Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 February 2018
341. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if the Garda National Immigration Bureau routinely reports to him; if so, the frequency with which it reports to him; and if the Bureau's reports will be made available. [9904/18]
View answer342. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he has oversight of immigration enforcement activities by Garda National Immigration Services; and if so, his oversight responsibilities and the mechanisms available to him for same. [9905/18]
View answer343. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to publish immigration enforcement statistics as provided to the European Commission each year; and if not, the reason therefor (details supplied). [9906/18]
View answer344. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the staffing breakdown for the Garda National Immigration Bureau in terms of Garda and civilian members. [9907/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 341 to 344, inclusive, together.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and specialist units including the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB), and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the optimum use is made of these resources.
I am informed by the Commissioner that as of 31 January 2018, the latest date for which figures are currently available, there are a total 121 members of the Garda Síochána and 16 Garda Civilian Staff members attached to the GNIB.
The GNIB reports to the Garda Commissioner through the normal Garda reporting relationships and is subject to the same oversight arrangements as set out in the Garda Síochána Act 2005, as amended. Obviously, because of the operational nature of the various duties carried out by the GNIB, the Bureau work very closely with the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department to deliver on overall immigration objectives.
With regard to statistics on refusals of leave to land, the UN Committee Against Torture, in its concluding observations on the second periodic review of Ireland, requested that the State "provide the Committee with data on the countries of origin of persons denied leave to land and the point of embarkation for the State party to which they were returned in its next periodic report." The next periodic report for Ireland is due to be submitted in August 2021, and it is intended that Ireland will be in a position to respond fully to this recommendation well in advance of that date.
