Written Answers Nos. 892-912
892. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the number of gardaí within the Kildare division who successfully completed the method of entry course in 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and the duration of this course. [55519/22]
View answerAs you will appreciate, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána. This includes responsibility for the training of members. As Minister for Justice, I have no role in such matters.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that no Gardaí in the Kildare Division have completed the Method of Entry course in 2021 and to date in 2022.
However, I understand that in 2021, a total of 14 Gardaí attached to the Newbridge Armed Support Unit, Kildare (Regional Unit) completed a 1 day Method of Entry recertification course.
893. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice if funding will be provided for the purchase of additional horses for the Garda mounted unit in 2023. [55520/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible under the law for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including any decisions in relation to the allocation and control of Garda equipment and resources. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in these matters.
I am informed that the Garda Mounted Unit is based at Áras an Uachtaráin, Phoenix Park, Dublin 8 and has a national remit.
I am advised that there are currently 13 horses attached to the Garda Mounted Unit. I am further advised that horses attached to the Garda Mounted Unit are purchased as the need arises, specifically when replacing existing horses who are retired from service. I am informed that there is currently no such requirement for extra funding for the purchase of additional horses, at this time, although this is and will continue to be kept under review.
894. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice if she has a policy of refusing applications for certificates of naturalisation where the applicant was previously illegally present in the State; the length of time which that policy has been in place [55535/22]
View answerThe granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is governed by the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. All applications are processed in line with the eligibility criteria as set out under the Act and there is no such policy as referred to by the Deputy.
I can confirm that each application for naturalisation is assessed individually in accordance with the provisions of the 1956 Act as amended. A period of time spent in the state without permission would in itself not be a barrier to a grant of Irish citizenship.
Applicants are required to have 5 years reckonable residence in the state prior to making an application, except for spouses of Irish nationals where the requirement is 3 years. In both cases, the final 12 months must be continuous residence in the State with up to 6 weeks allowed to facilitate foreign travel for business family or holiday purposes.
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/.
The administrative processes around granting citizenship through naturalisation are kept under review by officials of my Department to ensure that they remain up-to-date and fit for purpose.
896. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Justice her plans to expand the role of drug detection dogs operated by private security contractors in co-operation with day-to-day policing by Customs, the Prison Service and An Garda Síochána; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55554/22]
View answerI have requested information form the Private Security Authority and from An Garda Síochána to reply to the Deputy unfortunately the information was not forthcoming in the time allowed and I will responds directly to the Deputy once this information is received.
897. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Justice her views on matters raised in correspondence (details supplied). [55557/22]
View answerThe Deputy is asking me to comment on material on a website which is maintained by the European Commission and which has been furnished by the Courts Service.
It is entirely a matter for the Deputy as to whether he wishes to comment on that material and, in doing so, to interpret the law, but I have no function in interpreting the law and cannot provide legal advice to the Deputy on this matter.
In order to assist the Deputy, officials of my Department have been in contact with the Courts Service and have been assured that the relevant material on the e: Justice Portal is correct.
898. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice if gardaí will no longer sign ML10 forms for persons who need it to prove identity at financial institutions; the potential reasons for not signing it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55566/22]
View answerI can advise the Deputy that, the ML10 form was rescinded by An Garda Síochána on 5 August. The forms had originally been introduced to support provisions under Section 32 of the Criminal Justice Act 1994 which were repealed when the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 was introduced. The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) formed the view that there was insufficient legal basis to support continued use of the forms.
The identity management framework in the State is spread across several Departments and bodies including Social Protection, Foreign Affairs and Transport.
I am advised that the Financial Intelligence Unit engaged on plans of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau to rescind the ML10 with the Banking Payments Federation of Ireland and engaged separately with the Irish League of Credit Unions, Credit Union Development Association, Credit Union Managers Association and PAYAC.
The Deputy may be aware that the 2010 Act does not specify the types of documentation to be used by designated businesses (either financial or non-financial) for customer due diligence (identification and verification) purposes.
