Written Answers Nos. 334-349
335. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the total number of children, if any, whose cases are under investigation by his Department or bodies under the aegis of this Department at this present time; the extent to which this number has fluctuated in the past twelve months to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51078/22]
View answerThis is a matter more appropriate for my cabinet colleague, the Minister for Justice.
336. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which the funds available to his Department remain adequate to meet whatever challenges may arise, for whatever reason in the course of the next twelve months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51079/22]
View answerIn terms of my Department's 2022 spending, I am currently seeking additional funding for my Department for 2022 principally to cover the additional costs arising in relation to the Ukraine response and due to the increased numbers of International Protection applicants arriving in the State. In this regard, I am bringing a supplementary estimate to the Dáil which has been agreed by the relevant Select Committee on 12 October 2022 and will be moved in the Dáil next week.
As the Deputy will be aware, my Department has been at the forefront of Government measures to accommodate Ukrainians fleeing the war in their home country. At the same time, my Department has also had to deal with providing accommodation and services for increasing numbers of migrants seeking international protection. These twin demands have and will continue to be challenging for my Department and for the wider system.
In terms of the 2023 spending, I have recently secured a budget of €2.44 billion for my Department for 2023 as part of the Budget Estimates process. This represented an increase of €403 million over the 2022 allocation, and for the first time, my Department is in a position to invest more than €1 billion in early learning and care and school aged childcare.
As part of the Revised Estimates process, it is intended to agree further adjustments for the costs in 2023 of the continued response to the Ukrainian crisis, international protection and the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme.
337. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of instances in respect of which a report from a child psychologist is required or desirable; the extent to which this is normally undertaken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51080/22]
View answerThis is a matter more appropriate for my cabinet colleague, the Minister for Health.
339. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of judicial reviews taken against his Department in the past ten years to date in 2022, in tabular form; if he will indicate in the reply the body and or person that initiated judicial review proceedings; the number of judicial reviews that remain open and or active; and the totality of costs incurred by his Department as a result of judicial reviews over that time period. [50758/22]
View answerThe Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science was established in August 2020. There have been no judicial reviews taken against the Department since its formation.
340. Deputy Richard O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will reconsider and give mature students the approved one-off reduction of €1,000 for the student contribution (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50929/22]
View answerAs part of Budget 2023 I have secured a significant cost of living package for third level students including a once-off €1,000 state financial support towards the undergraduate student contribution fee for higher education students eligible for my Department’s free fees schemes.
The once off €1,000 support relates specifically to the student contribution payable by student’s eligible for free tuition fees under the Department free fees schemes in academic year 22/23. It will reduce the student contribution payable from €3,000 to €2,000 in 22/23 and applies equally to all students eligible for free fees including mature students. This additional level of support towards free tuition fees will benefit c.94,000 additional students.
Furthermore I have been clear and consistent in stating that I believe the value of the student contribution share, as paid by students and families compared to the states contribution, is too high.
As part of Budget 2023, I made two changes to student contribution thresholds reduce the cost of education for students and families (for college year 2023/24):
- increased the income limit from €55,240 to €62,000 for students to avail of the 50% Undergraduate Student Contribution;
- new support to the value of €500 for families on qualifying incomes earning between €62,000 and €100,000.
Students in third-level institutions experiencing exceptional financial difficulty can apply for support under the Student Assistance Fund. As part of the cost-of-living measures announced in Budget 2023 an additional €8 million has been invested in the Student Assistance Fund for the current academic year 2022/23. This Fund assists students in a sensitive and compassionate manner, who might otherwise be unable to continue their third level studies due to their financial circumstances. It is open to both full and part-time registered students on courses of not less than one year's duration leading to an undergraduate or postgraduate qualification. Information on the fund is available through the Access Officer in the third level institution attended. This fund is administered on a confidential, discretionary basis. More information on the SAF is available at www.studentfinance.ie.
