Wednesday, 19 Jan 2022

Written Answers Nos. 1278-1295

Prison Service

Questions (1278)

Darren O'Rourke

Question:

1278. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Justice the estimated cost in 2022 if 200 prison officers were recruited for the Prison Services. [1901/22]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that the estimated full year cost of employing 200 new Recruit Prison Officers in 2022 would be, as per the most recent PPC pay scales of 1st October 2021, €6,205,400.   

The recruitment of Recruit Prison Officers by the Irish Prison Service has been ongoing since 2017 and has regard to such factors as service needs and exit levels from the organisation.

I can advise the Deputy that 133 Recruit Prison Officers were recruited in 2021 and it is envisaged that a further 139 will be recruited in 2022.

An Garda Síochána

Questions (1279)

Darren O'Rourke

Question:

1279. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons arrested for burglary within the Meath Garda division on 24 and 25 December 2021; and if she will provide same figures for 2019 and 2020, in tabular form. [1902/22]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

I can assure the Deputy that I am very much aware of the impact of crime on rural communities and I am committed to ensuring that there is strong, visible community policing right across rural Ireland.

As the Deputy is aware, a key pillar of the Programme for Government, Our Shared Future, is building stronger and safer communities.  I can assure the Deputy that my Department is committed to ensuring that there is strong, visible community policing right across Ireland, both rural and urban. 

While An Garda Síochána has provided very dedicated service to assisting in the national effort to combat the threat of COVID-19, ordinary policing has of course also continued throughout the period. This includes the winter phase of Operation Thor, which was launched on 1 October 2021 and will run until 31 March 2022. Operation Thor is designed to tackle the increase in the number of burglaries and associated criminal activity that usually occur in winter months by undertaking targeted enforcement and preventative activity, highlighted through public information campaigns including 'Lock up, Light up' etc. These initiatives have been successful in dramatically reducing the rate of winter burglaries, leading to a significant decline in property-related crime since its introduction in 2015.

In relation to the number of persons arrested for burglary within the Meath Garda division on 24 and 25 December in each of the years 2019, 2020 and 2021, I am informed by the Garda authorities that a breakdown cannot be provided as An Garda Síochána do not report on incident types numbering under 10 in a given timeframe/geographic locale, due to data protection concerns.

An Garda Síochána

Questions (1280)

Darren O'Rourke

Question:

1280. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Justice the number of new marked vehicles allocated to the Garda Technical Bureau in 2020 and 2021, in tabular form; and the number of vehicles withdrawn from the Garda Technical Bureau during same period. [1903/22]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including the purchase of vehicles and their allocation to Garda units. As Minister, I have no direct role in the matter.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that the purchase and allocation of vehicles is made on the basis of identified operational demands and the availability of resources. I am further advised that the allocation of Garda vehicles is monitored and reviewed on a continual basis to ensure the best match with operational requirements.

I have been informed by the Garda authorities no marked vehicles were allocated to or withdrawn from the Garda Technical Bureau in 2020 or 2021.

An Garda Síochána

Questions (1281)

Darren O'Rourke

Question:

1281. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Justice the number of gardaí trained in public order in each Garda division as of 31 December 2021, in tabular form. [1905/22]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

I have requested a report on the information sought by the Deputy from An Garda Síochána and unfortunately the report was not to hand in time.

I will write to the Deputy on receipt of the requested information.

The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51

I refer to your Parliamentary Question (No. 1281 of 19 January 2022) where you sought: “the number of gardaí­ trained in public order in each Garda division as of 31 December 2021” .

As you will recall, I sought the information you requested from the Garda authorities and undertook to contact you again once the report was to hand.

As you will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including Garda training matters. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the table below outlines the number of Gardaí in Divisions/Units who are trained in Public Order, as at 19 January 2022.

Division	Numbers trained
Garda Bureau of Community Engagement	1
D.M.R. East	60
D.M.R. North	66
D.M.R. North Central	80
D.M.R. Office	1
D.M.R. South	76
D.M.R. South Central	81
D.M.R. West	71
DMR Roads Policing	5
Kildare	51
Kilkenny/Carlow	53
Laois/Offaly	10
Meath	49
Waterford	36
Westmeath	45
Wexford	38
Wicklow	56
S.T.O.C.	8
Security & Intelligence	1
Internal Affairs	1
Garda College & Research	7
HRM Operations	3
Cavan / Monaghan	73
Donegal	79
Galway	62
Louth	69
Mayo	29
Roscommon / Longford	32
Sligo / Leitrim	43
Cyber Crime Bureau	1
Economic Crime Bureau	5
Operational Support Unit	1
Protective Services Bureau	4
Garda Roads Policing Bureau	1
Clare	6
Cork City	56
Cork North	21
Cork West	20
Kerry	19
Limerick	33
Tipperary	35
STRAT. Transform Office	2
Total	1390

An Garda Síochána

Questions (1282)

Darren O'Rourke

Question:

1282. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Justice if a recent contract for the provision of medium-sized Garda vans was put out to tender; and if so, when these new vans will come into the fleet. [1906/22]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including the purchase of vehicles and their allocation to Garda units. As Minister, I have no direct role in the matter.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that the purchase and allocation of vehicles is made on the basis of identified operational demands and the availability of resources. I am further advised that the allocation of Garda vehicles is monitored and reviewed on a continual basis to ensure the best match with operational requirements.

