Written Answers Nos. 477-490
477. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí assigned to Kevin Street, Kilmainham, Sundrive, Crumlin, and Ballyfermot Garda stations, by station, and whether they are uniformed, other duties and rank; and the number who were on leave, out sick or temporarily assigned during the first week of the month of November in 2014 and 2015. [46722/15]
View answerThe Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review taking into account crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of Garda resources.
I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that the number of Gardaí by rank assigned to Kevin Street and Kilmainham both in Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) South Central, Sundrive and Crumlin both in DMR South, and Ballyfermot in DMR West on the 31 October 2014 and on 31 October 2015 was as set out in the table attached. The information regarding whether they are uniformed, other duties, the number who were on leave, out sick or temporarily assigned has been requested from the Garda Commissioner and I will write directly to the Deputy on receipt of same.
This Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the capacity to provide effective and visible policing throughout the country. A crucial element of the Government's strategy is ensuring ongoing seamless recruitment to renew An Garda Síochána. With this in mind Budget 2016 made provision for the recruitment of 600 new Gardaí this year bringing to 1,150 the number of new Gardaí who will have been recruited since the reopening of the Garda College in Templemore in September 2014. So far 295 of these new recruits have been fully attested and are undertaking Garda duties in communities nationwide. I am assured by Garda management that the needs of all Garda Divisions are fully considered when determining the allocation of newly attested Gardaí and in this context there have been 20 assigned to the DMR South Central, 19 assigned to the DMR South and 30 assigned to the DMR West.
I am very pleased that the 2016 recruitment campaign announced last November and which closed on 6 January has attracted strong interest with in the region of 16,500 applications received by the Public Appointments Service which is organising the competition on behalf of the Garda Commissioner.
Garda Strength 31 October 2014
|
Division |
District |
Station |
Gda |
Sgt |
Insp |
Supt. |
C/Supt |
Total |
|
Kevin St. |
103 |
15 |
4 |
122 |
||||
|
DMR South central |
Kevin St. |
Kilmainham |
58 |
14 |
72 |
|||
|
Crumlin |
69 |
17 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
94 |
||
|
DMR South |
Crumlin |
Sundrive |
55 |
8 |
63 |
|||
|
DMR West |
Clondalkin |
Ballyfermot |
72 |
11 |
1 |
84 |
Garda Strength 31 October 2015
|
Division |
District |
Station |
Gda |
Sgt |
Insp |
Supt. |
C/Supt |
Total |
|
Kevin St. |
100 |
14 |
3 |
1 |
118 |
|||
|
DMR South central |
Kevin St. |
Kilmainham |
62 |
13 |
75 |
|||
|
Crumlin |
69 |
17 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
93 |
||
|
DMR South |
Crumlin |
Sundrive |
57 |
7 |
64 |
|||
|
DMR West |
Clondalkin |
Ballyfermot |
74 |
11 |
1 |
86 |
478. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of vehicles allocated and available for use in Kevin Street, Kilmainham, Sundrive, Crumlin and Ballyfermot Garda stations, by station, during the first week of November in 2014 and in 2015. [46723/15]
View answerAs the Deputy will appreciate decisions in relation to the provision and allocation of Garda vehicles are a matter for the Garda Commissioner in the light of her identified operational demands and the availability of resources.
In that context I am advised by the Garda Authorities that the information requested by the Deputy is as contained in the following tables.
Garda Fleet as on November 1st 2014
|
Marked Cars |
Unmarked cars |
Vans |
4x4 |
Other |
Total |
|
|
Crumlin |
4 |
10 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
|
Sundrive |
2 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
|
Kevin Street |
4 |
*15 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
24 |
|
Kilmainham |
3 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
|
Ballyfermot |
1 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
Garda Fleet as on November 1st 2015
|
Marked Cars |
Unmarked cars |
Vans |
4x4 |
Other |
Total |
|
|
Crumlin |
5 |
13 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
23 |
|
Sundrive |
2 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
|
Kevin Street |
4 |
*9 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
16 |
|
Kilmainham |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
|
Ballyfermot |
3 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
*Due to the re-location of the Crime Task Force from Kevin Street Garda Station to Pearse Street Garda Station, the figure for unmarked cars dropped significantly in November, 2015.
479. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the cost and details of refurbishing buildings or upgrading equipment in Kevin Street, Kilmainham, Sundrive, Crumlin and Ballyfermot Garda stations, by station in each of the years 2011 to 2015. [46724/15]
View answerThe programme of replacement and refurbishment of Garda accommodation around the country is progressed by the Garda authorities working in close cooperation with the Office of Public Works (OPW), which has the responsibility for the provision and maintenance of Garda accommodation.
I have been advised by the Commissioner who has been informed by OPW that the works outlined below were undertaken at the aforementioned Garda Stations between 2011-2015 at a total cost of €1,089,152.21.
In addition to the remedial works at the existing Kevin Street Garda Station outlined below, work commenced on the new Divisional HQ in Kevin Street in February 2015 and construction is estimated to take 24 months with completion in early 2017.
Ballyfermot Garda Station
|
Year |
Refurbishing buildings/upgrading equipment |
€ |
|
2011 |
New Entrance Door |
€4,264.46 |
|
2012 |
Cell Upgrade Works |
€108,380.15 |
|
2013 |
Cell Upgrade Works |
€1,635.89 |
|
2013 |
Redecoration |
€1,514.34 |
|
2014 |
Redecoration |
€917.17 |
|
2014 |
Replace Automatic Gates. |
€3,965.69 |
|
2015 |
Installation of Security Screen at the Public Counter |
€3,104.70 |
|
Sub total |
€123,782.40 |
Crumlin Garda Station
|
Year |
Refurbishing buildings/upgrading equipment |
€ |
|
2011 |
Oil Storage Facility |
€9,748.52 |
|
2012 |
Security and Other Works |
€25,320.12 |
|
2013 |
New Storage container |
€11,181.54 |
|
2013 |
Security and Other Works |
€4,126.00 |
|
2013 |
Phase 2 of essential electrical works - first floor |
€34,050.00 |
|
2014 |
Provision of 40 Foot Container |
€24,723.00 |
|
2014 |
Water Heater Installation |
€1,549.28 |
|
2014 |
Air conditioning |
€2,987.57 |
|
2014 |
Roof Maintenance |
€1,475.80 |
|
2014 |
Cell Upgrade Works |
€118,534.32 |
|
2015 |
Fixed Furniture |
€1,070.87 |
|
2015 |
Refurbish Showers |
€32,870.24 |
|
2015 |
Cell Upgrade Works |
€26,584.07 |
|
Sub total |
€294,221.33 |
Sundrive Road Garda Station
|
Year |
Refurbishing buildings/upgrading equipment |
€ |
|
2012 |
Cell Upgrade Works |
€5,915.62 |
|
2013 |
Refurbishment of Showers |
€21,926.13 |
|
2014 |
Redecoration |
€14,959.39 |
|
2014 |
Refurbish Showers |
€15,229.04 |
|
Sub total |
€58,030.18 |
Kilmainham Garda Station
|
Year |
Refurbishing buildings/upgrading equipment |
€ |
|
2012 |
Roof works |
€1,125.36 |
|
2012 |
Creation of New Office |
€7,200.44 |
|
2011 |
Major Upgrade Works |
€352,000.00 |
|
2012 |
Cell Upgrade Works |
€5,915.62 |
|
2013 |
Works to Shower Area |
€11,250.97 |
|
2013 |
Kitchen Area Fit out and rewiring |
€21,690.99 |
|
2015 |
Roof works |
€68,722.57 |
|
2015 |
Remedial works to dog run |
€851.25 |
|
2015 |
Essential Glazing Upgrade |
€55,161.00 |
|
Sub total |
€523,918.20 |
Kevin Street Garda Station
|
Year |
Refurbishing buildings/upgrading equipment |
€ |
|
2012 |
Roof works |
€6,473.35 |
|
2014 |
Cell Upgrade Works |
€81,429.92 |
|
2015 |
Additional Roof works |
€1,296.83 |
|
Sub total |
€89,200.10 |
480. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of non-Garda staff assigned to Kevin Street, Kilmainham, Sundrive, Crumlin, and Ballyfermot Garda stations, by station, as of November 2015, their duties, and if they are full time, part time or job sharing. [46725/15]
View answerThe Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel, including civilians, among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review taking into account crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of Garda resources.
