Tuesday, 21 May 2019

Garda Stations

Questions (299)

Jim O'Callaghan

Question:

299. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to develop a new modern Garda station in district F on the site formerly earmarked for a new Garda station along Rochestown Avenue, Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21884/19]

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Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

There has been an unprecedented level of investment in An Garda Síochána in recent years, in support of the Government’s commitment to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, to provide reassurance to citizens and to deter crime.

An allocation of €1.76 billion has been made to An Garda Síochána for 2019. Very significant capital investment is also being made, including investment of €342 million in Garda ICT infrastructure between 2016 and 2021, and investment of €46 million in the Garda Fleet over the same period.

Significant investment is also being made in the Garda estate. The Garda Building and Refurbishment Programme 2016-2021 is an ambitious 5-year programme based on agreed Garda priorities, which continues to benefit over 30 locations around the country, underpinned by significant Exchequer funding across the Garda and OPW Votes. In addition to that programme, other major works to the Garda estate which are ongoing include the pilot Garda station reopening project, the development of a new facility at Military Road and the major refurbishment of Fitzgibbon Street station. The clear goal of this investment is to address deficiencies in the Garda estate and provide fit-for-purpose facilities for Garda members and staff, as well as the public interacting with them.

The Deputy will appreciate that the Office of Public Works has responsibility for the provision and maintenance of Garda accommodation. As such, the programme of replacement and refurbishment of Garda accommodation is progressed by the Garda authorities working in close co-operation with the Office of Public Works (OPW).

The Deputy referred to 2 stations in particular, namely Kill O'Grange and Cabinteely. I am informed by the Garda authorities that under the Garda Station Rationalisation Programme of 2012 and 2013, 139 Garda Stations were closed nationwide. Kill O’Grange Garda station, DMR East, was closed and handed back to the Office of Public Works on 27 April 2013. Cabinteely remains an operational Garda station.

The Commissioner is primarily responsible for the effective and efficient use of the resources made available to An Garda Síochána including responsibility for the formulation of proposals in relation to the opening and closing of Garda stations. Indeed the Deputy may recall that as recently as December 2018, the Garda Síochána Inspectorate in its report “Policing with Local Communities” confirmed that it is appropriate that the Commissioner should continue to hold this responsibility.

Overall Garda accommodation needs, including any potential need for a new station at any location, fall to be considered by An Garda Síochána in the context of the ongoing expansion of the Garda workforce and in the context of the recommendations contained in the Report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland.

Courts Service Data

Questions (300, 301, 302)

Joan Burton

Question:

300. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of parental supervision orders made under section 111 of the Children Act 2001 in each of the years 2012 to 2018 and to date in 2019. [21894/19]

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Joan Burton

Question:

301. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of instances of non-compliance with parental supervision orders issued under the Children Act 2001 in each of the years 2012 to 2018 and to date in 2019. [21895/19]

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Joan Burton

Question:

302. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of compensation orders made under section 113 of the Children Act 2001 in each of the years 2012 to 2018 and to date in 2019. [21896/19]

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Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

I propose to take Questions Nos. 300 to 302, inclusive, together.

As the Deputy is aware, 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, among which include the provision of information on the courts system.

However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had inquiries made with the Courts Service. I have been advised that courts statistics are not compiled in such a way as to provide the information sought by the Deputy. The Courts Service has further advised that this information could only be obtained by the examination of individual court files in court offices around the country which would require the expenditure of a disproportionate amount of staff time and resources.

Probation and Welfare Service Staff

Questions (303)

Joan Burton

Question:

303. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of probation and welfare officers appointed to supervise parents or guardians in accordance with the Children Act 2001 in each of the years 2012 to 2018 and to date in 2019. [21897/19]

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Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

I am having inquiries made in this matter. I will write to the Deputy shortly with further information.

The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A

I refer to Parliamentary Question No. 303 for answer on 21 May 2019 in which the Deputy asked the number of Probation Officers appointed to supervise parents or guardians in accordance with the Children Act, 2001.

Section 111 of the Children Act 2001, provides for a Parental Supervision Order. Section 111 (8) states “the court shall appoint a probation and welfare officer to supervise the parents, to assist them in complying with the order and to monitor compliance with it”.

As an initial step in dealing with juvenile matters, the Court requests the preparation of an assessment called a Pre-Sentence Report (PSR), provided for in Section 99 of the Children Act 2001. The PSRs provide pertinent background information, offence analysis and, in most cases, recommendations for the way forward in managing the particular case.

Following receipt of a PSR, should the Court wish to make an order for supervision from the suite of options provided for under the Children Act 2001, including a Parental Supervision Order, the matter is returned to the Probation Service and a Probation Officer is assigned to supervise the relevant order.