The Central Bank of Ireland has issued Anti-Money Laundering guidelines which are available on their website www.centralbank.ie/docs/default-source/regulation/amld-/guidance/anti-money-laundering-and-countering-the-financing-of-terrorism-guidelines-for-the-financial-sector.pdf?sfvrsn=9
The Central Bank is the competent authority responsible for supervising financial institutions under the 2010 Act.
The Central Bank has not included prescriptive / definitive examples of documentation that it considers would satisfy customer identification and verification requirements. It says that firms, in applying a risk-based approach, should maintain their own lists of documents, which they will accept, in satisfaction of this obligation and in accordance with relevant Sections 33 to 39 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 as amended that set out obligations on customer due diligence.
Firms that are subject to regulation for money laundering purposes should set out in their written policies and procedures (which each designated business must have under section 54 of the Act) the documents and information which they are willing to accept and the circumstances under which they are willing to accept them in order to identify and verify the identity of their customer in circumstances where due diligence purposes must be carried out. Firms should retain records evidencing identity in either paper or electronic format. It is a matter for designated businesses to set out their policies and procedures in relation to identification and verification of their customers and to satisfy their supervisory body (in the case of credit and financial institutions – this is the Central Bank) as to the adequacy of the arrangements.
The Banking Payments Federation of Ireland also publish guidance on documents that may be acceptable for the purposes of identification and verification in the context of customer due diligence. The guidance is available on their website - bpfi.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Final-BPFI-Guide-to-Opening-Bank-Accounts-in-Ireland-for-Protection-Applicants-Final.pdf
This guidance indicates that while passport and EU or Irish driving licence are accepted as standard forms of proof of identity, a bank will accept alternative documents as proof of identity, if the applicant does not have either a passport or a driving licence. These include, for example: Irish Residence Permit; Temporary Residence Certificate or Irish Government Travel Document (UN Issued.)
899. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons (details supplied) who have been repatriated from Ireland to locations around the world for the past five years; the countries to which they were repatriated, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55578/22]
View answer901. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons (details supplied) who have been repatriated from locations around the world to Ireland for the past five years; the countries from which they were repatriated, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55611/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 899 and 901 together.
As the Deputy may be aware, the 1983 Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons provides the current mechanism through which a person may seek a transfer of their prison sentence to or from Ireland. The legislative basis for the operation of the Convention between Ireland and other parties to the Convention has been transposed into national law in the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Acts, 1995 and 1997. The Convention is open to States outside Europe and the Government supports the Council of Europe policy of encouraging states to ratify and operate the Convention.
The Transfer of Sentenced Persons Acts, 1995 and 1997 provides that a person may apply to the Minister for a transfer, and the Minister may grant such an application where:
(a) the person is regarded by the other state as a national of that State for the purposes of the Convention
(b) that the order under which the sentence concerned was imposed on the sentenced person is final
(c) there is at least six months’ left to serve
(d) the person consents
(e) the conduct constituting the offence would be a crime in the other state
(f) the other state agrees.
However, other factors may be considered by the Minister and it should be noted that even where all of the conditions are satisfied, a State is not obliged to comply with a transfer request.
The transfer process is administered on my behalf by the Irish Prison Service.
I have been informed by my officials in the Prison Service that since 2018 there have been a total of 66 outward transfer applications and 17 prisoners have transferred out of this jurisdiction since 2018. Table 1 provides a breakdown of the number of prisoners transferred to date by jurisdiction and by year of transfer.
There are various reasons why an application may be refused or not completed, including that the application does not meet the criteria, the application is withdrawn, or is refused due to reduction in sentence arising from difference in the application of remission rates in the receiving State.
