Written Answers Nos. 86-99
86. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the cost of Garda overtime and the Garda overtime hours claimed for the years 2012 to 2016, inclusive; and the checks in place to ensure gardaí have completed overtime claimed. [18437/17]
View answerThe Deputy will appreciate decisions in relation to the provision and allocation of Garda resources including overtime are a matter for the Garda Commissioner, and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter.
I have asked the Garda Commissioner for the specific information requested and when it is to hand I will inform the Deputy accordingly.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A
The Deputy will be aware that the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the allocation of Garda resources and I, as Minister, have no direct role in these matters.
The Garda authorities, however, advise me that Garda Overtime expenditure (excluding civilian overtime costs) in the years 2012 to 2016 is set out in the table below. The associated overtime hours for each of the years in question are also provided.
|
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
|
|
Garda Overtime Expenditure |
€41,553,684 |
€43,326,833 |
€37,254,315 |
€55,783,901 |
€90,036,899 |
|
Garda Overtime Hours |
1,290,298 |
1,362,413 |
1,141,052 |
1,708,651 |
2,761,798 |
I understand that overtime is paid to members of An Garda Síochána, up to and including Inspector rank, for additional hours worked during a four week pay roster period. Members complete an overtime claim form for each roster period which is checked and approved locally by their immediate supervisor and then the District Superintendent. Claim forms are checked by the local District Finance Officer to ensure compliance with the Garda Finance Code and details are entered into the Garda electronic payment system which has built in checks and parameters that prevent duplicate and excess claims being paid. An examination of overtime expenditure is included in all regular Divisional audits conducted by the Garda Internal Audit Section.
It should be noted that overtime expenditure in 2015 and 2016 included expenditure relating to:
- the continuation of Operation Thor;- the commencement of specific operations to combat organised crime;- security operations at Dublin Port and Rosslare Europort;- border security operations; and- various non-recurring activities, including the provision of armed support in the Dublin North Inner City and the establishment of the Dublin Armed Support Unit, and costs arising from the 1916 Centenary celebrations and State visits of Vice-President Biden and Prince Charles.
In June 2016 an additional €55 million was made available to An Garda Síochána by the Government to allow for concentrated policing targeting gang related crime, the continued intensive and strategic targeting of burglaries and related crime, through ongoing support for Operation Thor and the continued support for measures against terrorism.
87. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when a person (details supplied) will receive a decision on their application for naturalisation. [18482/17]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the processing of the application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to by the Deputy is ongoing and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the granting of Irish citizenship through 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 process.
It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. While most straightforward cases are generally processed within six months, the nature of the naturalisation process is such that, for a broad range of reasons, some cases will take longer than others to process. In some instances, completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time.
The Deputy may wish to note that 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 specifically 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.
88. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the actions she will take arising from the recommendation of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recommending that the State reinstate the provisions setting the age of criminal responsibility at 14 years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18505/17]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware statutory provision in relation to the age of criminal responsibility in the State is set out in section 52 of the Children Act 2001 (as amended). The Criminal Justice Act 2006, which amended the Children Act, effectively raised the age of criminal responsibility from 7 years of age to 12 years of age and provided in general that children under the age of 12 years may not be charged with an offence. While 10 and 11 year-olds can be charged with serious offences, the Children Act provides that no prosecutions of any child under the age of 14 years may take place without the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions. There is a further safeguard in the legislation whereby the court has the power to dismiss a case against a child under 14 years of age if "having due regard to the child's age and level of maturity, it determines that the child did not have a full understanding of what was involved in the commission of the offence". While there are currently no plans to amend the provisions in the Children Act 2001 (as amended) relating to the age of criminal responsibility, the Youth Justice Action Plan 2014 – 2018 includes an action to review generally the operation of the Act. In addition, the Garda Commissioner is currently undertaking a review of the operation of the Garda Diversion Programme, the outcome of which may have implications for the current legal framework.
89. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Tribunal, provided for in the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015, will be established; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18506/17]
View answerThe Legal Practitioners' Disciplinary Tribunal, to which the Deputy has referred, represents a key component of the new professional conduct and disciplinary regime that will apply to both solicitors and barristers upon the commencement of Part 6 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015. The Disciplinary Tribunal, whose members will be appointed by the President of the High Court on the nomination of the Minister for Justice and Equality, will have thirty-three members. One of those nominated will also be appointed Chairperson of the Tribunal by the President of the High Court. Its membership under section 75 of the 2015 Act will include at least six members from each of the two legal professions and a lay majority. The Tribunal will sit in uneven divisions of at least three members with each division to be chaired by a lay member. The Tribunal will be empowered to make its own regulations under section 79 of the 2015 Act in relation to the making of applications to it and the conduct of its proceedings. Section 83 of the 2015 Act also sets out how, and by whom, findings of the Disciplinary Tribunal may be appealed to the High Court. The Tribunal will, over time, replace both the existing Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and Barristers' Professional Conduct Tribunal who will wind-down their existing caseloads.
