Written Answers Nos 161-180
161. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if the spouse and child of a person (details supplied) in County Longford are deemed to be dependants or vice versa; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28924/14]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned has permission to reside in the State until 2 November 2014. I am further advised that for the purposes of obtaining permission to reside in the State, based on the type of permission currently held by the person concerned, their spouse and children are considered to be their dependents.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by email using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process.The Deputy may consider using the email service except in cases where the response from INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
162. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding temporary residence (details supplied) in County Sligo; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28804/14]
View answerThe question of residency status does not arise at this time in the case of the person whose details were supplied. If the person has 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.
163. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will outline in tabular form the total number of sick days taken by staff in her Department in 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014 further broken down by uncertified, certified and long-term absence leave. [28833/14]
View answerThe information sought by the Deputy in relation to sick leave for the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 (to date) is set out in the table. For the purpose of long term sick absence, the figures provided refer to absences in excess of 92 days.
|
Year |
Certified sick days |
Self certified sick days |
Long term sick absence (in excess of 92 days) |
Total |
|
2014 (to date) |
6286 |
819 |
855 |
7960 |
|
2013 |
12025 |
1245 |
4300 |
17570 |
|
2012 |
13033 |
1348 |
4977 |
19358 |
|
2011 |
12939 |
1654 |
4121 |
18714 |
164. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide in tabular form per annum all external consultant reports commissioned by her Department since March 2011; the costs per report; the company involved; the title of the report and the publication date. [28848/14]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that in the time available to do so it is not been possible to gather all the information requested. I will contact the Deputy directly when the information comes to hand.
165. Deputy Ann Phelan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons that have engaged with personal insolvency service to date; the number of cases that have dealt with mortgage arrears; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28868/14]
View answerI should advise the Deputy that the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) releases its statistics on a quarterly basis and the most up to date figures reflecting Quarter 2 of 2014 will be published on the ISI’s website www.isi.gov.ie later this month.
As outlined in the ISI’s Quarter 1 Statistical Report, the number of cases as at 31 March 2014 was as follows:
- 55 Debt Solution Arrangements Approved (44 Debt Relief Notices, 7 Debt Settlement Arrangements and 4 Personal Insolvency Arrangements).
- 523 cases in progress - (320 PIAs, 121 DSAs and 82 DRNs).
- 70 Protective Certificates issued by the Courts. (Protective Certificates give protection to debtors against legal action by creditors for a period and allows a Personal Insolvency Practitioner 70 days in which to develop an arrangement).
- 66 bankruptcies in the first Quarter of 2014.
In terms of other engagement with the Service, I can advise the Deputy that since 2013 the ISI has received almost 11,000 telephone calls to its information line and 2,500 email enquiries. The ISI website had in excess of 166,000 website visits and more than 55,000 documents were downloaded from the site.
The ISI has advised that it does not have data available on the number of cases that dealt specifically with mortgage arrears.
166. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the case of a child (details supplied) who is being threatened with deportation; the steps her Department can take to ensure that they are not deported; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28878/14]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned is part of a family unit who have all consented to deportation. The precise arrangements are being made for the various family members, including the person concerned, and are expected to be finalised in the near future. I would also refer the Deputy to my response to Parliamentary Question 155 of 19th June regarding the conduct of a member of the family concerned leading to criminal convictions.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
167. Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide information on a person (details supplied) in County Kerry in the Irish asylum process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28894/14]
View answerIf the person whose details were supplied has 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 remain in the protection process.
168. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding intimidation and violence in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 17; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28901/14]
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 again when the report is to hand.
169. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the procedure and process in which the Garda handles intimidation of families in their homes by criminal gangs; the guidelines to assist these families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28902/14]
View answerAny person who is a victim or a witness to crime including any form of intimidation or threatening behaviour should report the matter to An Garda Síochána.
In this regard I am informed by the Garda authorities that An Garda Síochána will in line with its obligations take appropriate steps in dealing with such cases, including the use of relevant provisions of the Criminal Law to prosecute suspected offenders.
In addressing such matters An Garda Síochána also has a framework in place for the analysis of threat related information and the designation of appropriate action to be taken by all parties.
