Michael Healy-Rae
Question:1605. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice the status of an application by a person (details supplied) for citizenship; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41297/22]
View answerNaturalisation Applications
Questions (1605)
Written answers
The application for naturalisation from the person referred to by the Deputy, continues to be processed by my Department with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation, and will be submitted to me for decision in due course.
The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.
It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. However, the nature of the naturalisation process is such that, for a broad range of reasons, some cases will take longer than others to process. In some instances, completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time.
In addition, the combined impact of the 2019 High Court judgment in the Jones case and the necessary health restrictions arising from the pandemic, has unfortunately resulted in the processing time for standard applications increasing.
However, my Department is taking a number of steps to speed up the processing of applications and 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.
In 2021, my Department issued 11,512 citizenship decisions, which is the highest number of decisions made since 2015, and reflects positively the significant changes undertaken to date.
An Garda Síochána
Questions (1606)
Brendan Smith
Question:1606. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Justice if she will outline the progress to date in re-opening Bawnboy Garda Station, County Cavan which was announced by the Garda Commissioner in November 2017 and subsequently confirmed by the Minister for Justice; if she will outline the timeline for this re-opening and if she will ensure that any further undue delays do not occur; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41303/22]
View answerWritten answers
As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, which includes all operational policing decisions regarding the Garda estate. This includes the opening of any individual Garda station.
As Minister, I have no role in these independent functions and am unable to seek to direct the Commissioner in such matters.
The Office of Public Works (OPW) manages the maintenance and provision of Garda accommodation in close co-operation with the Garda authorities. Capital works on the Garda Estate are subject to the usual Public Sector procurement and budgetary processes.
The 2016 Programme for Government contained a commitment to reopen six Garda Stations on a pilot basis. Six Garda stations were identified, four of which have been reopened to date: Rush Garda Station, Co. Dublin, Stepaside Garda Station, Co. Dublin, Donard Garda Station, Co. Wicklow, and Ballinspittle Garda Station, Co. Cork.
I am advised by the Commissioner that the reopening of the two remaining stations of Bawnboy Garda Station, Co. Cavan, and Leighlinbridge Garda Station, Co. Carlow have not been advanced as yet and is being considered in the overall context of the Garda capital programme.
Departmental Functions
Questions (1607)
Holly Cairns
Question:1607. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Justice the way that her Department and public bodies and agencies under her remit met their obligations under section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 in 2021, including the way that relevant policies and actions are monitored and the way that the obligation is reflected in their annual reports. [41374/22]
View answerWritten answers
I wish to advise the Deputy that the public sector duty as set out in Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 is consistent with the core functions and values of my Department, which seeks to value and promote equality and human rights through its day-to-day work, whether in delivering key public services, developing policy and legislation in an inclusive human rights compliant manner, or in doing its work in an efficient, fair manner with integrity and respect for human dignity.
As the Deputy may be aware, my Department’s Statement of Strategy 2021-2023 includes a statement on how we intend to fulfil our obligations under Section 42 of the IHREC Act 2014. It states that we will:
- Carry out a fresh assessment of the human rights and equality issues relevant to the functions and purpose of the Department and the policies, plans and actions to be taken to address those issues. We will publish this assessment on our website.
- Promote and foster our human rights and equality duty as part of the training cycle.
- Drive change and continuous improvement in key areas by continuing to implement international human rights norms.
- Report on progress in our Annual Report and, where appropriate, require bodies under the aegis of the Department to measure progress in their own annual reports.
An Garda Síochána and my Department sponsored Action 16 under Our Public Service (OPS) 2020 – to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in the public service. Key outputs from the work of the Action Team were a vision statement, which the Department and other public service bodies signed in May 2021, along with a maturity model, designed to assist organisations to reflect and assess on how they are doing across the range of important elements which contribute to supporting equality and diversity.
In 2021, my Department piloted the maturity model as a self-assessment tool and the findings were used to inform the development of its first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy, which was published in March 2022. The Strategy aims to strengthen the Department’s capabilities to promote equality, embrace diversity and foster inclusion, not only in our daily interactions and activities as colleagues, but also in the design and delivery of the services that we provide to the public.