The five Garda Stations referred to by the Deputy are covered by three different Garda Divisions, all within the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR). I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that the level of civilian staffing for each of these five Garda Stations is listed in the table below. The duties of the civilian staff include the provision of a range of support services in the administrative and finance areas. It is not possible at this time to identify the working patterns of these civilian staff and I will write directly to the Deputy when I have received this information from the Garda Commissioner.
|
Division |
District |
Station |
Civilians (FTE) |
|
Kevin Street |
7 |
||
|
DMR South Central |
Kevin Street |
Kilmainham |
2 |
|
Crumlin |
8 |
||
|
DMR South |
Crumlin |
Sundrive Road |
2.5 |
|
DMR West |
Clondalkin |
Ballyfermot |
2.5 |
|
Total |
22 |
481. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of annual subscriptions to external membership bodies and groups her Department has, including the cost and details. [46726/15]
View answer482. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of annual subscriptions to newspapers or magazines her Department has including the cost and details. [46727/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 481 and 482 together.
I wish to advise the Deputy that it has not been possible to provide the information sought in the time available for reply.
I will arrange for the requested information to be forwarded to the Deputy in the near future.
483. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the annual cost to her Department of advertisements placed on its behalf in newspapers, magazines, television and radio and social media. [46728/15]
View answerThe cost to my Department in 2015 for the type of public information notices referred to by the Deputy came to €105,964.00.
It should be noted that the information contained in such notices relate to the broad range of policy and operational matters for which my Department is responsible, such as the Irish Refugee Protection Programme, Anti Human Trafficking, Crime Prevention and Public Safety, Youth Justice issues and so forth.
485. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the status of using ankle bracelets (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46820/15]
View answerElectronic monitoring is mainly used by the Irish Prison Service to monitor prisoners who have been granted temporary release from prison for various reasons such as to attend as hospital in-patients. It thus allows for a reduction in staffing costs for hospital escorts. Following a competitive tender in 2014, Chubb Ireland Ltd. was awarded the contract for the supply of electronic monitoring of prisoners for the Irish Prison Service. So far there have been 49 prisoners in total who were electronically monitored while on temporary release.
Subject to a legislative amendment to be included in the Bail Bill, which is currently being drafted, it is intended to provide for electronic monitoring to be used in selected cases as a condition of bail. The introduction of an electronic monitoring system for bail purposes will require a separate tendering process and involve the Garda Síochána.
Provision for the electronic monitoring of certain sex offenders post their release from custody, which will involve the Probation Service, has been approved by Government. These provisions will be included in the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill which is currently being drafted.
487. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will promote collaborative practice to resolve disputes and free up court time; the measures she is taking; the timetable involved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46870/15]
View answerThe position is that the Mediation Bill, which is currently being drafted in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, will introduce an obligation on solicitors and barristers to advise any person intending to commence legal proceedings to give consideration to using mediation as an alternative means of resolving disputes. It is intended that this will help to reduce recourse to the courts, as well as the costs and delays which may arise during court proceedings. The Bill will also provide that a court may, following the commencement of any such proceedings, on its own initiative or at the request of a party to the proceedings, invite the parties to consider mediation as an alternative option and suspend the proceedings to facilitate that process.
I very much regret that it has not been possible to publish this Bill to date. This has been due to the extensive programme of progressive law reform undertaken by my Department in accordance with the ambitious targets set out in the Programme for Government.
488. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if a more volunteer and business-friendly vetting system will be adopted whilst maintaining the optimum level of protection for children, as the current requirement by persons to obtain multiple vetting is proving highly impractical; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46915/15]
View answerAs the Deputy will appreciate, the primary purpose of the Garda employment vetting service is to seek to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults. Accordingly, the vetting process demands rigorous procedures to safeguard its integrity and to maintain the highest level of confidence by the public and organisations availing of the service.
