAC to the RAT. The ORAC, in consultation with the UNHCR, have recently published on its website details of how it will prioritise the process of scheduling persons for interview taking into account, inter-alia, dealing with applicants who are longest in the system first. The intention is to process as many of these cases to finality as soon as possible to include consideration of any leave to remain aspects arising.
Legislative reform aimed at establishing a single application procedure in the area of international protection remains a key priority. I will be reviewing the work done to date in respect of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill in consultation with my officials, following which I will decide on how best to progress the implementation of the Government's priorities, particularly those relating to the establishment of a single application procedure for the investigation of all grounds for protection and any other grounds presented by applicants seeking to remain in the State.
433. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an account of the anti-social behaviour in Howth, County Dublin, which occurred on Saturday, 31 May last; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24332/14]
View answerI am informed by the Garda authorities that local Garda management became aware of a group of approximately 500 young people arriving in the Howth area on Saturday, 31 May 2014 and gathering around the East Pier, Claremont Beach and Harbour Road areas.
Gardaí from Howth, Raheny and Clontarf Garda Stations, assisted by a Public Order Unit, attended the scene and directed the group which had gathered to leave the area. This was successfully achieved by supervising the group while they made their way to the DART Station where they boarded trains back to the city centre. I am advised that there were no reported incidents of assault, robbery, theft or other criminal incidents on the day relating to the presence of large crowds in Howth.
I am further advised that local Garda management have put in place a number of policing arrangements to prevent the occurrence of similar events in the future. These include increased patrols and checkpoints in the area, ongoing contact with DART management and liaison with local shops and businesses regarding the sale of intoxicating liquor.
A Regional Operational Plan is also in place to combat under-age alcohol consumption and alcohol consumption in public spaces during the summer months throughout the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR). This will involve the enforcement of legislation regulating the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol as well as relevant public order legislation.
Finally, I am advised that local Garda management closely monitors patrols and other operational strategies, in light of crime trends and policing needs of the area in question, and the situation will be kept under review to ensure that optimum use is made of Garda resources.
434. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda mountain bikes allocated to the Garda R and J districts in 2012 and 2013; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24334/14]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the provision and allocation of Garda resources, including mountain bikes, is a matter for the Garda Commissioner in the context of her identified operational requirements.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that the number of mountain bikes allocated to the Garda R and J Districts in 2012 and 2013 is as set out in the following table:
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Garda District |
2012 |
2013 |
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R District |
12 |
12 |
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J District |
12 |
12 |
435. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide in tabular form the number of handguns, to include pistols and revolvers, in respect of which firearm certificates were refused and-or declined by An Garda Síochána for the periods specified (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24337/14]
View answer436. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide in tabular form the number of handguns, to include pistols and revolvers, in respect of which the renewal of firearm certificates was refused and-or declined by An Garda Síochána for the periods specified (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24338/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 435 and 436 together.
I have been informed by An Garda Síochána that the information sought is not available. The previous database maintained by them prior to the introduction of a new system of firearms licensing in 2009 did not record applications or categorise certificates under the status of refused.
437. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she or her Department received a report from Adoption Rights Now outlining concerns regarding adoption in Ireland since 1922 and about high mortality rates amongst infants in particular institutions; the actions that have been taken since she received the report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24398/14]
View answerThe Department of Justice & Equality has not received any report from Adoption Rights Now.
438. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her views on recent reports of rising rates of uninvestigated corporate fraud and white-collar crime; her plans to increase the resources and-or funding available to the Data Protection Commissioner and the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24455/14]
View answerI am of course aware of the recent reports about the conduct of white collar crime investigations and have received a report from the Garda Commissioner on the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation's functions, which I will be discussing with her in the near future.
While the detailed allocation of Garda resources is a matter for the Commissioner, I am concerned to ensure that there are effective arrangements in place to investigate complex crime of this nature. I therefore welcome the comprehensive review and strategic realignment announced by the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána's capacity to deal with emerging and complex crime and my Department will remain in contact with An Garda Síochána about this matter, including in the context of the specific issues raised in recent reports referred to by the Deputy.
With regard to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, whose resources come under the aegis of my Department, it should be noted that in 2013 there was a 20% increase in the budget for the Office (compared with 2012), and also that additional staffing resources were put in place including such specialist staff as a Chief Technology Advisor and a Legal Advisor. I am committed to ensuring that the Office has the necessary resources to perform its functions and I can assure the Deputy this matter is under active review at present.
439. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 150 of 19 February 2014, if she will provide an update on whether the technical and administrative arrangements required to bring section 44 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 into effect are now in progress; the timeline for the implementation of these required technical and administrative arrangements; if An Garda Síochána has provided an estimate to her Department of the projected cost of updating its systems in order for section 44 to be commenced; if she will report on the contents of this estimate and the items included therein; and if it has been agreed that the necessary funding will be allocated to An Garda Síochána to pay for the update of its system. [24508/14]
View answerI am informed by the Garda authorities that the examination of the substantial technical and administrative arrangements required to effectively implement section 44 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 is ongoing. An outline implementation plan, with costings, is being prepared by An Garda Síochána, and will be considered as part of the work of the Criminal Justice (Fixed Charge Processing System) Working Group.
440. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 177 to 183, inclusive, of 2 April 2014, if she will provide an update on the progress of the implementation of recommendations Nos. 2.7, 2.8 and 3.1 of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate report entitled The Fixed Charge Processing System: A 21st Century Strategy which had been identified as under way; if recommendations Nos. 2.1, 3.8, 3.10 of the report have been implemented within the identified six to eight week timeframe; and the status of work to implement recommendation 3.2 of the report. [24509/14]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that the Criminal Justice (Fixed Charge Processing System) Working Group was established to oversee and facilitate the implementation of the recommendations of the Report of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate into the Fixed Charge Processing System. The Working Group is due to report to myself and the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport in the coming weeks with respect to progress in relation to implementation of the Report's recommendations, including those referred to by the Deputy, and I expect to be in a position to put this information in the public domain in the near future.
441. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will review the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 in order to introduce provisions to deal with racist crimes including definitions of racial hatred; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24521/14]
View answerIt is important not to confuse legislation to combat incitement to hatred and the wider legislative framework to combat racist crimes.
The Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 cannot and was never intended to deal with the entirety of racist crime. It only addresses incitement to hatred. The word "hatred" is defined in the Act as "hatred against a group of persons in the State or elsewhere on account of their race, colour, nationality, religion, ethnic or national origins, membership of the travelling community or sexual orientation".
Where other criminal offences such as assault, criminal damage, or public order offences are committed with a racist motive, they are prosecuted as generic offences through the wider criminal law. The trial judge can take aggravating factors, including racist motivation, into account at sentencing.
A cross-Departmental review of Ireland’s Integration Strategy, including measures to address racism, is being led by my Department's Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration. In addition, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality is doing work on integration, multiculturalism and combating racism. The issue of strengthening the law to combat racism will be considered in the context of the outcome of these reviews.
442. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to concerns regarding a security breach (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24536/14]
View answerThe article referred to in the Deputy's question is another manifestation of allegations about certain surveillance programmes operated by foreign intelligence services. While I, of course, fully understand the concerns which these revelations have given rise to, there is no information available to me to support the contention referred to.
We have, in this country, robust data protection legislation to protect individuals against unwarranted invasion into their privacy.
Access to call content is governed by the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 and may only take place under Ministerial warrant.
Access to retained data in this jurisdiction is governed by the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011. Under the Act access may only be granted following a request to the particular mobile phone company or internet provider in connection with the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of a serious offence, the safeguarding of the security of the State or the saving of human life.
The operation of both Acts is subject to judicial oversight and there is a complaints procedure which individuals can avail of if there is a concern that the Acts have been breached in relation to their calls or their data.
There are, therefore, lawful and legitimate reasons for law enforcement and other authorities to require access to certain data. Not least of these reasons is the need to protect our citizens from terrorist threats.
In doing so, however, it is necessary to ensure that the information used is properly obtained and subject to appropriate safeguards. The importance of protecting individual rights to privacy and ensuring respect for individual human rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights is well recognised.
443. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will list in tabular form all legislation and specific sections therein that refer to powers delegated to the Minister of State with special responsibility for disability, equality and mental health; if she will detail the title of the civil servants who are responsible for reporting directly to said Minister of State and what they are responsible for; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24612/14]
View answerWhile there is no formal Delegation of Functions Order in place, the Minister of State's role relates particularly to the equality and integration areas of the Department. Staff of the Equality Divisions of the Department (with responsibility for Traveller policy; disability legislation and coordination; gender equality; and employment equality, equal status and human rights legislation) report to her in relation to relevant issues and tasks as required. The staff with primary day-to-day reporting responsibilities are at Principal (as Heads of Divisions) and Assistant Secretary level.
The Minister of State has also been given responsibility for taking the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013 through the Houses of the Oireachtas and for responding on behalf of the Government to a number of Private Members' Bills in the equality area.
444. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding the issuing of a Garda National Immigration Bureau card in respect of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24628/14]
View answerThe issue of a residence permit by the Garda National Immigration Bureau does not arise at present in the case of the person whose details were supplied.
If the person has made an application for asylum or subsidiary protection, the Deputy may be aware that it is not the practice to comment on such cases for so long as they are in the protection process. The Deputy should be aware, however, that all protection applicants are issued with a temporary residence certificate or letter by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC) pending a final decision on their application.