The EDI Strategy is central to my Department's mission of working for a safe, fair, inclusive Ireland and to fulfilling our public sector duty obligations.
The EDI Strategy prioritises three areas of focus for strategic impact:
- achieve better policy outcomes and improve the accessibility and quality of our services;
- support the development of a skilled and diverse workforce which is reflective of the diversity within our population / country;
- build and embed a workplace culture which facilitates, supports and encourages contributions from all
Each of these strategic outcomes are underpinned by a number of actions which the Department will implement over the life of the EDI Strategy. These actions will be integrated into our usual business plans including adding appropriate indicators and monitored along with our other organisational goals and strategic priorities. My Department’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Public Sector Duty Committee will monitor the implementation of this EDI Strategy over the course of its life time. The monitoring process will also involve establishing a mechanism to engage with colleagues with lived experience to ensure we are our living up to the aspirations communicated in the Strategy.
In accordance with our public sector duty, from 2019 onwards, all governance agreements made by my Department outline the obligation for all public bodies (i.e. the agencies) to include the Public Sector Duty in their strategic planning process and report on a regular basis on their progress. This action is a significant milestone in embedding the public sector duty obligations in the Department’s governance framework.
My Department has also included a requirement in all grant agreements that grantees are obliged to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, promote equality and protect the human rights of staff and persons to whom services are provided.
State Bodies
Questions (1608)
Holly Cairns
Question:1608. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Justice the number of State boards under the remit of her Department or its agencies; the total number of members of each board; the numbers on each board broken down according to gender; and the number of persons with a declared disability on each board in tabular form. [41392/22]
View answerWritten answers
As the Deputy may be aware, selection processes for appointments to State boards are supported by the Public Appointments Service. The State boards process is designed to enable any person to apply for a position on a State board. My Department regularly advertises positions for appointment to State boards on www.stateboards.ie.
In making appointments to State boards, my Department and the agencies under the remit of my Department ensure compliance with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform’s Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies (2016), and pay particular attention to its recent Annex on Gender Balance, Diversity and Inclusion (2020), in addition to the Guidelines on Appointments to State Boards (2015).
It is worth noting that many of the bodies in the justice sector were established on foot of primary legislation; where such legislation provides specific gender balance requirements, and my Department ensures compliance. A number of boards have ex officio positions which may need to be held by particular office holders. I can assure the Deputy that I am personally committed to achieving full gender balance on boards across the justice sector.
The information requested by the Deputy in respect of the composition of board memberships of the bodies under the aegis of my Department is set out below in tabular format.
|
State Board/Body |
Number of members of the board / body |
Gender-breakdown of the board/body |
|
Classification of Films Appeal Board |
6 |
3 women 3 men |
|
Censorship of Publications Board |
0 |
0 women 0 man |
|
Courts Service Board |
18 |
10 women 8 men |
|
Garda Síochána Inspectorate |
3 |
1 woman 2 man |
|
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) |
3 |
1 women 2 man |
|
International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) |
46 |
22 women 24 men |
|
Judicial Appointments Advisory Board (JAAB) |
9 |
3 women 6 men |
|
Legal Aid Board (LAB) |
13 |
8 women 5 men |
|
Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) |
11 |
7 women 4 men |
|
Mental Health (Criminal Law) Review Board |
4 |
3 women 1 man |
|
Parole Board |
13 |
5 women 8 men |
|
Policing Authority |
8 |
4 women 4 men |
|
Private Security Authority (PSA) |
11 |
4 women 7 men |
|
Private Security Appeal Board (PSAB) |
6 |
3 women 3 man |
|
Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA) |
11 |
7 women 4 men |
|
Property Services Appeal Board (PSAB) |
5 |
3 women 2 men |
It is not possible to provide the Deputy with the number of persons with a declared disability on each board and the percentage of each board that is made up of persons with a declared disability, as this data is not retained. Disability declarations are ultimately voluntary declarations made confidentially.
