Written Answers Nos. 357-369
358. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of first year places available by university for play therapy at undergraduate level in 2021 and 2022, in tabular form. [5698/22]
View answerPlay therapy is a form of counselling or psychotherapy in which play is used as a means of helping children to better express and communicate their feelings. Play therapy can be used by a range of education, health and welfare professionals. As such, there are no undergraduate degrees specifically in play therapy. Postgraduate qualifications are available and aimed at individuals who have a primary degree in a relevant discipline, or work with children in the health and welfare fields.
359. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are currently no physiotherapy undergraduate courses in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5699/22]
View answerHigher Education Institutions are autonomous bodies within the meaning of the Universities Act 1997, the Institutes of Technology Acts 1992 to 2006, and the Technological Universities Act 2018. As such they are autonomous in relation to their administrative and academic affairs, and the courses offered by any institution, and the level at which they are offered, are a matter for the individual institutions to determine.
It is my understanding that while there are no physiotherapy courses offered at undergraduate level in County Cork, a masters in physiotherapy is offered in University College Cork. My department is engaging across government on workforce planning and will respond accordingly to any issues arising around skills needs and places available within our higher and further education institutions nationwide.
360. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will provide an update on the recommendation from a report (details supplied) on the creation of the role of sexual misconduct prevention and response managers in further and higher education institutions and for that work to be supported full-time by a national and or sectoral representative and a panel of trained investigators. [5716/22]
View answerTackling sexual violence and harassment in our tertiary education system is and will remain, a key policy focus for me and my Department.
One of the key outputs from the project referred to by the Deputy was a report to the technological higher education sector, which included sectoral guidance on the implementation of the Framework for Consent in HEIs .
In August 2020, I expanded the remit of the HEA’s Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality to cover all areas of equality, diversity and inclusion. The Centre of Excellence has oversight of the implementation of the Framework for Consent in HEIs and supports ongoing work to implement the Framework through funding initiatives, centralised support and monitoring of annual progress. As part of monitoring requirements, the HEA requires that institutions, in respect of both staff and students, report progress on implementation of the Framework for Consent in HEIs on an annual basis.
All publicly funded HEIs have action plans in place to address this issue and have assigned responsibility to a member of senior leadership, most often in the form of the Vice-President for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. The HEA Centre of Excellence works closely with these stakeholders to both support and monitor progress in our goal to end sexual violence and harassment in higher education institutions. This work includes funding and support of targeted projects, such as the Speak Out anonymous reporting tool that was launched last year.
An expert Advisory Group was established in 2021 to advise my Department and the Higher Education Authority’s Centre of Excellence for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion on policy relating to addressing sexual violence and harassment in Irish higher education institutions. This group of experts provides advice on consent framework implementation and future areas of priority in relation to ending sexual violence and harassment in higher education. The advisory group consists of the independent members of the original task force that developed the framework and other relevant experts and stakeholders. The group is currently developing an implementation plan following the recent publication of reports on student and staff experiences of sexual violence and harassment. The recommendation mentioned by the Deputy will come before the advisory group for consideration as part of its ongoing work in this area.
361. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his view on and response to a report concerning sexual violence in Irish colleges and universities (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5808/22]
View answerTackling sexual violence and harassment in our tertiary education system is and will remain, a key policy focus for me and my Department.
I really want to thank students and staff across the country who took the time to engage with this survey and share their experiences with us. A total of 11,417 responses were analysed (7,901 students and 3,516 staff) and inform the findings.
The survey findings point to some positive developments in the higher education institutions that can be built upon in areas such as awareness raising and education. But there are also some deeply troubling findings, such as the levels of sexual harassment experienced by staff and students that responded to the survey and particularly the female students that reported that they had experienced sexual violence.
My Department will now work with the Centre of Excellence for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the HEA, the higher education sector and the HEA Advisory Group on Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) to implement the recommendations in these reports.
Data from annual HEI progress updates to the HEA on implementation of the Framework for Consent in HEIs and the findings of the survey reports will provide an evidence base for any funding and priority areas identified in the reports’ recommendations. My intention is to develop an implementation plan to consolidate the advances that have been made in this area since the publication of the Framework for Consent in HEIs in April 2019. The HEA Advisory Group will act as the implementation oversight group, working alongside the HEA's Centre for Excellence for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and my Department.
362. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Justice if she will examine the case of a person (details supplied) who applied for spouse of an Irish citizen status; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5582/22]
View answerAn application for a Spouse of Irish National permission was received from the person referred to by the Deputy on 15 July 2021. As outlined in the acknowledgment letter from my Department when the application was received, these applications can take up to 12 months to finalise. The application continues to be processed at this time.
To be fair to all applicants, applications are dealt with in chronological order and my Department endeavours to process all applications as quickly as possible. However, processing times may vary due to a number of factors, such as the number of applications on hands, individual circumstances, the complexity of applications, whether further information is required, and the resources available.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility, 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 is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
363. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice the steps she is taking to ensure that naturalisation applications are not delayed and that applicants receive confirmation of receipt and status updates throughout the process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5618/22]
View answerThe Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on my Department's immigration service delivery. In line with the prevailing public health advice, my Department has implemented a suite of measures to help reduce the spread of the virus. This has unavoidably led to a reduction in processing capacity across many business areas at certain times. However, it is important to say that citizenship applications have continued to be accepted and decisions have issued at all times during the pandemic.
Last year, 11,512 citizenship decisions were delivered, which is the highest number of decisions made since 2015, and reflects positively the significant changes undertaken to date.
From the beginning of this year, new applicants for citizenship no longer have to submit their original passport with their application. Instead, they can provide a full colour copy of their entire passport, including the front and back covers. This is freeing up valuable staff that up to now have been engaged in returning passports to applicants and will also help to reduce processing times.
Following an initial assessment of new applications, all applicants are issued with an acknowledgement and an application reference number. It is open to any applicant to contact the Citizenship Division of my Department at www.citizenshipinfo@justice.ie at any time, for an update on their application.
A number of digitisation measures have also been introduced to increase efficiency in the process, including eTax clearance, eVetting and online payments. The end result of the digitisation process will be to free up more staff to focus on processing applications in a timely and efficient manner, to improve service to our customers and reduce waiting times to between 6-9 months for a majority of applications during 2022.
364. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice the number of new gardaí who have passed out of Templemore in the past five years by the county in which they were stationed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5641/22]
View answerAs 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 deployment of Garda members. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.
I am assured, however, that Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of policing priorities and crime trends, to ensure their optimum use. I further understand that it is a matter for the Divisional Chief Superintendent to determine the optimum distribution of duties among the personnel available to him or her, having regard to the profile of each area within the Division and its specific needs.
I am also pleased to note that since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014, a total of 3,781 Garda members have been assigned to Garda Divisions throughout the country. For the Deputy's information, the allocation of Probationer Gardaí by Division from 2015 up to 21 January 2022 is published on my Department's Website and can be accessed using the following link:
www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Probationer_Gardaí
Budget 2022 has provided an unprecedented allocation of in excess of €2 billion to An Garda Síochána, which includes funding for the recruitment of up to an additional 800 Gardaí and a further 400 Garda staff, subject to the public health situation. This significant investment demonstrates the Government's commitment to increasing the Garda workforce to enable the organisation to keep our communities safe.
365. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice the number of arrests that were made of persons who were under 18 years of age by the category of the arrest, for example, possession of drugs and so on, by county in each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5644/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027 was launched in April 2021. The immediate priority within the Strategy is to enhance engagement with children and young people who are most at risk of involvement in criminal activity, principally by strengthening the services available through the existing network of 105 Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) across the State.
YDPs engage with young people through a range of supports, including education, training and employment support, social enterprise initiatives, as well as personal development activities and supports such as mentoring.
Dedicated cross-agency oversight structures have been established to monitor and support the implementation of the Youth Justice Strategy, and these are further assisted by a Youth Justice Advisory Group that provides a standing forum to reflect views and concerns from the community sector and expert stakeholders.
The table below, which has been provided to me by the Garda authorities, sets out the number of persons under the age of 18 years associated with prisoner logs by Division for the period 1 January 2017 up to 31 December 2021. The information has been compiled following a search of the PULSE database for prisoner logs associated with persons under the age of 18 years old at time of arrest.
I am advised by An Garda Síochána that to provide a breakdown of all offences as requested by the Deputy would require an inordinate expenditure of Garda time and resources, as the scope of the request is so large.
