Written Answers Nos. 329-343
329. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Justice the number of age cards issued pursuant to the scheme established by the Intoxicating Liquor Act 1988 (Age Card) Regulations 2010 for each year since its establishment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27136/21]
View answerI am informed by the Garda authorities that the below table sets out the number of cards issued from 1999 up to the end of April 2021:
|
YEAR |
NO OF CARDS ISSUED |
COMMENTS |
|
1999 |
1,205 |
|
|
2000 |
7,246 |
|
|
2001 |
12,973 |
|
|
2002 |
39,600 |
|
|
2003 |
57,695 |
|
|
2004 |
45,760 |
|
|
2005 |
41,867 |
|
|
2006 |
33,856 |
|
|
2007 |
31,653 |
New Card Launched |
|
2008 |
35,268 |
|
|
2009 |
36,351 |
|
|
2010 |
39,952 |
|
|
2011 |
41,054 |
On Line Application launched - CCS |
|
2012 |
47,625 |
|
|
2013 |
50,148 |
|
|
2014 |
48,093 |
|
|
2015 |
47,698 |
|
|
2016 |
45,545 |
|
|
2017 |
44,777 |
|
|
2018 |
44,364 |
|
|
2019 |
36,516 |
|
|
2020 |
24,492 |
|
|
2021 |
4,010 |
For the first 4 months of 2021 |
330. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Justice the status of plans to amend Article 41.3 of Bunreacht na hÉireann in order to recognise a wider range of families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27200/21]
View answerArticle 41.3.1° of the Constitution provides that “The State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of Marriage, on which the Family is founded, and to protect it against attack.”
The Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality, which published its recommendations on 24 April 2021, recommended the amendment of Article 41 of the Constitution so that it would protect private and family life, with the protection afforded to the family not limited to the marital family.
The Programme for Government “Our Shared Future” contains commitments to respond to each recommendation of the Citizens’ Assembly on gender equality and to act on the recommendations.
The Government will consider the recommendation of the Citizen’s Assembly regarding the provisions of Article 41 of the Constitution relating to the protection of the family with a view to bringing forward proposals in due course.
331. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Justice if she will issue a renewed stamp 4 to a person (details supplied) awaiting a decision on an application for certificate of naturalisation whose previous stamp 4 was extended three months at a time when it expired on 21 May 2020, most recently up to the April 2021, but whose passport was not stamped to that effect in circumstances in which the person needs to leave the State for essential reasons. [27209/21]
View answerThe person referred to by the Deputy was issued with a letter requesting further documentation on 14 May 2021, in support of their application for Leave to Remain. Upon receipt of this documentation their application can continue to be processed.
Any visa required national that wishes to re-enter the State must have a valid passport and either a valid Irish Residence Permit (IRP) or a valid re-entry visa. Normal processing of re-entry visa applications has recommenced. This service is strictly a postal service. All re-entry visa applications must be submitted by Registered Post to the address on the application form.
Further details on how to apply for a re-entry visa and to download application forms can be found on our website at:
http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/visas-reentry-decisions
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility (inisoireachtasmail@justice.ie) 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 the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
332. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Justice if the report of the inquiry into the adequacy of the An Garda Síochána investigations and disciplinary inquiries following the death of Mr. Patrick Nugent, which she received on 3 November 2020, will be shared with the family. [27214/21]
View answer333. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Justice when she will share the report of the inquiry into the adequacy of the An Garda Síochána investigations and disciplinary inquiries following the death of Mr. Patrick Nugent, which she received on 3 November 2020, with the Nugent family. [27215/21]
View answer334. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Justice if the report of the inquiry into the adequacy of the An Garda Síochána investigations and disciplinary inquiries following the death of Mr. Patrick Nugent, which she received on 3 November 2020, will be published. [27216/21]
View answer335. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Justice when she will publish the report of the inquiry into the adequacy of the An Garda Síochána investigations and disciplinary inquiries following the death of Mr. Patrick Nugent, which she received on 3 November 2020. [27217/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 332 to 335, inclusive, together.
The Deputy will be aware that an inquiry under section 42 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 was conducted by former Judge Patrick Clyne into the Garda Síochána investigation relating to the death of Mr Patrick Nugent in 1984.
I can inform the Deputy that Judge Clyne completed his inquiry on 31 October 2020 and my Department received Judge Clyne’s report on 3 November 2020. The advice of the Attorney General was sought on the issue of publication and related matters. That advice is currently being considered within the Department. I expect to be in a position to advise on the timelines further, but unfortunately I am not in a position to do so at this juncture. I do appreciate that Mr. Nugent's family are most anxious to receive the outcome of Judge Clyne's investigation and I will be in touch with them as soon as it is possible to do so.
336. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice if she will establish a dedicated transport division of An Garda Síochána; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27230/21]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, under section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, including the recruitment, training and deployment of Garda members and staff. Under section 33 of the Act, the Commissioner is responsible for the distribution and stationing of the Garda Síochána throughout the State, including the establishment of dedicated units within An Garda Síochána. As Minister I have no direct role in these decisions.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that An Garda Síochána work closely with partner agencies including the National Transport Authority, Irish Rail (DART and InterCity rail) and Transdev Ireland (Luas) to provide a high visibility presence through a co-ordinated approach.
I am further informed that An Garda Síochána do not propose to establish a dedicated transport policing unit at this time.
337. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice if a person from this State and serving a prison sentence in Northern Ireland can apply under the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Act 1995 to serve the prison sentence in this jurisdiction; the conditions under which such an application can be made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27251/21]
View answer338. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice if a person who is Irish and lives ordinarily in Northern Ireland and is serving a prison sentence in Northern Ireland can apply under the Transfer of Sentenced Person Act 1995 to serve the prison sentence in this jurisdiction on the basis of their Irish citizenship; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27252/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 337 and 338 together.
I wish to advise the Deputy that the Council of the Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons provides a procedural framework for such transfers and seeks to provide a simple and relatively expeditious mechanism whereby the repatriation of sentenced persons may take place.
The Convention sets out six conditions which must be fulfilled if a transfer is to be affected and these conditions were transposed into national law in the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Acts, 1995 and 1997. It is of course open to an Irish person serving a sentence in Northern Ireland to apply for a transfer under the Acts. However, it should be noted that even where all of the conditions are satisfied, there is no obligation on a State to comply with a transfer request.
As the Deputy may be aware, in 2014 a High Court judgement relating to the transfer of prisoners from the United Kingdom was appealed to the Supreme Court. The judgments in this case were received in July 2016. A subsequent Appeal Court ruling in another case in 2018 directed that the Minister must consider each application on its own merits under the existing legislation and give detailed reasoning for the decision reached.
The Government has approved the General Scheme of the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Amendment Bill in 2019 in order to amend the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Acts 1995 and 1997. The relevant 2016 Supreme Court judgments raises the issue of how best to adapt and administer under Irish law a foreign sentence that contains features not found in Irish sentences. This (Amendment) Bill is designed to address this issue.
Officials in my Department are currently working with the Office of the Attorney General with a view to progressing this matter so that a finalised Bill can be brought to Government and presented to the Oireachtas as soon as possible.
Legislation to transpose Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA is also being progressed and is on the Government Legislative Programme Priority List for publication this session.
339. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the details of each contract placed in each of the years 2015 to 2019 and up to November 2020 for works awarded to a company (details supplied) by the Prison Service other than for those services specifically provided for in the schedule at appendix 1, Requirements and Specifications of the Request for Tenders dated December 2013 as published by the Prison Service; and if she will provide a schedule of contracts that were awarded following a specific procurement and tender procedure for those works and contracts in which no procurement procedure or tender was issued. [27268/21]
View answerI am advised by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service that the information requested by the Deputy is not readily available.
However, the information is being collated by the Irish Prison Service and will be forwarded directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
340. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice if her attention has been drawn to any irregularities involving procurement issues within the estates and or building services divisions of the Prison Service unit: if so, the details, nature and extent of same. [27269/21]
View answerI would like to inform the Deputy that my Department received correspondence on September 13, 2019, in relation to alleged procurement irregularities involving the Irish Prison Service and a named company. This was forwarded to my Department’s Internal Audit Unit for examination. I am informed that an investigation in relation to the complaint commenced in March 2020 and that this investigation will be finalised in 2021.
The nature of the allegations relate to the extension of a supplier contract and the awarding of works from this contract, and to allegations around purchases, payment rates and the utilisation of supplier maintenance staff.
A new tender was completed in 2020 and I am informed that this was a complex and lengthy tender process involving extensive engagement with a number of parties including the Office of Government Procurement, the Chief State Solicitor's Office, and technical consultants.
I understand that the previous contract remained in operation until the new contract commenced in 2020. This was to ensure continuity of service provision for the prison estate and involved various works, ranging from commissioning and maintenance of mechanical and electrical and associated plant and systems, repairs, renewals and upgrades, and general, reactive and planned preventative maintenance.
Where work was carried out beyond the original contract date, the expenditure has been reported in line with government accounting rules.
A further allegation was received in 2020. This allegation is currently being investigated.
341. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice if a schedule will be provided of IT and email security costs incurred over the past five years to date; and the contractor engaged to deliver the services and or system. [27282/21]
View answerMy Department implements a security-by-design and defence-in-depth approach to cyber security. Our technical staff operate and monitor all relevant systems to the highest levels, and are closely engaged with experts in the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to ensure that we follow best practice as it relates to all aspects of Cybersecurity. For operational and security reasons, we are advised by the NCSC not to disclose details of systems and processes which could in any way compromise those efforts. In particular, it is not considered appropriate to disclose information which might assist criminals to identify potential vulnerabilities in departmental cybersecurity arrangements. Therefore it is not considered appropriate to disclose particular arrangements in place in relation to cyber security tools and services and my Department does not comment on operational security matters.
342. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Justice if her Department is fully compliant with GDPR EU requirements, the EU network and Information Security Directive and standards with respect to her Department’s IT infrastructure including Article 29 of GDPR which requires that data processors access only the data they need for their task; if ISO 27001 Annex 9 standards on privileged access are fully met; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27343/21]
View answer343. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Justice if any state or semi state bodies which report to her Department are fully compliant with GDPR EU requirements and the EU network and Information Security Directive and standards with respect to their IT infrastructure including article 29 of GDPR which requires that data processors access only the data they need for their task; if ISO 27001 annex 9 standards on privileged access are fully met; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27362/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 342 and 343 together.
My Department is fully compliant with EU requirements under the GDPR and the EU Network and Information Security and standards with respect to IT Infrastructure. The delivery of my Department’s ICT operations is supported by a managed service provider who is accredited to ISO 20000 standard. While my Department is not ISO 27001 certified, it operates a number of similar standards and specifically operates a Role Based Access Control policy and standard in relation to data access on the shared service which delivers ICT services to my Department and connected agencies. I am informed that the offices, agencies and bodies under my Department’s aegis that are not part of the shared service also operate within these guiding principles and meet the appropriate standards on privileged access.