Overall, the cost of living package, to take effect before the end of 2022, includes:
- A once-off €1,000 state financial support towards the undergraduate student contribution fee for higher education students eligible for the free fees initiative;
- A once-off reduction of up to 33% in the contribution fee for apprentices;
- A once-off extra payment for all student maintenance grant recipients;
- A once-off increase of €1,000 in the support to SUSI qualified Post Graduate students, increasing from €3,500 to €4,500;
- A further €8 million investment in the Student Assistance Fund for the 2022/23 academic year.
341. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if all third level students, undergraduate and postgraduate will be eligible for the reduction in fees of €1,000 announced in Budget 2023; if not, the reason for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50993/22]
View answerAs part of Budget 2023 I have secured a significant cost of living package for third level students including a once-off €1,000 state financial support towards the undergraduate student contribution fee for higher education students eligible for my Department’s free fees schemes.
The once off €1,000 support relates specifically to the student contribution payable by student’s eligible for free tuition fees under the Department free fees schemes in academic year 22/23. It will reduce the student contribution payable from €3,000 to €2,000 in 22/23. This additional level of support towards free tuition fees will benefit c.94,000 additional students.
I am conscious that the free fees schemes does not apply to all students. In this regard the overall cost of living package, to take effect before the end of 2022, will include:
- A once-off €1,000 state financial support towards the undergraduate student contribution fee for higher education students eligible for the free fees initiative;
- A once-off reduction of up to 33% in the contribution fee for apprentices;
- A once-off extra payment for all student maintenance grant recipients;
- A once-off increase of €1,000 in the support to SUSI qualified Post Graduate students, increasing from €3,500 to €4,500;
- A further €8 million investment in the Student Assistance Fund for the 2022/23 academic year;
Students in third-level institutions experiencing exceptional financial difficulty can apply for support under the aforementioned Student Assistance Fund. As part of the cost-of-living measures announced in Budget 2023 an additional €8 million has been invested in the Student Assistance Fund for the current academic year 2022/23. This Fund assists students in a sensitive and compassionate manner, who might otherwise be unable to continue their third level studies due to their financial circumstances. It is open to both full and part-time registered students on courses of not less than one year's duration leading to an undergraduate or postgraduate qualification. Information on the fund is available through the Access Officer in the third level institution attended. This fund is administered on a confidential, discretionary basis. More information on the SAF is available at www.studentfinance.ie.
In addition, tax relief at the standard rate of tax may be claimed in respect of tuition fees paid for approved courses at approved colleges of higher education, including approved undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Further information on this tax relief is available from a student's local Tax Office or from the Revenue Commissioners website, www.revenue.ie.
342. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if a refusal by SUSI of a higher education grant in the name of a person (details supplied) will be reviewed and who was deemed ineligible for whatever reason; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51082/22]
View answerThe awarding authority Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) does not have a record of an application by a student under the details provided by the Deputy.
We require confirmation that the name provided by the Deputy is that of the student who made an application to SUSI and the SUSI W Reference Number for this student if available, in order to provide an answer.
343. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the number of judicial reviews taken against her Department in the past ten years to date in 2022, in tabular form; if she will indicate in the reply the body and or person that initiated judicial review proceedings; the number of judicial reviews that remain open and or active; and the totality of costs incurred by her Department as a result of judicial reviews over that time period. [50761/22]
View answerIt has not been possible to collate the information requested in the time allowed. I will respond to the Deputy directly when the information is to hand.
344. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice if she will outline her plans for a deeper analysis of the allegations of racial profiling at the North-South Border which the Taoiseach said would be undertaken on 5 October 2022 (details supplied). [50803/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, under section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner has responsibility for all Garda operations, including conducting immigration checks at the land border.
Garda operations are conducted in a manner that respects human rights, and that supports the proper and effective administration of justice, which is reviewed on an ongoing basis.
The State has a duty to protect its borders and to ensure that all arriving passengers are entitled to enter the State. This is a fundamental exercise of State sovereignty, which is necessary to protect the security of the State and to prevent illegal immigration.