I am further informed by the Garda authorities that the supply of medium-sized vans to An Garda Síochána was tendered and a contract is currently in place. Six new medium size vans are due to be added to An Garda Síochána Fleet in 2022.

Office of Director of Public Prosecutions

Questions (1283)

Darren O'Rourke

Question:

1283. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons successful prosecuted under section 7 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 in 2019, 2020 and 2021, in tabular form. [1911/22]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy may be 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. This includes the compilation of information relating to convictions.

However, in order to assist the Deputy, I have sought information from the Courts Service. 

The following figures in relation to the number of offences and number of persons convicted under the relevant section of the Act in the District Court have been provided. I am advised that it is important to note that a person may be convicted on more than one offence.  

Table 1. Number of offences and number of persons convicted in the District Court

	Jan - Dec 2019		Jan  - Dec 2020		Jan - Dec 2021
Section	No of Offences where convictions were recorded	No of persons convicted	No of Offences where convictions were recorded	No of persons convicted	No of Offences where convictions were recorded	No of persons convicted
section 7(1)(a)(i), 7(1)(b) & 7(3) of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing) Act 2010			1	1	1	1
section 7(1)(a)(ii), 7(1)(b) & 7(3) of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing) Act 2010	7	6	5	5	18	15
Total	7	6	6	6	19	16

In terms of the offences sent forward for trial to the Circuit Court, I am informed that at this time, the system in use by the Courts Service in the Circuit Courts cannot produce reports for specific offences and the reports which are available are by offence category rather than for individual offences. Categories of offences can contain multiple offences. Table 2 provides the Circuit Court  information that is available.  

Table 2: No of offences and no of persons sent forward for trial to the Circuit Court

	Jan – Dec 2019		Jan – Dec 2020		Jan – Dec 2021
Section	No of Offences sent forward for Trial	No of Persons sent forward for Trial	No of Offences sent forward for Trial	No of Persons sent forward for Trial	No of Offences sent forward for Trial	No of Persons sent forward for Trial
Section 7(1)(a)(i), 7(1)(b) & 7(3) of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing) Act 2010	12	9	37	16	35	27
Section 7(1)(a)(ii), 7(1)(b) & 7(3) of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing) Act 2010	199	70	304	107	629	288
Section 7(1)(a)(iii), 7(b) & 7(3) of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing) Act 2010	2	1	38	2	2	2
Total	213	80	379	125	666	317

The Deputy should also note that the Courts can only provide data in relation to where offence codes provided on the system were used by prosecutors. In relation to prosecutions under Section 7 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010, prosecutors may have used uncoded free text offences and any such offences, which do not appear in searches for prosecutions by the Courts Service. 

Finally, I wish to assure the Deputy that Ireland has a robust Anti-Money Laundering/ Countering the Financing of Terrorism framework. Ireland’s anti-money laundering framework was assessed by the global standard-setter, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and Ireland was found to have “a generally sound legislative and institutional AML/CFT framework”.

The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021 strengthens existing anti-money laundering legislation and gives effect to provisions of the Fifth EU Money Laundering Directive.  

In line with international standards adopted by the FATF, and the EU's legislative framework, Ireland has developed a solid regulatory framework for preventing money laundering. This Act strengthens existing anti-money laundering legislation and contains a renewed focus on gatekeepers of financial systems. It ensures that there is increasing transparency by bringing further institutions within the scope of the Irish anti-money laundering regulatory framework and by combatting the use of new trends and technologies employed by criminals. It also ensures that our regulatory framework keeps pace with the increasing integration of financial flows in the internal market, the evolving trends, technological developments and the prevention of organised crime. 

Question No. 1284 answered with Question No. 1206.

Question No. 1285 answered with Question No. 1179.

Question No. 1286 answered with Question No. 1256.

An Garda Síochána

Questions (1287)

Niall Collins

Question:

1287. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice the number of fixed charge notices issued to drivers for speeding by each Garda division in each of the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2008/22]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

As The Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including the recording of traffic offences, collisions and seizures of vehicles. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in these matters.

The Garda authorities have provided me with the below table, which provides a yearly breakdown per Garda division of the number of instances in which a party was issued with a Fixed Charge Notice for speeding.

