Thursday, 6 Nov 2014

Written Answers Nos. 131 - 140

Legislative Measures

Questions (131)

Billy Timmins

Question:

131. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding an Act (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42678/14]

Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

As the Deputy is aware, there is an ongoing debate as to the approach to be adopted in tackling the exploitation associated with prostitution. There are a wide range of issues involved which require consideration and any proposals will be brought to Government in the usual way.

In terms of the trafficking of persons for prostitution and sexual exploitation, I would draw the Deputy's attention to the existing legislative provisions addressing the trafficking of persons for the purposes of exploitation (including sexual exploitation) which can attract significant penalties. The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 prohibits trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Any person found guilty of such an offence shall be liable to imprisonment for life or a lesser term, and at the discretion of the court, to a fine. It is also an offence for a person to solicit or importune a trafficked person for the purposes of prostitution with a potential penalty of imprisonment for up to 5 years and/or a fine.

There are also provisions in our criminal law directed at the public nuisances and exploitation associated with prostitution. Solicitation, by both the client and the prostitute, living on the earnings of prostitution, organising prostitution and running a brothel are all offences under the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993.

Garda Recruitment

Questions (132)

Mattie McGrath

Question:

132. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons who did not pass the verification tests that formed stage three of the Garda recruitment process; and the further plans in place to increase the recruitment numbers to An Garda Síochána. [42683/14]

Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

I have requested the information sought from the Garda authorities and I will revert to the Deputy in due course as soon as the information is to hand.

Residency Permits

Questions (133)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

133. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the current residency status in the case of persons (details supplied) in County Kildare; if arrangements may be made on humanitarian grounds to expedite the process in the wake of a recent tragic experience; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42694/14]

Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the persons referred to by the Deputy were granted temporary permission to remain in the State, on a stamp 4 basis, on 21 July, 2010. This permission was subsequently renewed with the latest permission granted up to 20th July, 2017.

I should remind the Deputy that 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 specially established for this purpose. The service enables up-to-date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek this information through the more administratively expensive Parliamentary questions process.

Departmental Expenditure

Questions (134, 135)

Ruth Coppinger

Question:

134. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide the details of average cuts paid by her Department and those under her aegis to recruitment and temporary employment agencies, that is the proportion of the fee paid from State funding to such agencies received by the worker and the proportion by the agency. [42711/14]

Paul Murphy

Question:

135. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an annual breakdown of the fees paid to recruitment and employment agencies by her Department and those under her aegis. [42725/14]

Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

I propose to take Questions Nos. 134 and 135 together.

As the Deputies have not specified the time frame of interest to them, the information provided below relates to 2013 and 2014. The Deputies should note that my Department and the Agencies under its remit use the services of the State's independent recruitment office, the Public Appointments Service, to the maximum extent possible. Where appropriate, that Service seeks reimbursement from its clients of certain costs which arise including advertising and interview board member expenses.

I am advised that my Department and Agencies under its remit do not ordinarily use the services of external recruitment or employment agencies. However, in respect of 2013 and 2014 the table below sets out the relevant expenditure as requested by the Deputies.

Department/ Agency	Year	Fees Paid	Recruitment/ Employment Agency	Service Provided
Irish Human Rights Commission	2013	€5,894	Premier Recruitment Ltd.	Clerical cover for staff on leave / events
	2014	€13,009	Premier Recruitment Ltd.	Provision of phonereception and clerical support in Jervis House
Office of the State Pathologist	2013	€80,293.15	TTM Healthcare	Lab Services - Locum Senior Scientist
	2014	€67,017.22	TTM Healthcare	Lab Services - Locum Senior Scientist

Family Support Services

Questions (136)

Eric J. Byrne

Question:

136. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will provide in tabular form the funding that has been provided to the Family Support Agency for the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42547/14]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The functions provided by the Family Support Agency transferred to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs upon its establishment in June 2011. Details of the funding provided to the Agency by my Department are set out in the following table.

Family Support Agency funding

Year	Amount
2011	€15.195m *
2012	€25.966m
2013	€23.599m

*The balance of the Agency funding of €16.042m was provided by the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs.

The Deputy might note that the Family Support Agency was dissolved on 31st December, 2013 and its services came under the remit of the new Child and Family Agency on 1st January, 2014.

Family Law Cases

Questions (137)

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy

Question:

137. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will introduce legislation to strengthen unmarried fathers' rights to obtain access to their children, for them to be consulted on the country of residence for their children, the rights they have if their children are taken out of the country without their consent by the mother; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42642/14]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The issue raised by the Deputy is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Justice and Equality.

Adoption Legislation

Questions (138)

David Stanton

Question:

138. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when a response will issue to correspondence initially sent to his Department on 24 April 2014, further to a commitment given during a Topical Issue debate on 25 March 2014 regarding post-adoption services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42674/14]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

A response to the correspondence mentioned in the Deputy question has issued.

Under adoption legislation, when a child is registered on the Register of Intercountry Adoptions the child is deemed to be the fully legal child of the adoptive parent/couple, having the same legal status as any biological child of the couple born to them within their marriage. Accordingly, it is open to any adopted child to access Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services operated by the Tusla - the Child and Family Agency. The type of service provided is then dependent on the individual needs of the child and is resource dependent.

The Minister notes the comments made by his predecessor in relation to interaction with Barnardos regarding post adoption service provision and training in that regard. As you are aware the Child and Family Agency has responsibility for service provision in this regard and the Minister has asked that your view on this matter be brought to the attention of the Agency.

Departmental Expenditure

Questions (139, 140)

Ruth Coppinger

Question:

139. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will provide the details of average cuts paid by his Department and those under his aegis to recruitment and temporary employment agencies, that is the proportion of the fee paid from State funding to such agencies received by the worker and the proportion by the agency. [42703/14]

Paul Murphy

Question:

140. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will provide an annual breakdown of the fees paid to recruitment and employment agencies by his Department and those under his aegis. [42716/14]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Deputy James Reilly)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 139 and 140 together.

I presume the Deputies are enquiring about the use of agency staff to meet a short-term service need or where some flexibility in staffing a service is required. In that regard, I can confirm that my Department does not currently engage such services.

The information requested in respect of the agencies under my aegis is not normally held in my Department and I have asked my officials to arrange for the Child and Family Agency, The Adoption Authority of Ireland, The Ombudsman for Children's Office and the Children Detention Schools to supply this information directly to the Deputy.