Written Answers Nos. 328-344
328. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if Garda reserves will be invited to apply for the next round of recruitment for An Garda Síochána; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46041/14]
View answerRecruitment competitions to An Garda Síochána are open to all who meet the eligibility criteria which are set out in the Garda Síochána (Admissions and Appointments) Regulations 2013.
For those who do meet these requirements, the Admission and Appointment Regulations provide that, as part of the competitive selection process organised by the Public Appointments Service for full-time membership of An Garda Síochána, "due recognition to any satisfactory service by the person as a reserve member" shall be given to such candidates. This provision was introduced in order to acknowledge the beneficial experience and skills gained by a reserve member and to allow them, at assessments and at interview, the opportunity to highlight that experience and skill. It is important that all persons wishing to join the full time force undergo the same competitive selection and recruitment process. In doing so the integrity of the process is maintained at all stages of the competition.
329. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of vacancies that currently exist in the District and Circuit Courts; her plans to fill these vacancies at the earliest opportunity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46054/14]
View answerFollowing the recent appointment of seven judges, including a serving judge of the District Court, to the Circuit Court, there are currently no vacancies in the Circuit Court. There is currently one vacancy in the District Court, arising from the recent appointment to the Circuit Court. The District Court vacancy will be filled as soon as possible.
330. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to provide funding for the purchase of new Garda mountain bikes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46055/14]
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 existing mountain bike stock is considered sufficient to meet policing requirements and that, based upon operational priorities, there are currently no plans to purchase additional Garda mountain bikes.
331. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she has committed funds to upgrade IT systems in view of the requirements of the Road Traffic Act 2010 third payment option; the timeframe for such an upgrade; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46071/14]
View answerA detailed financial analysis of the work associated with the substantial technical and administrative measures necessary to commence the provision referred to by the Deputy has recently been concluded by a subgroup of the Criminal Justice (Fixed Charge Penalty System) Working Group. Work is ongoing in relation to making the necessary arrangements for the financing of this project. I hope to be able to make a further announcement on this matter in the near future.
332. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when the PULSE system will be upgraded; the timeline for such an upgrade; when gardaí will be able to access the upgraded system for summons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46072/14]
View answerI am informed by the Garda authorities that a number of PULSE software upgrades are scheduled every year to keep the system up to date with operational requirements and legislative changes such as new offences. In this regard three such software upgrades are planned for 2015 which will include enhancements across all areas of PULSE including summons.
333. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the records that have been kept on disqualified drivers surrendering their licence; if this is a recorded offence on the PULSE system; if their are plans to make it a recordable offence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46073/14]
View answerI am making inquiries with the Garda authorities in relation to the Deputy's query and will contact him again when further information is to hand.
334. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the current status of the spent convictions Bill; and when it will be enacted. [46076/14]
View answer335. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if a person (details supplied) in County Mayo who has previous convictions dating from the 1970s, will qualify under the spent convictions legislation. [46077/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 334 and 335 together.
The Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill has passed Committee Stage in the Dáil, having passed all stages in the Seanad. However, before the Bill could be taken at Report Stage, a 2013 UK Court of Appeal judgment necessitated a review of the disclosure provisions in both the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 and the Spent Convictions Bill. That review has been completed and amendments to the Vetting Act and consequential amendments to the Spent Convictions Bill are currently being drafted. The Bill will be enacted at the earliest opportunity. Pending the amendment of the Bill, an Administrative Filter for Garda Vetting Disclosures has been introduced, which provides that certain minor offences that are over 7 years old are no longer disclosed.
The Deputy has not supplied any details of the convictions that may be at issue and in the absence of such information I am not in a position to comment.
336. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the records that are kept by the Courts Service on disqualified drivers who failed to surrender their licences; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46088/14]
View answerI wish to inform the Deputy that, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in exercising its functions, which include the provision of information on the courts system.
However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy I have had enquiries made and I am informed that the arrangements in relation to driving licences changed in January 2013. Up to then, when a person was disqualified by a court, they had to send/hand their driving licence into the court office. The disqualification was physically marked on the licence which was then sent to the relevant motor tax office where it was held until the period of disqualification was completed or the licence was restored by the court.