Garda Division	2018	2019	2020	2021
Cavan/Monaghan	4165	4486	5732	4916
Clare	5680	4536	4924	4960
Cork City	3203	4092	7164	12197
Cork North	5078	4940	6607	6285
Cork West	5464	4849	3444	3997
D.M.R. Eastern	3439	4400	5529	4009
D.M.R. North Central	3064	3325	4010	3636
D.M.R. Northern	8179	8668	11682	9579
D.M.R. South Central	3723	3014	2736	2623
D.M.R. Southern	1623	1535	3438	3671
D.M.R. Western	2742	3302	12895	8604
Donegal	2887	3344	3743	3682
Galway	9039	9476	13815	10520
Kerry	3552	4108	3846	4023
Kildare	14863	12830	12700	15543
Kilkenny/Carlow	5266	5060	5079	6082
Laois/Offaly	4665	5335	6723	8657
Limerick	10793	10908	8543	9208
Louth	2383	2318	4798	4836
Mayo	3010	5393	3911	3250
Meath	5728	3309	8350	7035
Roscommon/Longford	2760	3095	4430	3212
Sligo/Leitrim	3175	3123	1910	3102
Tipperary	3779	3536	6665	8154
Waterford	5197	5023	5521	5919
Westmeath	2452	3469	4847	5369
Wexford	4635	4492	5124	5121
Wicklow	5569	5174	13097	10430
Totals	136113	137140	181263	178620

I have been advised that the above figures are based on incidents which occurred from 01/01/2018 to 31/12/2021, inclusive.  All information contained in this report is based upon operational data from the Fixed Charge Processing System as was available on 04/01/2022 and is liable to change.

An Garda Síochána

Questions (1288)

Niall Collins

Question:

1288. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice the number of drivers that paid a fixed charge penalty notice for speeding in each Garda division within the statutory payment timeframe in each of the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2009/22]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including the recording of traffic offences, collisions and seizures of vehicles. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.

The Garda authorities have provided me with the below table, which provides a yearly breakdown per Garda division of the number of instances in which a party paid a Fixed Charge Notice issued for the offences of speeding.

Division	2018	2019	2020	2021
Cavan/Monaghan	3502	3768	4825	3572
Clare	4798	3734	4320	4024
Cork City	2804	3553	6221	9678
Cork North	4437	4301	5860	5099
Cork West	4834	4227	3069	3236
D.M.R. Eastern	3126	3922	4887	3302
D.M.R. North Central	2380	2399	2833	2338
D.M.R. Northern	6893	7010	9488	7073
D.M.R. South Central	3187	2590	2182	1928
D.M.R. Southern	1383	1290	2855	2762
D.M.R. Western	2307	2779	10338	6458
Donegal	2335	2732	3228	2854
Galway	7806	8038	12166	8204
Kerry	2962	3438	3309	3365
Kildare	12500	10606	10894	12095
Kilkenny/Carlow	4456	4301	4457	4987
Laois/Offaly	4013	4530	5691	6858
Limerick	8911	9195	7263	6916
Louth	1948	1907	3922	3509
Mayo	2494	4757	3431	2579
Meath	4920	2803	6978	5370
Roscommon/Longford	2365	2642	3830	2624
Sligo/Leitrim	2706	2693	1700	2538
Tipperary	3174	2893	5673	6415
Waterford	4495	4320	4765	4810
Westmeath	2120	2983	4196	4222
Wexford	3880	3878	4341	4032
Wicklow	4732	4456	11155	8334
Totals	115468	115745	153877	139182

I have been advised that the above figures are based on incidents which occurred from 01/01/2018 to 31/12/2021, inclusive.  All information contained in this report is based upon operational data from the Fixed Charge Procession System as was available on 04/01/2022 and is liable to change.

An Garda Síochána

Questions (1289)

Niall Collins

Question:

1289. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice the number of drivers that availed of the third payment option and paid a fixed charge notice for speeding in each Garda division in each of the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2010/22]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005,the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including the management of the Fixed Charge Processing System. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.

The Garda authorities have provided me with the below figures, which provide a yearly breakdown per Garda Division of the number of instances in which a Fixed Charge Notice was issued for the offences of speeding and was paid using the third payment option.

it is important to note that court proceedings are initiated where a fine is not paid within the required timeframe. A third payment option is available where the fine can be paid up to a number of days before the court date. This fine will be double the original fine.

In this instance, all cases where a fine of €160 was paid (double the original fine amount of €80) have been included.