Table 1 - Outward Transfers Completed
|
- |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
Total |
|
UK |
3 |
- |
4 |
3 |
1 |
11 |
|
Sweden |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2 |
|
Netherlands |
1 |
- |
1 |
- |
- |
2 |
|
Germany |
- |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
Romania |
- |
- |
- |
3 |
- |
3 |
|
Total |
4 |
0 |
5 |
6 |
2 |
17 |
900. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice when the prison chaplain reports for 2021 will be published; the reason for the delay with this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55605/22]
View answerThe professional Chaplaincy Service work as part of the prison multi-disciplinary team reporting to the Governor. Chaplains have a crucial supporting role in prison life by providing pastoral and spiritual care to the entire prison community and seeks to meet the needs of prisoners of all denominations and none.
Each Chaplain is required under Rule 119(1) of the Prison Rules to submit a report to the Director General and to the Governor on matters relating to the provision of chaplaincy services in the preceding year.
I can advise the Deputy that it is normal practice that the chaplaincy reports are published together once all are finalised.
I am also advised by the Prison Service that arrangements are being made to publish the full suite of Chaplains' reports for 2021 on the Irish Prison Service website, www.irishprisons.ie, in the fourth quarter of 2022.
As the Deputy will appreciate, I am regularly briefed by officials on a range of matters relating to the operation of the Prison Service and the chaplaincy reports will contribute to the ongoing engagement on prisons matters.
902. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if his Department will consider initiating a project for a permanent memorial to a person (details supplied) given the recent ten-year anniversary of their death and the impact that their death has had on Irish society. [55560/22]
View answerWhile the contribution of the person concerned to the advancement of woman's rights in Ireland is acknowledged and well recognised, there are currently no plans in my Department to initiate a project for a permanent memorial.
903. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Health the date his Department intends to issue the €1,000 Covid-19 pandemic bonus payment to section 39 agency staff (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54110/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly.
904. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an updated timeline for the delivery of the Covid-19 recognition payment for front-line healthcare workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54111/22]
View answerFirstly, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all healthcare workers for their efforts during this most challenging period.
The HSE and the Department are currently examining progressing the rollout to the list of 6 non-HSE/non-Section 38 organisation types covered by the Government Decision. This measure will be ring fenced to staff working ordinarily onsite in COVID-19 exposed healthcare environments.
It is hoped that information will be published shortly for those certain non-HSE/Section 38 healthcare employees that are covered by the Government Decision and the process available to their employers to implement this measure for their eligible staff. This shall cover eligible staff in:
1. Private Sector Nursing Homes and Hospices (e.g. Private, Voluntary, Section 39 etc.);
2. Eligible staff working on-site in Section 39 long-term residential care facilities for people with disabilities;
3. Agency roles working in the HSE;
4. Health Care Support Assistants (also known as home help/home care/home support) contracted to the HSE;
5. Members of the Defence Forces redeployed to work in frontline Covid-19 exposed environments in the HSE;
6. Paramedics employed by Dublin Fire Brigade to deliver services on behalf of the HSE.
The above 6 areas only are covered by this Government Decision and all eligible workers will be paid in accordance with the overarching eligibility criteria in place.
Rolling out the payment to eligible employees of those specific non-HSE/Section 38 organisations covered by the government decision is a complex task, particularly as these employees are not normally paid by the public health service, duplicate payments need to be avoided, and there are many organisations to be covered.
Please be assured that work on rolling out payment to non-HSE/Section 38 organisations is being prioritised and while the rollout of payments to the eligible workers in these organisations is hoped to begin shortly, it is not possible to comment on when payment will be received.
905. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Health if the independent evaluation of the experiences of abortion service providers by a university (details supplied) will be made public; and, if so, if he will provide a timeline for its publication. [54164/22]
View answerThe Review of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 commenced in line with statutory and Government commitments in December 2021. The Review will assess the effectiveness of the operation of the legislation and will be conducted in a fair and transparent manner.
The Review has two main phases.
The first phase is comprised of a three-part appraisal of the operation of the Act, with research focusing on service users, service providers and a public consultation. The research on service providers is being undertaken by Manchester Metropolitan University and is due to conclude shortly.
The second phase of the Review is being led by an independent Chair, Marie O’Shea BL, who will analyse the research strands from the first phase to assess the extent to which the objectives of the 2018 Act have been achieved.
