Written Answers Nos. 320-329
320. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide funding for windows in a Garda Síochána station (details supplied) in County Kerry to bring the building's facade in line with the adjoining building; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39065/15]
View answerThe Garda Station Building and Refurbishment Programme 2016-2021 which I announced recently with my colleague the Minister of State at the Office of Public Works is based on agreed priorities which are established by An Garda Síochána. Over thirty locations around the country will benefit from the Programme which includes major refurbishment of stations/facilities including facilities for meeting victims of crime; essential remedial works to existing stations; development of large scale property and exhibit management stores and the upgrade of cells and provision of improved custody management facilities. The Programme will be delivered by the Garda Authorities in cooperation with the Office of Public Works (OPW) which has responsibility for capital expenditure in this area.
In this context, I am advised by An Garda Síochána that there are currently no plans to upgrade the windows at the Garda Station referred to by the Deputy.
321. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the amount that An Garda Síochána received from the Gaelic Athletic Association, the Football Association of Ireland and the Irish Rugby Football Union for policing their events in 2013 and 2014; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39170/15]
View answerSection 30 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 provides a statutory basis for the Garda Commissioner, as Accounting Officer for the Garda Vote, to charge for police services on a non-public duty basis for commercial events such as sports fixtures and concerts.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the cost to the event holder is determined by the number of Garda personnel deployed and that the operational plan for a particular event is formulated by local Garda management. The objective of charging is to recover the cost of providing the police services. I am further informed that An Garda Síochána does not seek to recover its costs for charitable events or for national public events such as policing the St. Patrick’s Day parade which are funded by the public purse.
The table below outlines the monies recouped by An Garda Síochána for policing sporting fixtures by the FAI, IRFU and the GAA during 2013 and 2014.
|
Organisation |
2013 |
2014 |
Total |
|
FAI |
€105,855.00 |
€157,871.00 |
€263,726.00 |
|
IRFU |
€178,697.00 |
€274,088.00 |
€452,785.00 |
|
GAA |
€313,365.00 |
€422,935.00 |
€736,300.00 |
322. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda Síochána call-outs made in the Dublin region on Hallowe'en night in 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39181/15]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware a number of serious incidents occurred during the period in question and I wish to recognise the dedication of An Garda Síochána and other emergency services personnel in their response to these incidents and to express my sympathies to the families of those affected.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that the number of calls received at the Garda Communications Centre from 08:00 on 31 October 2015 to 08:00 on 1 November 2015 for the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) was 1,522.
323. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she has asked An Garda Síochána to investigate disturbing allegations in a newspaper (details supplied) of abuse and maltreatment of allegedly trafficked migrant workers in the fishing industry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39214/15]
View answerI requested a report on these matters from the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána on 3 November 2015.
Any suspicion of human trafficking that comes to the attention of An Garda Síochána is the subject of a comprehensive investigation. As the Deputy will be aware, the Government has established a Taskforce on allegations regarding the treatment of workers on Irish Fishing Trawlers. This Taskforce is chaired by the Minister for Agriculture and the Marine; the first meeting of the Taskforce was held on 5 November. Both my Department and An Garda Síochána are part of the Taskforce.
324. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 415 of 20 October 2015, the procedure to be followed to regularise the status of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39225/15]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Bureau (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned had, until 1 November 2015, Stamp 1 permission to remain in the State on a Dependant Work Permit.
As mentioned in Parliamentary Question No. 415, the issuing of work permits is a matter for the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. Depending on the individual's circumstances, it might also be open to the person to apply to Unit 2 - Residence Division, INIS, for an extension of their current immigration permission.
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 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 Parliamentary Question 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.
325. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if a person (details supplied) in County Cavan has been in a position to access rehabilitative training and education suitable for first-time offenders with the objective of addressing the prospect of recidivism; the extent to which this prisoner has availed of such services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39228/15]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Prison Service that it provides a wide range of rehabilitative programmes to those in custody that include education, vocational training, healthcare, psychiatric, psychological, counselling, welfare and spiritual services. These programmes offer purposeful activity to those in custody while serving their sentences and encourage them to lead law abiding lives on release. These programmes are available in all prisons and all prisoners are eligible to use the services.