Under this framework An Garda Síochána will liaise with the people involved in advising of the nature of the threat made against them and the risk determined. In terms of deciding on appropriate levels of Garda attention or protection, consideration is given to the specific nature of the threat and the measures necessary to mitigate the risk.
Furthermore, Garda Divisional Crime Prevention Officers are trained in the delivery of crime prevention advice across a wide range of areas to people at any risk of criminal threat. These officers can provide advice on increasing personal security or any other crime prevention matter. They also assess a person’s risk and can recommend security measures to suit each situation and level of risk. A list of these Crime Prevention Officers is available on www.garda.ie.
Finally, I am assured that where Gardaí receive a report of any activity of the type referred to An Garda Síochána will act resolutely in dealing with it and will provide support as appropriate to those who may be experiencing such intimidation.
170. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if a stamp 4 will be updated in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary in view of the fact that he has worked in this jurisdiction on foot of work permit in the past; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28923/14]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person mentioned by the Deputy entered the State on 02/07/2003 and had permission to remain in the State on foot of being the holder of a work permit until 22/06/2004. This person failed to renew their permission since that date.
Therefore it would seem that they have remained in the State without the permission of the Minister for Justice and Equality. This is in breach of Section 5 (1) of the Immigration Act 2004 which provides that no non-EEA national may be in the State other than in accordance with the terms of any permission given to them by or on behalf of the Minister. Furthermore, Section 5(2) of the Act provides that a non EEA national who is in the State in contravention of subsection (1) is for all purposes unlawfully present in the State.
It would therefore seem that this person has failed to meet the requirements of Section 9 of the Immigration Act of 2004 which sets out the obligations of non EEA nationals in respect of registration and in particular to the requirements of Section 9(2)(b) of the Act of 2004. A person who is found in breach of the requirements of the Immigration Act 2004 may have committed an offence. A person found guilty of such an offence may be liable under section 13 of the Act of 2004 to a fine not exceeding €3000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
The person mentioned should present himself to his local immigration officer.
171. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will set out the residency status in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28925/14]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person in question made an application for Long-Term Residency which was received by INIS on 20 September 2013. However, as the application did not satisfy the eligibility criteria, the applicant was informed by letter dated 24 September 2013 that their application could not be accepted at that time. The individual concerned currently has residence permission in the State until 2 November 2014.
I wish to advise the Deputy that the granting of Long Term Residency is subject to the applicant meeting a number of requirements including that he or she has completed five years legal residency in the State on work permit/work authorisation/working visa conditions and is deemed to be of good character. Additionally, all applicants must have permission to remain in the State at the time the application is submitted, and be in gainful employment throughout and after the application process.
It is open to any individual to lodge an application for Long Term Residency if and when they are in a position to meet the eligibility criteria. Full details of the qualifying criteria can be found on www.inis.gov.ie.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by email using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the email service except in cases where the response from INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited
172. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding determination of residency-eligibility for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28926/14]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that a valid application for a certificate of naturalisation has been received from the person referred to by the Deputy, who currently has permission to remain in the State until 10 October 2014.
The application is currently being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation, such as good character and lawful residence, and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible.
The Deputy may wish to note that queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been established specifically for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
173. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding determination of application for leave to remain-eligibility for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin who has submitted all the documentation requested; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28927/14]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service of my Department that the person concerned has applied for a right of residency in the State, accompanied by a right to work, based on their parentage of an Irish born minor citizen child, and based also on the principles of the Zambrano Judgment. This application is under consideration at present. When consideration of this application has been completed, and a decision is arrived at, the person concerned will be notified in writing.
The Deputy should note that as the person concerned has no current right of residency in the State, the issue of an application for a Certificate of Naturalisation does not arise at this time.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
174. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding residency-status-long term residency-eligibility for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 22; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28928/14]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that an application for renewal of permission to remain has been received from the person concerned. This application is under consideration at present. When consideration of this application has been completed, and a decision is arrived at, the person concerned will be notified in writing.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
175. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the current residency status in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Laois who has been reporting on a monthly basis to the immigration officer; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28933/14]
View answerI am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person referred to is the subject of a Deportation Order and therefore has no entitlement to residency in the State.
The person concerned initiated judicial review proceedings challenging the Deportation Order made in respect of him. Those proceedings were struck out in favour of the Department on 18 November 2013 and accordingly, the Deportation Order stands.