Under the Common Travel Area, Irish citizens can move freely to live, work and study in the UK on the same basis as British citizens and vice versa. There is no physical infrastructure at the border for immigration controls between Ireland and Northern Ireland, although immigration checks do occur in both jurisdictions.
Checks are conducted for a variety of reasons and, as a result, the frequency of checks varies, which can also be dependent on operational requirements. These immigration checks take place in the context of the important and close cooperation between Irish and UK authorities on immigration and security matters. All EU citizens are entitled to unrestricted free movement of travel within the EU, provided they can establish their nationality and identity.
I am informed that if a vehicle is stopped for the purpose of an immigration check, all passengers are checked for identification which must establish both their identity and nationality. In such cases where a passenger is identified as an Irish or other EU national or a UK citizen, no further action is taken.
In cases where a passenger is identified as being a non-EEA national an assessment is carried out by the Immigration Officer in respect of whether or not that person has permission to be in the State under the provisions of the Immigration Act 2004, as amended. Any non-EEA national who is visa required must have a valid Irish visa before they seek to enter the State; this includes crossing the land border.
Any visa-required national who wishes to enter the State, and remain for up to 90 days must have a Type C Short Stay Visa. A visa-required national who wishes to reside in the State for longer than 90 days must have a Type D Long Stay Visa. They must also apply for further permission to remain before their initial permission to remain expires.
Having permission to reside in the UK does not remove the legal requirement to apply for an Irish Visa in order to enter the State.
The Garda National Immigration Bureau personnel liaise with UK Immigration Enforcement on an ongoing basis to mitigate risk in order to protect and prevent abuses of the Common Travel Area.
I have been assured that, in all cases, where an Immigration Officer stops a public transport vehicle travelling from Northern Ireland, the Garda members are clearly identifiable as members of An Garda Síochána and identify themselves as Immigration Officers for the purpose of carrying out the immigration check.
Racial profiling is not a feature of policing in Ireland and is not compatible with the human rights obligations of An Garda Síochána. The question of ethnicity in Garda interactions with the community is one which must be considered by An Garda Síochána in light of human rights principles on consent, privacy, data protection, non-discrimination and respect for the dignity of the individual.
Furthermore, it is important that we ensure that police powers are exercised in a consistent and unbiased way and that marginalised individuals and groups are not disproportionately impacted. The Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill will address the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland’s recommendation that - for the purposes of clarity and transparency - police powers of search, arrest and detention should be codified and supported by statutory codes of practice.
This is supported by relevant training to ensure members have the personal and professional expertise to proactively police Ireland's diverse community. For example since 1 April 2022 it is mandatory for all Garda Personnel, of all ranks and grades, to complete online Hate Crime training which includes a full section devoted to bias motivations.
The work of the over 350 Garda Diversity Officers is central to An Garda Síochána's efforts to meet the needs of our diverse communities. These Garda members are trained, developed and supported to actively engage with and attend to the concerns of our minority, diverse and hard to reach communities - providing reassurance, building trust and extending the accessibility of the Garda Service.
345. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Justice the number of applications to the undocumented migrant scheme that have been completed to date in 2022; the number that are outstanding; and when a decision will issue in relation to an application that was made on 6 April 2022. [50829/22]
View answerThe scheme for the Regularisation of Long Term Undocumented Migrants closed on 31 July 2022. This once in a generation scheme was designed to give long-term undocumented people without a current permission to remain in the State, the chance to regularise their status, access the labour market and begin their path to citizenship.
My Department received 6,548 applications in respect of 8,311 people under the scheme. As of 10 October 2022, the number of decisions that have issued to applicants is:
|
Total Decisions |
3,210 |
|
|
Positive |
3,137 |
97.7% |
|
Negative |
34 |
1.1% |
|
Withdrawn |
39 |
1.2% |
All other applications continued to be processed and processing times may vary depending on the complexity of the application. Applications where there is an existing deportation order will require additional processing.
