Written Answers Nos. 211-220
211. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons who were sentenced to jail for non-payment of fines in 2012 and 2013; the amount the fines involved and the length of sentence they served. [31890/14]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014 was signed into law by the President on 16 April 2014. The aim of the legislation is to improve the rate of fine default and reduce to the greatest extent possible the use of imprisonment as a sanction for fine default. It provides that the Court imposing a fine shall take into account a person's financial circumstances. It further provides, inter alia, that where a person fails to pay a fine by the due date the Court may make an attachment order to earnings as a means of recovering an unpaid fine. The Act does not, however, provide that the Court may make an attachment order to social welfare payments.
A Project Board is in place to oversee the implementation of the Act and to deal with such issues as the design and development of new systems to support the new payment arrangements. The intention is that the Act will be commenced in stages while necessary regulations are introduced and it is envisaged that the first provision to be commenced later this year will be the provision for payment by instalments.
I can advise the Deputy that the number of committals to prison as a consequence of the non-payment of a court ordered fine during 2013 was 8,121. This represented a 2.2% decrease on the 2012 figure of 8,304.
The proportion of persons in custody for non-payment of fines at any time is a minute fraction of the overall prisoner population. To illustrate this point on 15 July 2014, 5 prisoners or 0.1 % of the prison population of 3,978 fell into this category.
It is not possible to provide information on the amount of the fine in each case or the length of sentence served by persons committed to custody for fines without a manual examination of records.
However, in relation to the length of time served by those committed to custody for the non-payment of a court ordered fine, based on a statistical sample undertaken in 2012, the Irish Prison Service has determined that the vast majority of these committals spent less than 2 days in custody and on average spent 1 day in custody.
212. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding eligibility for long-term residency in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 16; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31891/14]
View answerI am advised by officials in the Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person referred to by the Deputy submitted an application for Long Term Residency in November 2012. However, as the application did not satisfy the eligibility criteria, the application was refused and the applicant was advised accordingly also in November 2012.
The criteria for eligibility for Long Term Residency is set out in detail in the INIS website: - http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Long_Term_Residency
The Deputy may wish to note that queries in relation to immigration matters may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose This service enable up to date information on such case 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.
213. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide details of all properties owned and under the control of her Department in County Limerick; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31919/14]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that the following properties in County Limerick are either owned or under the control of my Department.
Units 3-7 The Bays, Moyross Enterprise Centre, Knocklisheen Road, Moyross, County Limerick are owned by my Department. This complex (comprising Units 1-7), houses 2 youth justice projects - Céim ar Chéim, a Young Persons Probation community project and CCYDG, a Garda Youth Diversion Project. Moyross Development Company leases Units 3-7 from the Department.
Limerick Prison, Mulgrave Street and Costello's Yard which is land located next door to the prison is also owned by my Department.
214. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide all members of prison visiting committees; their dates of appointment and expiry of term of appointment; the vacancies on each committee; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31920/14]
View answerI can advise the Deputy that Visiting Committee members are appointed for a period of three years by the Minister for Justice and Equality under the Prisons (Visiting Committees) Act 1925 and Prisons (Visiting Committees) Order 1925. There are fourteen Visiting Committees in existence – one for each institution.
Each Visiting Committee comprises no more than six members, and only suitable people with appropriate qualifications and a genuine interest in prison issues are appointed.
The following table lists the current members of the Visiting Committees, their dates of appointment and expiry of term of appointment and the number of vacancies in each.
