Written Answers Nos. 285-299
285. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the progress to date in the determination of an application for family reunification in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45176/14]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that, following the consideration of their case under Section 3 (6) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned was granted discretionary permission to remain in the State on 15th May, 2013, for an initial, and renewable, one year period, valid to 15th May, 2014. This permission to remain was renewed for a further two years on 15th May, 2014, valid to 14th May, 2016. The initial permission to remain decision letter, and the permission to remain renewal decision letter, issued to the person concerned explicitly stated that this permission did not confer any entitlement or legitimate expectation on any other person, whether related to them or not, to enter or remain in the State.
The Deputy might wish to note that access to family reunification is confined to persons recognised as refugees or with subsidiary protection status. The person concerned holds neither status.
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.
286. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her views on whether it is appropriate to send large representative of Garda units, including dog units, mounted unit, aerial support unit and others along with the Dublin Fire Brigade and the Road Safety Authority into schools at a time when Garda resources are stretched on the ground and at a time when there were no other Garda resources working in the geographic area; and if there is a code of practice in that regard. [45220/14]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, one of the primary functions of the Garda Commissioner under the Garda Síochána Acts, is to direct and control An Garda Síochána. In this regard, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of all resources, including fully sworn members and Reserve Gardaí, among the Garda Regions, Divisions and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review in the context of security assessments, crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of these resources.
The Garda Schools Programme is managed and directed by the Community Relations Bureau. The Garda Primary Schools Programme was first introduced in 1991. It is a comprehensive education programme for 5th class pupils in Primary Schools throughout the country. The programme aims to teach children sensible and responsible patterns of behaviour in order that they may:
- Lessen the risks they may face through crime
- Be safer on the roads and at home
- Positively contribute towards Crime Prevention
- Know what the Role of An Garda Síochána is
- Develop positive attitudes towards the role and work of An Garda Síochána
The programme consists of a series of presentations given to the school children by their local Gardaí. These Gardaí have been trained in the delivery of the programme, which includes the following topics:
- The Role of the Garda
- Road/Cycle Safety
- Bullying
- Vandalism
- Personal Safety
- Drugs
- Crime Prevention
The Garda Secondary Schools Programme has been developed and is at present being introduced to Second Level schools throughout the country. The programme was designed in conjunction with the Social, Personal & Health Education (SPHE) syllabus of the Department of Education & Science.
Trained Gardaí are available to co-facilitate classes as part of the SPHE course at Junior Cycle level in the following two modules - (i) Substance Use and (ii) Personal Safety Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE), as part of the schools curriculum, supports the personal development, health and well being of young people and helps them create and maintain supportive relationships.
In relation to visits to Schools from members of An Garda Síochána Traffic Corps, Road Safety is traditionally accepted as being comprised of 3 main components, namely Enforcement, Education and Engineering. The main role of An Garda Síochána is one of enforcement, and education by Garda members is also seen as vital in educating young people of the dangers on the road network, ultimately helping to prevent road traffic collisions.
Members of the Traffic Corps visit secondary schools, colleges, businesses and community groups to educate of the dangers from the main road safety issues, namely excessive or inappropriate speed, intoxicated driving, fatigue, distractions and the non use of safety belts.
If considered against the financial cost, each road traffic fatality is estimated to cost over €2.5 million when every aspect of the collision is taken into account. In this regard, the use of Garda resources as an educational and preventive measure is considered a worthwhile use of Garda resources.
In relation to the Garda Operational Support Unit Resources which consists of four specialist units namely, the Garda Air Support Unit, Garda Dog Unit, Garda Mounted Unit and Garda Water Unit, these Units receive a considerable number of requests to visit schools and other community events.
Each request is adjudicated on an individual basis and is accommodated where possible, subject to sufficient resources being available and no greater operational requirement for An Garda Síochána at that time.
Visits to schools are considered hugely important to the development of young people at a formative age and their interaction with An Garda Síochána is enormously popular with teachers, parents and children. Such visits are considered a core function in the engagement of An Garda Síochána with the community in line with our mission statement.