Additionally, the International Protection strand of the Regularisation scheme has, to 30 September 2022, received 3108 applications, with 949 successful decisions issued and an additional 839 granted an equivalent permission. A further 359 applications were ineligible and 218 applications withdrawn.
346. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Justice if she will examine and assist with a long-standing visa application of a person (details supplied) who has been resident in Ireland for approximately 53 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50855/22]
View answerThe naturalisation application 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. It 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.
Applications are processed in chronological order by date received. Due to the high volume of applications currently on hand, regrettably, median processing times can be up to 19 months.
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.
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 at: 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 Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
347. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Justice when it can be expected that she will begin announcing the outcome of applications to the Afghan admissions programme and specifically a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50968/22]
View answerIn response to the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, my Department remains focused on processing applications for family reunification made under all admission avenues, including the Afghan Admissions Programme. I understand that this is a difficult situation for our Afghan community and their loved ones.
I can confirm that my Department received the application referred to on the 9 March 2022. I would also like to assure all applicants that the applications continue to be assessed in a pragmatic and humanitarian manner with a view to issuing decisions soon.
In addition to the Afghan Admissions Programme, since the beginning of August 2021 to 26 September 2022, a total of 140 join family visas have been approved for Afghan nationals and 77 family reunification applications have been approved. A significant number of Afghan people have also been allocated places under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP), which is under the remit of the Department of Children, Equality. Disability, Integration and Youth. My Department provides the visas to facilitate their travel to Ireland and almost 600 visa waiver letters have been issued to date.
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 (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 is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
348. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Justice if she will provide a breakdown of the distribution of the additional €7 million to be provided to organisations funded by Tusla to address acute demands in existing services throughout the country in 2023, in tabular form. [51029/22]
View answerUnder Budget 2023 I have secured an extra €9m, which represents a 22% increase, for combatting domestic, sexual and gender based violence. This record level of funding will also support the implementation of Zero Tolerance, our Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (DSGBV), which I launched in June.
This additional €9 million includes increased funding of €7m for organisations funded by TUSLA to address acute demands in existing services throughout the country, and for investment in new services as outlined in the new Strategy.
Tusla has had engagement with funded DSGBV organisations throughout 2022, noting cost and service demand pressures being experienced by most organisations. A specific allocation will be made to all DSGBV organisations to address sustainability challenges. Tusla will be engaging with funded DSGBV organisations on service and funding agreements for 2023 over the coming weeks. Specific funding to individual organisations will be agreed as part of that process and the information requested will be available once the details on core funding have been notified to the individual organisations.
The Department of Justice, Tusla and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, as part of the Memorandum of Understanding covering the transition of DSGBV Services to the new DSGBV agency, will be identifying key priorities for the €7m funding allocated to current DSGBV services, based on engagement with the DSGBV sector and priorities set out in the third national strategy.
The extra €9m funding will also strengthen the nationwide supports and services for victims of crime (€920,000), provide for targeted awareness raising campaigns (€750,000) and for work to establish the new DSGBV statutory agency (€450,000) which will become operational in January 2024.
349. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the position in regard to possible naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51052/22]
View answerIt is open to both people to submit applications for naturalisation if they meet the criteria as set down in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 as amended.
The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is governed by the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, and all applications are processed in line with the eligibility criteria as set out under the Act. Each application is assessed individually in accordance with the provisions of the Act. A determination on whether an applicant satisfies the statutory criteria attendant to naturalisation can only be made after an application is received.
Detailed information on Irish citizenship and the naturalisation process, along with the relevant application forms and guidance notes, is available on my Department's Irish Immigration website at: www.irishimmigration.ie/how-to-become-a-citizen/
My Department is not in a position to provide assistance with obtaining a new or replacement national passport. This is a matter for the relevant national government. However, the person concerned may consider applying to my Department for a Travel Document. A Travel Document is an official document which assists qualifying non Irish nationals who are resident in Ireland to travel. Further information is available on my Department's website:
www.irishimmigration.ie/coming-to-join-family-in-ireland/applying-for-a-travel-document/