ARBOUR HILL
|
Appointment Date |
Expiry Date |
Member of Visiting Committee |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Rita Hayes |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Dr. Abdullah Bulbulia |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Wilhelmina Daly |
|
28.03.2012 |
27.03.2015 |
Paddy Murray |
|
26.10.2012 |
25.10.2015 |
Angela O'Connor |
|
01.07.2013 |
30.06.2016 |
Tommie Healy |
|
- |
- |
No Vacancies |
CASTLEREA
|
Appointment Date |
Expiry Date |
Name |
|
28.03.2012 |
27.03.2015 |
Michael Nevin |
|
22.10.2012 |
21.10.2015 |
Eddie Brady |
|
22.10.2012 |
21.10.2015 |
Martin Daly |
|
01.07.2013 |
30.06.2016 |
John Keavney |
|
- |
- |
Two Vacancies |
CLOVER HILL PRISON
|
Appointment Date |
Expiry Date |
Name |
|
12.03.2013 |
11.03.2016 |
Margaret ( Peggy ) Downey |
|
12.03.2013 |
11.03.2016 |
Fintan Hudson |
|
01.07.2013 |
30.06.2016 |
David Ruddy |
|
01.07.2013 |
30.06.2016 |
Laura Jenkins |
|
- |
Two Vacancies |
CORK
|
Appointment Date |
Expiry Date |
Member of Visiting Committee |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Dermot O'Connell |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Mary Loughnane |
|
22.10.2012 |
21.10.2015 |
Tomas Ryan |
|
01.07.2013 |
30.06.2016 |
Robin Murray |
|
14.10.2013 |
13.10.2016 |
Anthony Donnelly |
|
- |
- |
One Vacancy |
DÓCHAS
|
Appointment Date |
Expiry Date |
Member Visiting Committee |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Noel Cloak |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Bernie Donnelly |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Mary Elliott |
|
22.10.2012 |
21.10.2015 |
Ruth Gallagher |
|
26.10.2012 |
25.10.2015 |
Anne Delaney |
|
- |
- |
One Vacancy |
LIMERICK
|
Appointment Date |
Expiry Date |
Member Visiting Committee |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Val Rooney |
|
15.02.2012 |
14.02.2015 |
Mary Prendergast |
|
20.02.2012 |
19.02.2015 |
John Higgins |
|
28.03.2012 |
27.03.2015 |
Patricia McCarthy |
|
26.10.2012 |
25.10.2015 |
James Houlihan |
|
01.07.2013 |
30.06.2016 |
Pat Conway |
|
- |
- |
No Vacancies |
LOUGHAN HOUSE
|
Appointment Date |
Expiry Date |
Member of Visiting Committee |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Kathleen Richey |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Andrew Cullen. |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Patrick Boyle |
|
03.12.2012 |
02.12.2015 |
Peter Cutliffe |
|
- |
- |
Two Vacancies |
MIDLANDS
|
Appointment Date |
Expiry Date |
Member of Visiting Committee |
|
08.10.2012 |
07.10.2015 |
Colette Fennelly |
|
10.10.2013 |
09.10.2016 |
Margaret O'Dwyer |
|
10.10.2013 |
09.10.2016 |
Ted Laffey |
|
- |
- |
Three Vacancies |
MOUNTJOY
|
Appointment Date |
Expiry Date |
Member of Visiting Committee |
|
23.01.2013 |
22.01.2015 |
Joe Aherne |
|
01.07.2013 |
30.06.2016 |
Phelim McGee |
|
- |
- |
Four Vacancies |
PORTLAOISE
|
Appointment Date |
Expiry Date |
Member of Visiting Committee |
|
26.10.2012 |
25.10.2015 |
Brian O'Neill |
|
03.12.2013 |
02.12.2015 |
Margaret Guijt-Lawlor |
|
01.07.2013 |
30.06.2016 |
Michael Hough |
|
- |
- |
Three Vacancies |
SHELTON ABBEY
|
Appointment Date |
Expiry Date |
Member of Visiting Committee |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Gerry Delaney |
|
15.02.2012 |
14.02.2015 |
Thomas Gregan |
|
15.02.2012 |
14.02.2015 |
Margaret Short |
|
21.02.2012 |
20.02.2015 |
Richard Codd |
|
25.11.2013 |
24.11.2016 |
Marie O'Rourke |
|
- |
One Vacancy |
ST. PATRICK'S INSTITUTION
|
Appointment Date |
Expiry Date |
Member of Visiting Committee |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Denis Murphy |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
John ( Seán) Lyons |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Emma Muldowney |
|
15.02.2012 |
14.02.2015 |
Niall Counihan |
|
- |
- |
Two Vacancies |
TRAINING UNIT
|
Appointment Date |
Expiry Date |