Matters relating to the Dublin Fire Brigade should be directed to the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government and matters relating to the Road Safety Authority to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
287. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if the Garda have the facility to trace a person's whereabouts through their mobile account (details supplied) account specifically relating to a person with an outstanding European arrest warrant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45221/14]
View answerUnder the provisions of the European Arrest Warrant Act, as amended, the High Court is the executing judicial authority in the State. The Minister's function, in relation to a warrant received from another Member State, is to apply or cause an application to be made to the High Court for endorsement of the warrant. Once the warrant is endorsed, it falls to the Garda authorities to arrest the subject of the warrant and bring him/her before the High Court.
The Garda authorities use all means available to them under the law, and cooperate with their counterparts in other jurisdictions, in tracing those who are the subjects of such warrants and I do not consider it appropriate to disclose operational arrangements in this regard.
288. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality regarding the Foy report of 2004, whereby consent was only given for the report to be used for further Garda and forensic investigations, if she will have this report removed from her Department's website. [45226/14]
View answerThe Report the Deputy refers to was furnished to my Department to advance the case being made by the Stardust Victims Committee for the holding of a fresh Inquiry into the Stardust Fire.
Subsequently, an Independent Examination of the Stardust Victims Committee Case for a Re-opened Inquiry was established. As part of the preparatory work for the Examination, the Solicitor for that Examination requested from my Department various background documents including the Report referred to by the Deputy. My Department complied with this request.
On completion of the Examination, the Report of the Independent Examination of the Stardust Victims Committee Case for a Re-opened Inquiry into the Stardust Disaster was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas; it was also published on the website of my Department. The Report to which the Deputy refers is one of a number of reports of various natures that are contained in Appendix 9 (Expert Reports considered) of the Report of the Independent Examination.
The Report of the Independent Examination of the Stardust Victims Committee Case for a Reopened Inquiry into the Stardust Disaster is now part of the public record and it would not be appropriate for me to seek to remove part of an independent report of this nature from the public domain.
289. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide in tabular form the number of incidents where a crime has been committed utilising a licensed gun as a weapon from 2010 to date in 2014; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45287/14]
View answerI have asked the Garda Commissioner for a report on this matter and will write to the Deputy when it becomes available, although the Deputy will appreciate that guns utilised in the commission of offences are often not recovered and, accordingly, it is not possible to determine the provenance of the weapons.
290. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide in tabular form from 2010 to date in 2014 the number of gun licence applications refused by An Garda Síochána; the number of those refusals which were appealed to the courts; the number of those applications which were successful in the courts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45288/14]
View answerI have asked the Garda Commissioner for a report on the matter insofar as An Garda Síochána are concerned and will write to the Deputy when it becomes available.
The Courts Service has advised that the information related to District Court cases is not readily available and could only be retrieved by way of a manual examination of each individual court record. As I am sure the Deputy will appreciate, this would require the expenditure of a disproportionate amount of staff time and resources which cannot be justified.
291. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an update on the visa application in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 3. [45299/14]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that, as the person concerned had no valid basis to remain in the State, they were, by letter dated 4th December, 2012, notified that the then Minister proposed to make a Deportation Order in respect of them, in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended). They were given the options, to be exercised within 15 working days, of leaving the State voluntarily, of consenting to the making of a Deportation Order or of making written representations to the then Minister setting out the reasons why they should not have a Deportation Order made against them. Written representations have been submitted by and on behalf of the person concerned.
The position in the State of the person concerned will now be decided by reference to the provisions of Section 3 (6) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) and Section 5 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended) on the prohibition of refoulement. All representations submitted will be fully considered in advance of a final decision being made.
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.
293. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide details of any moneys that her Department has provided to Associated Charities Trust (details supplied) since 1990. [45325/14]
View answer294. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if her Department has conducted investigations or due diligence work in relation to Associated Charities Trust (details supplied). [45326/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 293 and 294 together.
The only moneys which have been provided to Associated Charities Trust by my Department has been under the Charitable Lotteries Scheme.
The Charitable Lotteries Scheme was established in 1997 to provide assistance to the promoters of certain private charitable lotteries that have products similar to those sold by the National Lottery. The Charitable Lotteries fund was administered by the Department of Finance until mid 2011, at which time responsibility for its administration was transferred to my Department.