A final report will be submitted to me as Minister in late 2022 for my consideration.
906. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the cessation of general practitioner services in a centre (details supplied) and that the services have not recommenced post-Covid; when the GP services will resume; if there an agreement in place with the GPs who were present previously to ensure that the service will re-open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54167/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
907. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health for Health the number of children awaiting dental treatment in primary school settings by CHO and LHO, in tabular form. [54171/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
908. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the plans to address difficulties in accessing clonazepam; if he will provide an update on work to ensure that there is a consistent supply of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54180/22]
View answerThank you for your question - unfortunately, medicine shortages have become increasingly prevalent worldwide over the past decade and are a feature of modern health systems around the world. There are many reasons for such shortages including shortages of raw materials, manufacturing difficulties, logistical/transport issues or product recalls due to potential quality defects.
Medicines shortages can therefore originate at any point in the supply chain and can involve and impact on many different stakeholders. Accordingly, medicines shortages require a multi-faceted, multi-stakeholder response to ensure patient safety, continuity of care and protection of public health. Ireland has a multi-stakeholder medicines shortages framework in place, coordinated by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), to prevent, wherever possible, and manage medicine shortages when they occur.
The HPRA have been notified of a shortage of Clonazepam Rosemont 0.5mg/5ml oral solution by the supplier. The company has indicated that there has been an unexpected increase in demand for this product and resupply is expected in December 2022.
Further information on current and resolved shortages can be found on the shortages page of the HPRA’s website. The website is updated daily as we receive new information.
www.hpra.ie/homepage/medicines/medicines-information/medicines-shortages
909. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health when staff of a nursing home (details supplied) in County Kerry will receive the €1,000 pandemic bonus payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54181/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly.
910. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Health the progress that is being made in the setting up of the independent radiation therapist review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54187/22]
View answerAn independent radiation therapist review has been agreed between the HSE, Department of Health and SIPTU, under the auspices of the WRC.
Cancer cases are increasing in line with our ageing and growing population. The National Cancer Control Programme estimates that up to 60% of patients will require radiation oncology for primary treatment and palliative care in coming years. Radiation Therapists are highly skilled professionals regulated by CORU. The Review will align with the National Cancer Strategy, taking account of the increasing demand for radiation oncology, the advances in technology, increased specialisation and more targeted treatment.
A Chair for the Review has been identified and agreed between the parties. An initial meeting has been scheduled to start the process in early November.
All outcomes of the review will be given due consideration by the Department of Health. Implementation of any recommendations from the review are subject to approval from the Departments of Health and Public Expenditure and Reform.
911. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Health the progress that is being made in addressing the recommendations of the Cost of Disability Report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54188/22]
View answerThe Cost of Disability in Ireland report was commissioned by the Minister for Social Protection and prepared by Indecon International Research Economists. It was published in December 2021. It provides important evidence of the additional costs that people with a disability face in their day-to-day lives.
The Programme for Government contains a commitment to use research into the cost of disability to properly inform the direction of future policy. As the evidence in the Cost of Disability in Ireland report has implications for many areas of public policy, a whole-of-government approach is required to develop appropriate and timely responses and to ensure that everyday costs are reduced for people with disabilities and their families.
For this reason, the coordination of this whole-of-government response is being carried out under the framework of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDIS). The NDIS is one of two national policy frameworks through which the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth works to advance the rights of people with disabilities in Ireland, the other is the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities.
The Cost of Disability in Ireland report was considered by the NDIS Steering Group (NDISSG) in December 2021, within 24 hours of publication. Indecon International Research Economists presented the findings of their research to the NDISSG and it was agreed at the next NDISSG, which took place in March 2022, that the Cost of Disability Report would be included as a standing item on the NDISSG’s agenda going forward.
912. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Health the progress being made in bringing the vacant homes at a location (details supplied) back into use; his plans to refurbish the occupied homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54202/22]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the management of the public healthcare property estate, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to you in relation to this matter.