Member of Visiting Committee |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Sadie Jordan |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Fintan Kelly |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Deirdre Kenneally |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Patrick Noel Turley |
|
14.01.2013 |
13.01.2016 |
Patrick Holton |
|
01.07.2013 |
30.06.2016 |
Anne Confrey |
|
- |
- |
No Vacancies |
WHEATFIELD
|
Appointment Date |
Expiry Date |
Member of Visiting Committee |
|
23.01.2012 |
22.01.2015 |
Stewart Stephens |
|
28.03.2013 |
27.03.2015 |
Kathleen Gill |
|
26.10.2012 |
25.10.2015 |
Brenda Coyne |
|
03.12.2012 |
02.12.2015 |
Anne Carter |
|
03.06.2014 |
02.06.2017 |
Joe Fitzsimons |
|
- |
- |
One Vacancy |
215. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide details of the panel of legal experts recently established to review or screen correspondence and complaints received by her; the names of the members of this panel, under what criteria were they engaged or appointed; the term of appointment; if the positions were advertised publicly; the rate of remuneration or payment they are to receive; their terms of reference; the person to whom they report; if they will be accountable to the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31921/14]
View answerI am establishing a mechanism for the independent review by counsel of allegations concerning the conduct of members of the Garda Síochána or inadequacies in the investigation of such allegations which have been made to the Taoiseach or the Minister for Justice and Equality.
The review will consist of an examination by counsel of the papers in each case. Counsel will be asked in each case to make a recommendation to me on what further action, if any, might be appropriate, and I will carefully consider each such recommendation. The work of counsel will begin shortly, and the aim is to have the majority of cases reviewed within a period of between 8 and 12 weeks.
Many of the allegations are historic in nature, and it is important to emphasise that any member of the public who wishes to make a current complaint regarding Garda conduct may contact the independent Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.
Counsel will be paid a fee on a case by case basis of €300, €550 or €800 depending on the complexity of each case. Senior Counsel will additionally have a brief fee of €20,000 to oversee the operation of the mechanism and ensure consistency of approach across all the cases. The counsel involved, who were engaged in accordance with normal practice, are to date:
Connor Devally SC,
Aileen Donnelly, SC ,
Paul Carroll,
John Fitzgerald,
Tony McGuillicuddy,
Siobhán Ni Chúlacháin,
Karen O'Connor.
216. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide details for each insolvency judge appointed recently; where each judge sits; the number of cases each judge has dealt with since appointment under the Personal Insolvency Act; if these judges are available for other duties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31922/14]
View answerSix Specialist Judges of the Circuit Court were appointed on 15 July 2013 in accordance with Part Six of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 which provided for the amendment of the Courts Acts to create a cadre of Specialist Judges of the Circuit Court to facilitate the speedy consideration of insolvency applications by that Court. As the Deputy will recall, these judges previously served as County Registrars and provision was made for their appointment in order to avoid expenditure on additional judicial salaries and pensions.
It is my intention that these new judges will also be given jurisdiction to deal with applications to the Circuit Court under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013 of which there are likely to be very significant numbers when that Bill is enacted later this year. The Deputy will also be aware that the number of insolvency applications is increasing by the month and will continue to increase into the autumn. The legislation assigning functions to the Specialist Judges will, of course, be kept under review in my Department.