I understand from the Probation Service that no Parental Supervision Orders were made during the period 2012 to date. As you will appreciate, it is a matter for the judiciary whether an order is made under Section 111.

However, I can confirm that in working with young persons before the Court, the Probation Service takes a broad, holistic approach which seeks to engage parents/guardians as part of its assessment process and subsequent interventions with young persons. An example is the use of volunteer mentoring support for both the young person, and where required, for the parent. My understanding is that the Court may favour the Courts alternative options such as the mentoring programme mentioned above to the more formal Parental Supervision order option.

I hope this information is of assistance.

Garda Youth Diversion Projects

Questions (304)

Joan Burton

Question:

304. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of juveniles and the age of each that have been assigned to Garda juvenile liaison officers in each of the years 2012 to 2018 and to date in 2019. [21898/19]

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Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (Deputy David Stanton)

As the Deputy may be aware, an analysis of activity under the Garda Diversion Programme is published annually in the report of the Monitoring Committee appointed under Section 44 of the Children Act 2001 (as amended).

The Committee's reports are laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas, as required under the Act.

For ease of reference, relevant data for 2012 to 2017 from these reports is compiled in the following table. Please note that the figures for 2018 and to date in 2019 are not yet available. The 2018 report will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas later this year after it is received from the Garda authorities.

The Deputy might note that the figures given in the following table show the number of young people who are referred for consideration under the Diversion Programme. The outcome of each referral, including the degree of supervision by a Juvenile Liaison Officer considered appropriate, is based on assessment of each individual case in accordance with the provisions of Part 4 of the Children Act. I might add that some 4,000 young people participate in Garda Youth Diversion projects in any one year.

Referrals to the Garda Diversion Programme 2012 – 2017

Year	Age	Percent	Number
2012	12	4%	490
	13	8%	980
	14	12%	1470
	15	19%	2327
	16	21%	2572
	17	35%	4286
	Total	99%*	12246
2013	12	4%	417
	13	8%	834
	14	13%	1355
	15	19%	1980
	16	23%	2397
	17	33%	3439
	Total	100%	10420
2014	12	4%	400
	13	8%	799
	14	13%	1299
	15	19%	1898
	16	22%	2198
	17	33%	3297
	Total	99%*	9991
2015	12	4%	392
	13	8%	785
	14	14%	1373
	15	19%	1863
	16	22%	2158
	17	33%	3236
	Total	100%	9807
2016	12	4%	378
	13	9%	851
	14	14%	1323
	15	20%	1890
	16	23%	2174
	17	30%	2835
	Total	100%	9451
2017	12	4%	424
	13	10%	1061
	14	16%	1697
	15	20%	2121
	16	21%	2227
	17	29%	3076
	Total	100%	10607

*Figures taken from the Section 44 Monitoring committee reports, discrepancies are due to percentage rounding.

Garda Deployment

Questions (305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319)

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Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

I propose to take Questions Nos. 305 to 319, inclusive, together.

As the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for managing An Garda Síochána, including personnel matters, and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. Garda management keeps the 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 the Cohort Model of resource allocation is currently utilised for the allocation of personnel within An Garda Síochána, including newly attested probationer Gardaí from the Garda College. The allocation and transfer of Garda Personnel using the Cohort Model is determined by a number of factors, including crime and non-crime workload, minimum establishment, population, area, policing arrangements, and operational strategies. When considering the allocation of resources to a Division, comprehensive consultation is carried out with local Garda management during which all factors are taken into consideration.

In relation to the allocation of newly attested Gardaí, it is important to keep in mind that they have a further 16 months of practical and class-room based training to complete in order to receive their BA in Applied Policing. To ensure that they are properly supported and supervised and have opportunities to gain the breadth of policing experience required, the Commissioner's policy is to allocate them to specially designated training stations which have the required training and development structures and resources in place, including trained Garda tutors and access to a permanently appointed supervisory Sergeant who is thoroughly familiar with their responsibilities under the training programme.

I am further informed by the Commissioner that while not all Garda Stations are training stations, the allocation of probationer Gardaí to a Divisional training station facilitates the reassignment of Gardaí to other stations within the Division, if required, by the Divisional Officer.

The information in relation to the number of new recruits allocated to each Garda Station is available on my Department’s website through the following link, as supplied by the Commissioner.

http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/08_Allocation_of_Probationer_Gardaí_by_Division_and_Station_2014_to_March_2019.

For more general information on Garda Facts and Figures please see the following link:

http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/An_Garda_Siochana_facts_and_figures.