Full vetting checks are conducted by the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) for each new vetting application received to ensure that the most recent data available is taken into account. This is because once there has been any significant lapse of time between one employment and another, the original Garda Vetting Disclosure must be reviewed to take account of any changes in information, such as more recent criminal convictions.
Furthermore, under the Data Protection Acts, any sensitive personal data which employers use in regard to their employees must be current, accurate and up-to-date. The general non-transferability and contemporaneous nature of the current process also protects against the risk of fraud or forgery. Such procedures are in line with best practice internationally.
There are, however, certain limited circumstances where organisations can share a single vetting disclosure where this is agreed to by the vetting applicant. For example, persons involved in voluntary work may be doing work with more than one voluntary organisation at the same time, and may agree with the vetting applicant to share a single vetting disclosure. Similar arrangements arise in the health sector in regard to persons working as locums, agency nurses or other temporary employees in a number of different organisations, or in the education sector where substitute teachers are on panels for substitute teaching in more than one school.
The current average processing time for vetting applications is four weeks. However, in some individual cases additional enquiries may be necessary and this may result in processing times in excess of the average. Any vetting process will take a certain minimum amount of time to complete and, taking into account the need to protect children and vulnerable adults while providing an effective and efficient service, I do not think that this time period is unreasonable.
489. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to clarify question 5.6 in Form 8 of the 'Application by a person of full age for naturalisation as an Irish citizen (version 5.2 December 2014)' in respect of whether question 5.6 should be answered by a spouse of an Irish citizen who has been living in the jurisdiction for three years and who is applying for naturalisation based on marriage to an Irish citizen (details supplied). [1000/16]
View answerThe granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is governed by the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. As the Deputy will appreciate, the granting of a certificate of naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the system.
It is open to any individual to lodge an application for a certificate of naturalisation if and when they are in a position to meet the statutory requirements prescribed in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act. Detailed information on Irish citizenship and naturalisation is available on the INIS website at www.inis.gov.ie. The website contains the current version of the application by a person of full age for naturalisation as an Irish citizen and an on-line naturalisation residency calculator which individuals may find of assistance in establishing if the residency requirements are met. All questions on the application form are required to be completed by the applicant. It is open to applicants to provide additional information or clarification in relation to any of their responses should they wish. The question on the application form referred to by the Deputy is aimed at establishing whether the actual period of residence satisfies the requirements under the Act. A reasonable and generous period of 6 weeks is allowed to provide for absences for normal holidays and other short absences such as for a family bereavement.
Where an applicant is found to be non-resident for substantial periods of time then those periods will not be reckonable for the purposes of satisfying the residency conditions for naturalisation stipulated in the Act. This is of particular importance with regard to the requirement to have 1 year’s continuous residence in the State immediately prior to the date of application, and may also mean the requirement of total residence is not met. The guidance notes attached to the application form inform applicants that arrangements for assessment of residence are on the basis that the person is physically resident for the required period of time and that where there are significant absences from the State the application may be refused.
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 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 INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
490. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her efforts to date and the planned reforms to address injustices suffered by fathers being denied access to their children; her views that the current system is failing many genuine fathers who are left effectively at the discretion of their former partners in respect of seeing their children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1010/16]
View answerCertain provisions of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 will be commenced imminently, including key reforms to the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, which is the legislation governing guardianship and custody of, and access to children. In particular, the reforms include the insertion of new sections - sections 18A to 18D - in the 1964 Act. These provisions allow the court to intervene where a parent or guardian does not comply with a custody or access order. The court may order additional access time in order to help address adverse consequences of previous failure to allow access; reimbursement of expenses incurred in an attempt to exercise access; or it may require the applicant, the respondent, or both to attend a parenting programme, family counselling, or a mediation information session. Where a parent or guardian without reasonable notice fails to exercise his or her court-ordered access or custody, the court may also order that the expenses of the other parent be reimbursed.
It is my hope and expectation that these new provisions will give the courts new options to help parents whose relationships have broken down to focus on their joint parenting responsibilities and on the best interests of their children, and to make and adhere to custody and access arrangements.