However, An Garda Síochána have been able to advise that approximately 29% of all arrests over this 5 year period related to Public Order Offences, 19% related to Theft Offences and 7% related to Drugs Offences.
|
Division |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
|
Cavan/Monaghan |
184 |
166 |
133 |
103 |
83 |
|
Clare |
87 |
63 |
50 |
53 |
26 |
|
Cork City |
345 |
323 |
380 |
304 |
328 |
|
Cork North |
83 |
111 |
135 |
103 |
94 |
|
Cork West |
67 |
69 |
68 |
56 |
40 |
|
D.M.R. Eastern |
344 |
303 |
366 |
304 |
210 |
|
D.M.R. North Central |
421 |
309 |
289 |
247 |
198 |
|
D.M.R. Northern |
488 |
511 |
584 |
639 |
487 |
|
D.M.R. South Central |
425 |
403 |
352 |
458 |
496 |
|
D.M.R. Southern |
573 |
415 |
530 |
657 |
621 |
|
D.M.R. Western |
468 |
448 |
590 |
498 |
437 |
|
Donegal |
93 |
89 |
179 |
82 |
101 |
|
Galway Division |
169 |
183 |
128 |
107 |
143 |
|
Kerry |
141 |
127 |
157 |
108 |
96 |
|
Kildare Division |
169 |
191 |
202 |
179 |
216 |
|
Kilkenny/Carlow |
165 |
113 |
128 |
122 |
99 |
|
Laois/Offaly |
175 |
184 |
173 |
93 |
109 |
|
Limerick |
296 |
279 |
253 |
204 |
121 |
|
Louth Division |
132 |
114 |
107 |
156 |
89 |
|
Mayo |
60 |
78 |
69 |
47 |
35 |
|
Meath Div |
209 |
234 |
218 |
186 |
122 |
|
Roscommon/Longford Division |
89 |
85 |
96 |
114 |
80 |
|
Sligo/Leitrim |
45 |
29 |
36 |
16 |
12 |
|
Tipperary |
185 |
174 |
119 |
98 |
102 |
|
Waterford Division |
140 |
184 |
168 |
225 |
209 |
|
Westmeath Division |
105 |
67 |
114 |
95 |
90 |
|
Wexford Division |
125 |
133 |
77 |
72 |
58 |
|
Wicklow Division |
205 |
152 |
204 |
121 |
140 |
|
Grand Total |
5988 |
5537 |
5905 |
5447 |
4842 |
Incident data is based upon operational data from the PULSE system as was available at 01:00 on 31/01/2022 and is liable to change.
366. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice the arrangements that have been made or are planned to install charging points for electric vehicles in Irish Prison Service sites and courthouses nationally; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5661/22]
View answer367. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice the details, location and number of charging points for electric vehicles situated at each prison, courthouse and Garda station nationally; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5663/22]
View answer368. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice the number of electric vehicles that are in each of the fleets of the Irish Prison Service, An Garda Síochána and the Courts Services as a proportion of the total fleet; the plans that are in place to upgrade the fleets of these organisations to electric vehicles; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5664/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 366, 367 and 368 together.
Details of electric vehicles, charging points, and plans to upgrade fleets in the Irish Prison Service, An Garda Síochána and the Courts Service, as requested by the Deputy, are outlined below.
The Irish Prison Service
The Irish Prison Service (IPS) currently has no electric vehicles in its fleet. The IPS intends piloting electric vehicles at two sites, to determine deliverables and suitability to its requirements. Two charging points will be installed to facilitate this pilot project. These will be for IPS fleet vehicles only at this juncture. I am advised that current market analysis by the IPS indicates that there are no viable electric vehicles that will currently facilitate a move to electric vehicles for prisoner escort cellular transport, based on current commercial vehicle range capacities and reliability.
As part of any expansion of an electric vehicle programme, the IPS will need to establish a national network of electric vehicle charging points at prisons and other IPS sites.
Courts Service
Works to facilitate the installation of car chargers were included in the specifications for the seven courthouses under the Courts Bundle PPP project, which were delivered in 2017/18. A similar approach will be taken for all future courthouse construction/refurbishment projects.
Currently, there are electric car chargers installed at Wexford Courthouse and Mullingar Courthouse. Chargers are currently being installed at the Mulgrave Street Limerick and Anglesea Street Cork courthouses. There are plans to install chargers at Waterford Courthouse, Letterkenny Courthouse and Drogheda Courthouse in the near future. In each case, two car charging spaces are being provided. The Court Service does not have any electric vehicles.