From January 2013, the person was required to send the licence directly to the licensing authority. This coincided with the introduction of the new card type driving licences on which details of a disqualification could not physically be entered. The fines notice which now issues to the person who was fined and disqualified includes the following "Please forward your driving licence to the National Driver Licence Service, PO Box 858, Southside Delivery Office, Cork for the purpose of having the particulars of the conviction of disqualification of the District Court endorsed on your driver record".
As the Courts Service no longer has a role in relation to the surrender of a licence by the disqualified driver no records are maintained in this regard. In relation to the role of the Road Safety Authority in this regard, I understand that my colleague the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport will reply to the Deputy.
337. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question 286 of 7 October 2014, if she will indicate if she is satisfied that all moneys advanced to an organisation (details supplied) have been properly accounted for, in view of the attached correspondence from the organisation's risk and audit committee; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46097/14]
View answer356. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide in tabular form the funding that has been advanced in respect of an organisation (details supplied) from 2005 to 2014, specifically if any European funding has been channelled through her Department to this body; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46242/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 337 and 356 together.
I understand that the organisation in question was established in 2009 as a result of the amalgamation of two other bodies.
The only funding the organisation itself has received from my Department was a payment made in 2010 in respect of monies owed to one of the predecessor bodies. Details of payments to those bodies since 2005 and the schemes under which they were made are in the following table. As the names of the Funds imply, the payments from the European Refugee Fund and the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals were financed by the EU.
|
Year |
Grant under the National Action Plan against Racism |
Small Grants for immigrant integration |
European Refugee Fund |
European Fund for the Integration of Third Country Nationals |
Immigrant Integration Fund |
|
2005 |
7,000 |
1,500 |
|||
|
2006 |
86,755 |
||||
|
2007 |
90,791 |
158,906 |
|||
|
2008 |
1,317 |
30,000 |
56,466 |
||
|
2009 |
11,082 |
55,500 |
|||
|
2010 |
1,968 |
In 2011, the organisation repaid €12,455 in respect of unspent funds.
The above grants were subject to appropriate reporting and verification procedures and there is no reason to think that they were not utilised correctly.
338. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide in tabular form the number of firearms licences issued here in 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46101/14]
View answer339. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the percentage of licensed firearms that have been used to commit a criminal offence in each year since 2011 versus that of non-licensed firearms; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46102/14]
View answer340. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide in tabular form a breakdown of the figure of 1,134 firearms which were stolen in the period from 2010 to 2013, inclusive, as per figures supplied in her Department's review of firearm licensing, on a year-by-year basis in the following categories; a numerical breakdown between firearms stolen on an individual basis or those stolen in batch, for example, from a firearms dealer; the number of all categories stolen from firearms licence holders in each year; the number of all weapons stolen from members of An Garda Síochána in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46103/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 338 to 340, inclusive, together.
I have asked the Garda Commissioner for a report on these matters and will write to the Deputy when it becomes available.
341. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will carry out an independent risk assessment of the report on the review of firearms licensing; if she will consider a regulatory impact assessment of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46104/14]
View answer345. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if risk assessment statistics were quoted in the context of the review of the firearms licensing proposals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46189/14]
View answer349. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice and Equality in view of the review of the firearms licensing Act, official EU statistics show a low ownership of licensed firearms here, that is, 8.6 per hundred persons, homicides with a licensed firearm are recorded at 0.48 per 100,000 persons and suicides per 100,000 persons at 0.56%, a higher suicide rate than homicide, if this does not contradict the claims being made by the Garda and her Department's proposed review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46202/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 341, 345 and 349 together.
In light of public safety concerns highlighted by An Garda Síochána and difficulties in the interpretation of the legislation expressed by members of the judiciary, a joint Department of Justice and Equality / An Garda Síochána Working Group was established by my Department to review firearms licensing. The Report of this Working Group was published on 13 November and submissions on the Report have been sought from stakeholders and the public by 31 January 2015. The consultation process gives individuals and groups an opportunity to contribute to the development of firearms policy and legislation and will enable consideration to be given to the future direction of such legislation.