Immigration Support Services
Questions (1609)
Paul Murphy
Question:1609. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the estimated number of staff that would be needed to deal with routine immigration and visa queries within a maximum of 60 days; the estimated cost of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41525/22]
View answerWritten answers
My Department is committed to delivering high quality customer service to all of our customers, including members of the public and Oireachtas members. My officials aim to interact with our customers in a manner that is accessible, efficient, empathetic and fair at all times and in accordance with the commitments in my Department's Customer Service Charter.
The Customer Service Charter sets out the commitments and standards of service that customers can expect in their dealings with my Department and is published on our website at www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Customer-Charter.
My officials endeavour to acknowledge all correspondence received within approximately five working days and to issue a reply within approximately 20 working days. Where it is not possible to issue a full response within 20 working days, my officials aim to issue an interim reply advising the correspondent of the delay and when a response is likely to be issued.
My Department processes tens of thousands of applications for immigration permissions, registration, citizenship and visas on an annual basis. There are over 800 staff currently assigned to the Immigration Service Delivery function of my Department, all of whom interact with customers in their day-to-day roles. However, as the Deputy will be aware, the numbers of staff assigned to individual business units can change to allow my Department to most effectively respond to new issues or to offer new services, such as the recent need to process temporary protection requests by persons fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Each business unit provides their own dedicated email facility where applicants can raise their individual queries. These are responded to as quickly as possible and, in the majority of cases, within the guidelines set down in the Customer Service Charter.
My Department's Registration Office is responsible for recording and renewing permission given to non-EEA nationals who intend to stay in Ireland for longer than 90 days. The Registration Office has a dedicated team who coordinate responses with relevant business units across my Department's Immigration Service Delivery function. My officials continually measure customer satisfaction and other key performance indicators, such as timeliness of response. The ambition is to resolve 80% of queries within 10 days and 100% of queries within 15 days.
In April 2021, the Registration Office launched the new Customer Service Helpdesk and to date the team has resolved over 160,000 customer queries. An immigration Customer Service Network has also been established to drive continuous improvement for customers.
Additionally, as the Deputy may be aware, my Department provides a dedicated email facility where Oireachtas members can send queries in relation to individual immigration applications including in relation to:
- Visa applications;
- Citizenship applications;
- Repatriation/deportation queries;
- EU Treaty Rights applications;
- Domestic Residence Permission applications; and
- General immigration related enquiries (for example, how does someone apply for a particular permission and where do they send their application to).
This email facility is monitored by a team of dedicated officials who are assigned to respond to queries in the most efficient and timely way possible. The business target is to respond to all queries within 10 working days. Currently, the majority of queries are answered within five working days.
An Garda Síochána
Questions (1610)
Catherine Murphy
Question:1610. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the number of serving gardaí that are post-2013 entrants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41539/22]
View answerWritten answers
I have contacted An Garda Síochána for the information requested by the Deputy, regretfully this information was not available in time. I will write to the Deputy once the information is to hand.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51
I refer to Parliamentary Question No. 1610 of 26 July 2022 where you sought:
‘The number of serving gardaí that are post-2013 entrants”
As you will recall, I had sought the information you requested from the Garda authorities and undertook to contact you again once the information was to hand.
In accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including all human resource matters and recruitment. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters. I am assured however, that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities, to ensure their optimum use.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the table appended below outlines the number of newly attested Gardaí since the recommencement of recruitment to date.
I am further informed that in addition to the newly attested members in the below table, recruitment to An Garda Síochána included a Garda Commissioner in 2018, a Deputy Commissioner in 2021, an Assistant Commissioner in 2020, Superintendents in each of the years 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021 and 3 Garda members recruited for specific posts in the Garda Armoury in 2018 (2) and 2019 (1).
Of the 4,017 post 2013 entrants, 3,779 are still serving.
Appendix
|
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
296 |
393 |
883 |
789 |
605 |
522 |
148 |
370 |
State Bodies
Questions (1611)
Gerald Nash
Question:1611. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice the dividends paid by State-owned enterprises under the remit of her Department in each of the past five years; the projected dividends to be received in 2022, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41655/22]
View answerWritten answers
I wish to advise the Deputy that no dividends were paid out by any agencies, offices or bodies in the justice sector as my Department does not have any commercial semi-state bodies under its aegis.
Question No. 1612 answered with Question No. 1495.