An Garda Síochána
There are currently 49 electric vehicle charging points installed at sixteen Garda station locations, as detailed in the table below. The Fleet Management and Estate Management divisions of An Garda Síochána are currently liaising to identify and prioritise additional Garda stations for electric vehicle charging point installation.
There are currently 11 electric vehicles in operation across the Garda fleet. A further 30 have been ordered with expected delivery in Q2 2022. It is planned that these electric vehicles will be allocated to Garda Stations that currently have charging points. There are currently 3218 vehicles in the Garda fleet, of which electric vehicles represent 0.34%, with an anticipated rise to 1.27% at the end of 2022.
The purchase and allocation of vehicles is made on the basis of identified operational demands and the availability of resources, and is reviewed on a continual basis. The allocation of Garda vehicles is monitored and reviewed on a continual basis to ensure the best match with operational requirements.
|
Location |
No of EV Charging Points |
|
Fitzgibbon Street |
12 |
|
Ballymun |
2 |
|
Claremorris |
2 |
|
Cong |
2 |
|
Knock |
1 |
|
Garda HQ |
6 |
|
Garda College |
2 |
|
Rathfarnham |
2 |
|
Blanchardstown |
2 |
|
Letterkenny |
2 |
|
Drogheda |
2 |
|
Westport |
2 |
|
Dublin Airport |
2 |
|
Wexford |
2 |
|
Athlone |
6 |
|
Stepaside |
2 |
|
Total |
49 |
369. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Justice the progress to date in implementing recommendations 9, 11 and 36 of the Report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice and Equality on Reform of the Family Law System; the expected timeline for the introduction of such changes as recommended by the Oireachtas Committee; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5669/22]
View answerFamily law reform is a priority for me as Minister and was a major element of my Justice Plan 2021.
The Programme for Government contains a commitment to enact a Family Court Bill to create a new dedicated Family Court within the existing court structure and provide for court procedures that support a faster and less adversarial resolution of disputes in specialised centres.
In September 2020, Government approved the drafting of a Family Court Bill along the lines of the General Scheme, which has been published. This has been referred to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for drafting. Work is ongoing on the drafting of the Bill, with a view to its publication as soon as possible in 2022.
My Department is in the process of finalising a Family Justice Strategy, which will set out a high-level vision and key medium and longer-term objectives for the development of a national family justice system in parallel with the establishment of a dedicated Family Court structure as envisaged by the forthcoming Family Court Bill.
To develop the new strategy, a Family Justice Oversight Group was established by my Department. To assist its work, this Group has engaged in a phased consultation process where relevant stakeholders, the public, children and young people who engage with the family justice system gave their views on how a modernised family justice system should look. As part of the consultation process, two advisory groups have also been established comprising a subset of (1) NGOs and (2) practitioners and academics to further engage on issues emerging from the initial consultation phases.
One of the areas being considered by the Group is additional training for those working within the family justice system that would benefit all those who engage with the system. As part of the General Scheme of the Family Court Bill, specialist knowledge and ongoing professional training in the area of family law would be required to be appointed as a Family Court judge. An action to publish the new family justice strategy will be included in Justice Plan 2022.
To better inform further discussion on parental alienation, my Department arranged for research to be carried out last year, with the Research and Data Analytics Unit of my Department having prepared a research brief.
Following a competitive tender process in May, research commenced on this important work in June. The aims of the research included to:
- Identify the various definitions and characteristics of parental alienation being used internationally.
- Investigate what is known about the prevalence of this issue (in Ireland or internationally) through examination of the literature.
- Identify and outline the various approaches and responses being taken in other jurisdictions to deal with the issue of parental alienation (legislative and otherwise).
- Describe, outline and evaluate any studies which have examined the effectiveness of these various international approaches and assess the relevance of these studies to the Irish context.
I am pleased to say that a draft report was received by my Department at the end of November and is now being reviewed. It is also my intention to commence a public consultation on the topic in the coming weeks. Both the research and consultation will, I expect, create a deeper understanding of the issue, and inform my Department’s consideration of policy and law in this area.
The best interests of the child will of course be paramount in any considerations.