As the Deputy also may be aware, the scheduling of court cases and the allocation of court business is a matter for the President of the Circuit Court who is, under the Constitution, independent in the exercise of his judicial functions. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that one office in each circuit was designated to deal with all insolvency applications in that circuit and at least one judge was appointed to each circuit as set out in the table below:
|
Name |
Circuit area |
|
Judge Mary N. Enright |
South Eastern and Dublin Circuits |
|
Judge Verona Lambe |
Midland and Dublin Circuits |
|
Judge William G. Lyster |
Western and Northern Circuits |
|
Judge Patrick Meghan |
South Western and Cork Circuits |
|
Judge Mary O'Malley Costello |
Eastern and Dublin Circuits |
|
Judge Susan Ryan |
Dublin Circuit |
The Courts Service has also advised that in the period up to 14 July 2014 a total of 368 cases have been dealt with in the Circuit Court under the Personal Insolvency Act 2012. A breakdown by circuit court area is set out below.
|
Circuit area |
Cases |
|
Dublin Circuit |
71 |
|
Cork Circuit |
46 |
|
Eastern Circuit |
104 |
|
Western Circuit |
15 |
|
Northern Circuit |
21 |
|
Midland Circuit |
16 |
|
South Eastern Circuit |
60 |
|
South Western Circuit |
35 |
|
Total |
368 |
217. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason there is no legislation in place to allow Irish citizens to attain enhanced security clearance which would allow them to work on federal buildings in Canada when the will is there to establish such from the Canadian authorities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31994/14]
View answerThere are already procedures in place to provide individuals or organisations with details of data held about them by An Garda Síochána.
Garda vetting is currently provided by the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) in the case of those seeking employment in Ireland with registered organisations where the employment involves substantial unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults. However, criminal history vetting for general employment purposes, here or abroad, is not available on demand.
It is not possible to register organisations from outside this jurisdiction with the GCVU. The Deputy will appreciate that its priority, particularly taking into account resource issues, must be on providing vetting information within this jurisdiction.
I should mention that an individual may apply to the Garda Síochána for a disclosure under Section 4 of the Data Protection Act 1988 (as amended) for a copy of the personal data which is maintained by An Garda Síochána. Such a disclosure is made to the individual to whom the data relates.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that a Police Certificate of Character may be issued by An Garda Síochána in respect of a given individual, for the purposes of foreign consular and immigration requirements and for foreign business establishment. Applications should be made at a person's local Garda Station.
218. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide in tabular form those Acts currently in force for which she has lead responsibility that have parts or sections yet to be formally commenced; the details or purpose of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32007/14]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that as Minister for Justice I have lead responsibility for a significant range of legislative functions and matters, spanning a very large number of Acts, which cannot be easily listed in response to a Parliamentary Question, given the time and resource that would be required.
The Deputy may be interested in the "Legislation Directory Entry" facility on www.irishstatutebook.ie which provides, inter alia, information concerning commencement details re sections of individual Acts.
With respect to the request for details of those legislative provisions that have yet to be commenced in respect of legislation passed by the Oireachtas since 2011, please see tabled below.
|
Act |
Details |
Date of Commencement |
|
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. |
|
National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 |
Yet to be commenced. |
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 |
|
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. |
|
Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014 |
Sections commenced are (a) section 1; (b) sections 2 and 109 in so far as those sections relate to sections 147 and 148; (c) sections 147 and 148. |
A range of Commencement Orders will be required to commence the various other sections of this recent enactment in due course. |
|
Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014 |
The 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. |
|
Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011 |
Part 10 (Maintenance of Professional Competence of Licensees) |
Intended to commence Part 10 during 2014. This will require the putting in place of a range of courses for licensed Property Service Providers. |
220. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) in County Clare is paying over and above the monthly threshold amount under the drug payment scheme for the cost of his prescribed medication and appliances, all of which are supported by the drug payment scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31692/14]
View answerThe HSE is responsible for the administration of the primary care schemes, therefore, the HSE has been asked to investigate the circumstances of the case raised by the Deputy and to reply to him as soon as possible.