However, the functioning of the Legal Practitioners' Disciplinary Tribunal is also contingent on the related public complaints and misconduct provisions also found in Part 6 of the 2015 Act and which will have to be brought into operation at the same time. These are the procedures through which complaints about alleged professional misconduct by solicitors or barristers will be received, given preliminary assessment and processed including, as may be considered appropriate, by their referral for determination by the Legal Practitioners' Disciplinary Tribunal. Once these new procedures are commenced, all complaints by members of the public relating to alleged misconduct by barristers or solicitors, including those that may end up before the Disciplinary Tribunal, will be made initially through the Legal Services Regulatory Authority and its Complaints Committee rather than through the legal professional bodies or directly to a Tribunal as happens at present.
In processing these complaints the Regulatory Authority will, therefore, also have to appoint the Complaints Committee. This Committee, which will have 27 members, will sit in divisional committees of three or five members, each with a lay Chair, to consider complaints within its remit. It will be appointed under the specified criteria of section 69 of the 2015 Act. It should also be noted that under section 55 of the Act the Legal Services Regulatory Authority can make regulations regarding the making of complaints to it and the proceedings to be followed by it and the Complaints Committee in investigating complaints. Under section 67 the Regulatory Authority will also issue guidelines for the possible alternative resolution of complaints by mediation or informal means. Extensive preparations have to be made by the Authority, therefore, by way of ensuring that the new public complaints and disciplinary architecture of the 2015 Act are set up with the required membership, supporting staff, regulations and expertise in place to function in a legally robust manner upon commencement of the provisions concerned.
The setting-up of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority, whose establishment day was set by Order of the Tánaiste for 1 October 2016, has been underway since July 2016 when Parts 1 and 2 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 were commenced as necessary to get the new Authority underway, particularly in terms of its nomination and appointment. In December 2016 sections 118 to 120 of the 2015 Act were commenced to enable the conduct of public consultations and reports by the new Regulatory Authority within the statutory periods concerned. These relate to Legal Partnerships, Multi-Disciplinary Practices and certain restrictions on the work of barristers. The Authority, for which initial office accommodation has been provided by my Department along with the secondment of an officer at Assistant Principal level, also appointed an Interim Chief Executive on 1 January 2016 and has just last week publicly advertised for the recruitment of a long-term Chief Executive. On 31 March 2016, the Regulatory Authority presented respective reports under sections 118 and 119 to me as Minister for Justice and Equality and these will soon be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in the required manner. On 6 April 2016 the Authority commenced its public consultations process under section 120 of the Act about certain restrictions on the work of barristers.
Alongside these developments, the working focus right now is on the managed roll-out of the Authority's remaining functions. Current areas of focus include the introduction of a more transparent legal costs regime and the parallel transition of the Office of the Taxing-Master to that of the Legal Costs Adjudicators under Part 10 of the 2015 Act; the establishment of a Roll of Practising Barristers under Part 9; and the separate introduction by my Department of Pre-Action Protocols in medical negligence cases under Part 15. Following these steps the key structural reforms of Part 6 of the Act which the Deputy has raised, including the appointment of the Legal Practitioners' Disciplinary Tribunal, will be commenced. The Chairperson and members of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority, its Interim Chief Executive and my Department are working closely to ensure that we can successfully coordinate the identification of the necessary steps and commencements by the Department, and the delivery, by the Authority as the new independent statutory regulator, of the various remaining provisions concerned. While it remains the intention that the Legal Services Regulatory Authority will be in substantive regulatory mode later this year, the phased start-up of its various functions along the lines expressed will need careful project management and the identification over coming weeks, and in conjunction with the Authority, of more specific delivery dates for the respective functions involved.
90. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason the use of the swimming pool at the Templemore Garda training college has been withdrawn from members of the community in Templemore despite the fact that this has been the practice for many years and helped to foster good relations between the community and the Garda college; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18511/17]
View answer91. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason the use of the playing fields at the Templemore Garda training college has been withdrawn from members of the community in Templemore despite the fact that this has been the practice for many years and helped to foster good relations between the community and the Garda college; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18512/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 90 and 91 together.
The Deputy will appreciate that the Garda Commissioner is primarily responsible for the effective and efficient use of the resources available to An Garda Síochána, including the College and its facilities and I, as Minister, have no role in the matter.
The Deputy will be aware that the College is in the ownership of the Office of Public Works which has responsibility for the maintenance of the College and its facilities. I am advised by the Commissioner that the policy and protocols surrounding the use of the sporting facilities at the College by members of the public are currently the subject of an ongoing review. The College management will consider applications from members of the local community to use the sporting facilities in the context of any new policies and procedures that may be required to be implemented on completion of the review.
92. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to issue body-worn cameras to front-line gardaí; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18556/17]
View answerThe Deputy will appreciate, decisions in relation to the provision and allocation of Garda resources are a matter for the Garda Commissioner, and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter.