Details of payments made to Associated Charities Trust under the Charitable Lotteries Scheme in 2011, 2012 and 2013 are as follows:
2011: €25,905.21
2012: €27,067.26
2013: €18,523.79
Applications for assistance under the Scheme for 2014 are currently being assessed by my Department, and this process should be completed shortly. The Scheme will be discontinued once the final payments have issued under it in 2015.
In relation to investigation and due diligence, all payments under the Charitable Lotteries Scheme are subject to compliance by beneficiaries with the terms and conditions of the Scheme. This includes the provision of audited accounts for the three most recent accounting years.
295. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if her Department, or any agency of her Department, has awarded any contracts to a company (details supplied) since 9 March 2011. [45350/14]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that neither my Department nor any agency of my Department have awarded any contracts to the company referred to by the Deputy.
297. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps regarding special care units for children; if an application is refused if there is a right to appeal; the criteria for this right to appeal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45251/14]
View answer298. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children who are in special care units here; the cost per annum for these children; if he will provide a breakdown by county on the number of children in care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45252/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 297 and 298 together.
Special care involves the detention of a child for his or her own welfare and protection in a special care unit (SCU) on order of the High Court. SCU’s differ from ordinary residential care in that the Units offer higher staff ratios, on-site education as well as specialised input such as psychology and child psychiatric services. The child is detained as a result of a High Court Order, and not on the basis of any criminal activity.
Special care has operated under the High Court’s inherent jurisdiction since the 1990s. The Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011 creates a statutory framework for the High Court to deal with special care cases instead of employing its inherent jurisdiction. Work is currently underway to commence the Act. Section 23 (c) and (b) defines special care as the provision of care to a child which addresses "his or her behaviour and the risk of harm it poses to his or her life, health, safety, development or welfare and his or her care requirements and includes medical and psychiatric assessment, examination and treatment, and educational supervision."
Admission criteria are set out in an information booklet (Revised 4th Edition July 2014) which is available on request from Tusla Special Care Services (01 6352537 / specialcare.referrals@tusla.ie). The steps in relation to application for special care begin with the child's social worker submitting a referral to the Special Care Referrals Committee. Membership of the Committee comprises an independent chairperson, two area managers from the Child and Family Agency and a unit manager from one of the special care units. Where necessary, other professionals, psychiatrists for example, may be consulted in the review. The referring social worker attends the Committee meeting and is notified of the Committee's final decision within 24 hours of the meeting.
When applications are declined, the social work team is informed in writing of the specific criteria not met and the chairperson is available for consultation. If the referring Social Work Department is not satisfied with the outcome, the secretary of the Committee directs them in the first instance to the chairperson for resolution and then to the national manager for special care services.
I have requested information in relation to the cost from the Agency and I will revert to the Deputy when this information is to hand. As of September 2014 there were 17 children in special care places - 10 in Ballydowd, Co. Dublin, 4 in Gleann Alainn, Co. Cork, and 3 in Coovagh House, Co. Limerick. At the end of September the Agency reported that there was a total of 6,470 children in care, indicating that 0.26% if those in care were in a special care placement. County level data is not available as the Child and Family Agency collates its statistics on the basis of 17 administrative areas. The most recent information disaggregated by administrative area is for July 2014 and is set out in the table.
|
Children in Care 2014 |
July Children in Care |
Special Care |
|
Dublin South Central |
393 |
2 |
|
Dublin South East/Wicklow |
311 |
1 |
|
Dublin South West/Kildare/West Wicklow |
489 |
4 |
|
Midlands |
356 |
0 |
|
Dublin City North |
632 |
2 |
|
Dublin North |
312 |
1 |
|
Louth/Meath |
400 |
0 |
|
Cavan/Monaghan |
185 |
0 |
|
Cork |
927 |
0 |
|
Kerry |
141 |
0 |
|
Carlow/Kilkenny and South Tipperary |
385 |
1 |
|
Waterford/Wexford |
488 |
2 |
|
Mid West |
595 |
3 |
|
Galway/Roscommon |
462 |
1 |
|
Mayo |
136 |
0 |
|
Donegal |
186 |
0 |
|
Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan |
88 |
0 |
|
National Total |
6,486 |
17 |
299. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his plans to meet with the canal community local policing forum (details supplied). [44790/14]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that I have no plans at this time to meet with the Canal Community Policing Forum.