I am further advised by the Irish Prison Service that the person referred to in the Question has ongoing engagement with the services available.
326. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí stationed in Garda Síochána stations in locations (details supplied) in County Dublin in each of the years 2008 to 2015 to date, in tabular form; and the projected number of gardaí to be stationed at these locations in 2016 and 2017. [39273/15]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that the allocation of Garda resources, including personnel, is a matter for the Garda Commissioner, and that I as Minister have no direct role in the matter. Garda management will continue to keep this allocation of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends, demographics and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best use is made of Garda resources.
This Government is committed to the ongoing recruitment of new Gardaí which is crucial to An Garda Síochána and for the safety of communities throughout the State.
The increased budget allocation for An Garda Síochána in 2016 which I recently announced, provides for the recruitment of 600 new trainee Gardaí in addition to the 550 that will be recruited by year end. This will bring the total number of trainee Gardaí recruited to 1,150 by the end of 2016.
To date there has been five intakes of Garda Trainees to the Garda College, giving a total intake of 475. It is planned that a further 75 recruits will enter college by the end of November, bringing total recruitment of Garda Trainees to 550. So far, 295 of the new Garda Trainees have attested as members of An Garda Síochána. On attestation, new Probationer Gardaí are assigned to Garda stations throughout the country by the Garda Commissioner, where they are assigned to mainstream uniform policing duties. I am assured by Garda management that the needs of all Garda Divisions including the Dublin Metropolitan Region West will be fully considered when determining the allocation of newly attested Gardaí in 2016 and 2017.
The information requested by the Deputy in relation to the allocation of Garda in the stations concerned from 2008-2014 and up to date in September 2015, is currently being compiled in the format requested and will be forwarded to the Deputy directly.
327. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when the 4,000 refugees agreed with the European Union as part of this State's response to the refugee crisis will arrive here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39311/15]
View answerThe Government has committed to accepting up to 4,000 persons overall under the EU Resettlement and EU Relocation programmes. The overall numbers involved in the Relocation Programme which amount to 160,000 across the EU are set-out in the EU legal instruments. Ireland has decided to opt into these measures and the EU Commission is currently finalising Ireland's contribution to this number which is indicated to be over 2,600. The timescales for Relocation are also set-out which are for a two year period. The first persons coming under the Programme are expected to arrive before the end of the year.
The Deputy will be aware that I have established a Taskforce comprising of relevant Departments and agencies together with organisations including the UNHCR and the Red Cross to draw together the various strands of the programme. A Programme Office has been established in my Department to oversee the programme and a dedicated Relocation Unit has also been set-up in the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner to process cases for refugee determination. Ireland has also appointed Liaison Officers to both Italy and Greece and has nominated two additional experts to the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) to support the work of the hotspots.
In addition, Ireland is committed to accepting persons to Ireland under the UNHCR led refugee resettlement programme. To date in 2015 under this programme 100 refugees displaced by the Syrian conflict have been admitted from Jordan and Lebanon. It is planned that 80 additional refugees will be admitted from Lebanon before Christmas with a further hundred refugees are expected to be admitted to Ireland from Lebanon in the New Year. The remaining cases will be admitted on a gradually increasing phased basis.
328. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her views on the recent increase in the level of heroin seizures in Cork city and County Cork; the volume and value of heroin seizures in Cork city and County Cork for each of the years 2012 to 2015 to date; and the response to this growing problem. [39322/15]
View answerI have requested a report from the Garda authorities in relation to this matter and I will further advise the Deputy in this regard when the report is to hand.
329. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to her meeting with the family of a person (details supplied) in July 2015, if she will report on the progress to date on the issues raised at that meeting; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39337/15]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, I agreed to reflect on the issues which the family in question raised at the meeting referred to, and I can advise him that I expect to contact the persons concerned directly in the near future.