I have asked the Garda Commissioner for the specific information requested and when it is to hand I will inform the Deputy accordingly.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A
I refer to Parliamentary Question No. 92 for answer on 12th April 2017, in which you requested the position regarding plans to issue body worn cameras to front line Gardaí.
As you will recall, the information you requested could not be obtained in the time available, and I undertook to request information from the Garda Commissioner on the specific queries raised and contact you again.
I have subsequently been informed that a working group within An Garda Síochána is currently examining the options available on the market regarding body worn cameras, with a view to developing a business case should their findings meet operational requirements.
I hope this information is of assistance.
93. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality her views on recent correspondence (details supplied); her plans to introduce legislation regarding these issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18600/17]
View answerIn the Programme for a Partnership Government, the Government has committed to taking measures to reduce the gender pay gap. Actions to advance this commitment will be included in the forthcoming National Women's Strategy. In developing detailed proposals, appropriate regard will be had to measures taken in other jurisdictions and there will be consultation with relevant stakeholders including the authors of the correspondence referred to.
94. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if a person (details supplied) can be issued with a letter for permission to reside here from her Department in order for the person to apply for a long-term spouse visa. [18616/17]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INIS) of my Department that the person referred to has permission to reside in Ireland until November 2019. He was also granted a multiple entry visa for short stays in January 2017 which is valid until January 2019.
Should the person concerned now wish to apply for a long-stay visa in order to join his spouse, it is of course open to him to make such an application. Further information on the criteria applicable to the granting of long-stay visas and residency permission is available on the INIS website (www.inis.gov.ie).
95. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will review the process for the recruitment in a case (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18637/17]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, recruitment to An Garda Síochána is governed by the Garda Síochána (Admissions and Appointments) Regulations 2013. The Public Appointments Service (PAS), on behalf of the Garda Commissioner, manages the initial recruitment stages for selection of Garda trainees. The final stages of the recruitment process in which candidates are vetted, and complete a physical competency test and a medical examination, are managed by the Garda Commissioner and I, as Minister, have no direct involvement in the matter.
I am advised by the Commissioner that the vetting process is extensive and can take some time to complete, and that candidates should contact the Garda appointments office directly if they have any queries in relation to this part of their application.
96. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when responsibility for criminal legal aid will be transferred to the Legal Aid Board. [18653/17]
View answerWork on the drafting of a Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Bill is at an advanced stage in my Department. The key purpose of the legislation is to transfer the administration of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme to the Legal Aid Board and to give effect to Government Programme commitments in respect of criminal legal aid, including introducing a more rigorous and objective means testing system for criminal legal aid, provision for contributions, and new sanctions. It is my intention to seek approval of Government for a General Scheme of the Bill and submit it to the Oireachtas for pre-legislative scrutiny later in 2017.
97. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the details of her Department’s examination of the feasibility of a new public defender system. [18654/17]
View answerThe Programme for a Partnership Government contains a commitment to examine the feasibility of a new Public Defender system. I can inform the Deputy that a number of steps have been taken by my Department to give effect to this commitment. In particular, the Department is reviewing previous reports in the matter and is examining the position in other jurisdictions. Preliminary consultations have been held with relevant State agencies and the advices of the Attorney General in the matter have been sought. Examination of the feasibility of such a system is ongoing.
98. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when the Policing Authority will complete its review of the boundaries of Garda districts and Garda stations in rural areas and in the developing urban and suburban areas to ensure an efficient and optimum geographical distribution of stations and minimal response times; and the date on which the review was commenced. [18655/17]
View answer99. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when the pilot scheme to reopen six Garda stations will commence. [18656/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 99 together.
The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for Government commits the Government to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and to deter crime. A cornerstone of this commitment is the Government plan to achieve an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. Revisiting the decisions made to close Garda stations is also part of that commitment.
In this context, I have requested the Garda Commissioner, while fully cognisant of her statutory functions, to identify 6 stations for reopening on a pilot basis to determine possible positive impacts that such openings will have on criminal activity, with special emphasis on burglaries, theft and public order. I understand that work is continuing in An Garda Síochána to identify the 6 stations for inclusion in the pilot and that consultations have taken place with relevant stakeholders, including the Policing Authority. I am sure that the Deputy would agree that a comprehensive and evidenced-based analysis should be carried out, taking account of all the relevant factors, before a final decision is made in respect of the stations to be reopened by the Commissioner. I expect to receive a report from the Commissioner by the end of May in connection with the exercise.
This pilot will feed into the wider review being undertaken by the Garda Síochána Inspectorate, at the request of the Policing Authority, of the dispersal and use of resources available to An Garda Síochána in the delivery of policing services to local communities. I understand that the Authority has informed the Inspectorate that the review should take account of:
- the changing environments in rural, developing urban and suburban areas;
- the views of local communities;
- the allocation to and deployment of Garda resources at the local policing level, including the use of the Garda Reserve, Garda facilities and Garda equipment; and
- relevant recommendations made in previous Inspectorate reports.
I am informed that the review should be completed within the first half of 2018 and I look forward to receiving the report from the Authority in due course.