The effect of the Deportation Order is that the person concerned must leave the State and remain thereafter outside the State.
The enforcement of the Deportation Order is an operational matter for the Garda National Immigration Bureau.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS by Email using the Oireachtas mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up-to-date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from the INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
176. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding an appeal to remain in the State in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny. [28943/14]
View answerIf the person whose details were supplied has 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.
177. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding an application for subsidiary protection to stay in this country in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28967/14]
View answerIf the person whose details were supplied has 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 remain in the protection process.
178. Deputy Gerald Nash asked the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form the details of the names and occupations of each member of the board of SafeFood from 2010 to 2014 the dates on which each member was appointed to the board; if he will provide a list in tabular form of all expenses paid to individual members of the board on an annual basis for each of the years since their respective appointments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28810/14]
View answerDetails of the appointments and expenses of the Advisory Board members as requested by the Deputy are given as follows. The board comprises twelve members with multidisciplinary backgounds and expertise in the food sector. My Department does not retain information on their individual occupations. However profiles of each member of the Advisory Boards appointed in 2007 and 2011 are available on the FSPB/safefood website at the web-links below
http://www.safefood.eu/News/2008/New-Advisory-Board-appointed-to-safefood.aspx
http://www.safefood.eu/Utility/About-us/Who-we-are/Advisory-Board/Advisory-Board-members.aspx
Summary of Board Members Expenses 2010 - 2014
|
Name |
Date Of Appointment |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 To 30/06/14 |
|
John Dardis |
13/12/2007 |
1,849.79 |
4,565.47 |
|||
|
Ken Baird |
13/12/2007 |
408.20 |
887.88 |
|||
|
Joe Byrne |
13/12/2007 |
1,122.82 |
0.00 |
|||
|
Brian Cunnigham |
13/12/2007 |
164.69 |
0.00 |
|||
|
Aoife Healy |
13/12/2007 |
828.22 |
0.00 |
|||
|
Susan Heraghty |
13/12/2007 |
561.84 |
554.69 |
|||
|
Neven Maguire |
13/12/2007 |
0.00 |
159.83 |
|||
|
Seamus Sheridan |
13/12/2007 |
1,059.80 |
1,721.78 |
|||
|
Con Traas |
13/12/2007 |
1,254.18 |
2,319.06 |
|||
|
Campbell Tweedie |
13/12/2007 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
240.17 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
|
reappointed 13/12/2007 |
||||||
|
Jane Wells |
13/12/2007 |
500.77 |
783.74 |
922.68 |
1,566.42 |
251.57 |
|
reappointed 13/12/2007 |
||||||
|
Lynn Ni Bhaoigheallain |
13/12/2007 |
681.33 |
393.55 |
956.18 |
860.11 |
358.42 |
|
reappointed 13/12/2007 |
||||||
|
Darina Allen |
13/12/2011 |
0.00 |
495.67 |
201.99 |
||
|
Brendan Kehoe |
13/12/2011 |
1,944.62 |
1,339.92 |
0.00 |
||
|
Alan McGrath |
13/12/2011 |
1,150.68 |
1,246.07 |
0.00 |
||
|
Helen O Donnell |
13/12/2011 |
0.00 |
1,579.72 |
0.00 |
||
|
Edward Spellman |
13/12/2011 |
177.56 |
0.00 |
699.85 |
||
|
Mary Upton |
13/12/2011 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
||
|
Hannah Su |
13/12/2011 |
535.81 |
864.71 |
208.03 |
||
|
Julie Andrews |
13/12/2011 |
93.36 |
189.43 |
76.75 |
||
|
Thomas Burns |
13/12/2011 |
461.15 |
510.26 |
152.09 |
||
|
8,431.64 |
11,386.00 |
6,482.21 |
8,652.31 |
1,948.70 |
179. Deputy Brian Walsh asked the Minister for Health when a hospital appointment will be scheduled in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28746/14]
View answerThe National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014, has been developed to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care. This policy, which has been adopted by the Health Service Executive, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists.
In relation to the particular query raised by the Deputy, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to him on this matter.
180. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health when the ophthalmology theatre will be reopened in Waterford Regional Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28753/14]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