Garda Divisions	2018	2019	2020	2021
Cavan/Monaghan	155	161	194	45
Clare	222	217	256	114
Cork City	133	147	138	43
Cork North	212	196	243	91
Cork West	232	175	133	59
D.M.R. Eastern	132	138	198	10
D.M.R. North Central	147	142	123	*
D.M.R. Northern	358	315	319	*
D.M.R. South Central	169	123	67	*
D.M.R. Southern	67	60	77	*
D.M.R. Western	93	144	333	*
Donegal	130	177	200	43
Galway	374	422	651	188
Kerry	151	145	157	86
Kildare	541	500	515	221
Kilkenny/Carlow	234	166	199	110
Laois/Offaly	201	223	254	72
Limerick	436	430	411	115
Louth	116	145	195	*
Mayo	116	201	112	*
Meath Div	215	124	106	*
Roscommon/Longford	133	130	180	64
Sligo/Leitrim	140	147	78	46
Tipperary	187	174	306	46
Waterford	217	193	218	112
Westmeath	107	147	199	97
Wexford	213	211	230	115
Wicklow Div	274	216	339	150
Totals	5705	5569	6431	1827

* denotes a figure less than 10.

It is important to note that the above figures are based on incidents which occurred from 01/01/2018 to 31/12/2021, inclusive.  All information contained in this report is based upon operational data from the Fixed Charge Processing System (FCPS) as was available on 13/01/2022 and is liable to change. Figures less than 10 are not released due to data protection considerations.

Road Traffic Offences

Questions (1290)

Niall Collins

Question:

1290. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice the number of drivers listed in court for speeding by District Court in each of the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021; the number of drivers convicted of speeding in each of the years by the District Court; the number of drivers who had their cases dismissed and struck out each year by District Court; the number of drivers’ driver licence numbers recorded on conviction of speeding in each year by District Court; the penalties imposed on conviction each year by District Court; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2011/22]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

I have made enquiries with the Courts Service regarding the information sought by the Minister of State. The Courts Service have provided a significant volume of information in response to this question which I will arrange to be sent to the Minister of State directly.

Road Traffic Offences

Questions (1291, 1293, 1294, 1295)

Niall Collins

Question:

1291. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice the number of drivers listed in court for speeding by District Court in each of the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 which resulted in the case being struck out due to summons not served for speeding offence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2012/22]

Niall Collins

Question:

1293. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice the number of drivers that were not convicted in court for speeding offence in each of the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, by District Court due to the fact that they claimed in court the non-receipt of the original fixed charge notice for speeding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2014/22]

Niall Collins

Question:

1294. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice the number of drivers listed in court for speeding by District Court in each of the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 which resulted in the case being struck out or dismissed due to the Garda or gardaí not being present; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2015/22]

Niall Collins

Question:

1295. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice the number of drivers listed in court for speeding by District Court in each the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 which resulted in the case being struck out or dismissed due to the Garda or gardaí not being present due to the garda or gardaí being under suspension from duty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2016/22]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1291, 1293, 1294 and 1295 together.

As the Minister of State may be aware, the decision to strike out a matter before the Courts is for the Presiding Judge, who must be satisfied as to the reason being proferred for such an application. These applications can be made both by the prosecution and defence.

I am advised by the Courts Service that the Courts Service system does not record the reason a case was struck out unless the Judge includes the reason in their order and, for this reason, the Courts Service therefore cannot provide the information sought by the Minister of State. 

The Minister of State may wish to note that An Garda Síochána are currently carrying out a review of the striking out of cases specifically relating to the offence of ‘holding a mobile phone while driving’ over the 12 month period from January 2017 to December 2017. An analysis of cases will illustrate the reasons for such applications by members of An Garda Síochána. While the review will examine the strike outs of ‘holding a mobile phone while driving’ offences, the findings of the review will capture learning that will be applicable across the summons process end to end.

Road Traffic Offences

Questions (1292)

Niall Collins

Question:

1292. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice the number of drivers listed in court for speeding by District Court in each of the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 which resulted in the case being struck out or dismissed due to the driver making a contribution to the court poor box; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2013/22]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

I am advised by the Courts Service that the table below details the number of persons by District Court Area, where their offence for speeding was struck out/dismissed due to the driver making a contribution to the court poor box in each of the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Court Area	Jan - Dec 2018	Jan - Dec 2019	Jan - Dec 2020	Jan - Dec 2021
ATHLONE				1
BALLINASLOE	2	2		1
BANDON	3	3		7
BANTRY				1
CARLOW				2
CARRICK ON SUIR	1
CASTLEREA	1
CLONAKILTY				1
CLONMEL		1
CORK CITY	1	1
DROGHEDA	1			1
DUBLIN METROPOLITAN DISTRICT	7	4		11
DUNGARVAN	5	1
ENNIS				1
KILLALOE		1
LONGFORD				1
LOUGHREA	1			1
MACROOM	4	3	3
MULLINGAR				3
PORTLAOISE	1
STROKESTOWN				1
TUAM	1	2	2
YOUGHAL	1
Total	29	18	5	32

Question No. 1293 answered with Question No. 1291.

Question No. 1294 answered with Question No. 1291.

Question No. 1295 answered with Question No. 1291.