I have already given a commitment that I will not make any decisions until I have had the opportunity to consider all the submissions which are made and I meet the key stakeholders, including the organisations who represent those who use firearms for sporting purposes. I would now urge all concerned to engage with this process so that the views of all concerned can be considered before decisions are made in relation to this matter.
In so far as a risk assessment is concerned, the Firearms Licensing Review report has regard to recent relevant EU Commission reports and developments in other jurisdictions in relation to public safety. A regulatory impact assessment will, of course, be conducted if there are any legislative proposals under consideration arising from the consultation process.
I do not consider that the statistics quoted by the Deputy undermine any of the arguments put forward in the review. What I believe is very important is that there is robust legislation in place to ensure the security of the public.
342. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the progress made to date on the processing of subsidiary protection applications since the introduction of new regulations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46136/14]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, under the new Subsidiary Protection Regulations, responsibility for the investigation of subsidiary protection applications rests with the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC). Following the commencement of the new Regulations in November 2013 persons with applications for subsidiary protection on hand with my Department under the previous subsidiary protection regime, were contacted by letter to explain the new arrangements for the processing of their applications, including the arrangements with regard to personal interviews.
A panel of legally qualified persons was established to assist the Commissioner with the investigation of these applications and training was provided in conjunction with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Significant progress has been made by ORAC in dealing with the backlog of applications. To date, 1,605 applicants have indicated that they wish to continue with their applications and a further 220 have applied for subsidiary protection since the introduction of the new regulations. ORAC had scheduled a total of 1,246 interviews up to 28 November, 2014 and has issued recommendations in 734 cases, involving 225 grants and 509 refusals of subsidiary protection.
The Refugee Appeals Tribunal has to date received a total of 276 appeals in respect of negative recommendations issued by the ORAC and has recently begun the processing of these cases following the completion of a training programme for Tribunal members.
343. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the status of an investigation into documents provided by a person (details supplied) relative to an application for naturalisation; and if the applicant and family members will be interviewed by her Department in an effort to resolve the issue. [46143/14]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that, an issue has arisen in relation to identity documentation submitted by the person concerned with their application for a certificate of naturalisation. The person concerned was requested to forward her original passport in order for it to be authenticated. Upon receipt, the documentation was forwarded to An Garda Síochána for investigation, which may also involve conducting checks with the issuing country. Therefore, a timeframe for completion of the investigation cannot be provided. The Deputy will appreciate that investigation of issues with regard to an applicant's true identity is of fundamental importance to the integrity of the immigration and naturalisation systems. When the investigation has been completed, further correspondence will issue to the person concerned.
344. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if crime statistics are quoted when referring to legally held firearms being put forward; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46187/14]
View answer346. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her views on comments made regarding the review of the firearms licensing proposals (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46192/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 344 and 346 together.
I take it the Deputy is referring to the following passages from my Department's recently published Review of Firearms Licensing report:
"An Garda Síochána recorded 2,198 incidents involving a firearm between 2009 and February 2014. An Garda Síochána have also advised that between 2009 and 2013 there were 96 murders and one case of manslaughter recorded in which firearms were used.
In many such cases it is impossible to say (due to the fact that the firearm is often not recovered) whether the firearms used were firearms that had been licensed and subsequently stolen from their owners or whether the firearms were never in fact licensed. A total of 1,134 firearms have been reported stolen from their owners in the period 2010 to 2013 inclusive, of which 355 were stolen in 2013. A further 159 firearms have been reported lost in the same four year period, 53 of which were reported lost in 2013. The concerns of An Garda Síochána are also based in part on a forward looking assessment of the dangers of an atrocity being carried out with weapons primarily designed to kill human beings, as has unfortunately happened in other jurisdictions."
I think it is fair to say that this text from the report - which is based on information from An Garda Síochána - does not impugn law-abiding owners of licensed firearms in any way.
