Written Answers Nos. 352-363
352. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Social Protection if the vacancies in her Department's unit in Longford are being filled by the Public Appointments Service with external candidates; if transfers are available to current staff members; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51124/23]
View answerPositions in the Department of Social Protection’s offices in Longford are filled in accordance with central Civil Service sequencing arrangements. Positions are filled in Longford and nationwide with candidates recruited externally by the Public Appointments Service. These recruitment campaigns are available current departmental staff and external applicants. In addition, the Department also appoints people to vacant positions through internal promotional competitions and via the Civil Service Mobility Scheme.
The Civil Service mobility scheme allows Officers to apply for a transfer between locations through an open, fair, and transparent system. The mobility scheme is open to Civil Servants from within the Department of Social Protection and across Civil Service organisations. The scheme comes under the remit of the Department of Public Expenditure, Reform and National Development plan and is administered by the National Shared Services Office.
353. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will expedite a decision on a carer's benefit application (details supplied). [51137/23]
View answerCarer's Benefit (CARB) is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce or reduce their working hours to care for a child or an adult in need of full-time care and attention.
To qualify, the Carer must satisfy PRSI conditions; employment conditions; show that they are providing full-time care and attention; and must show that the care recipient requires full-time care and attention.
An application for CARB was received from the person concerned on 19 September 2023.
Additional information in relation to the person’s application was requested by a deciding officer on the 5 October 2023 to determine whether the person concerned met the eligibility requirements for payment.
Some - but not all - of the information was provided by the person on the 20 October 2023. Due to the failure to provide all of the requested information, it was not possible to establish if the person concerned had an entitlement to Carer's Benefit. The claim was disallowed and the person concerned was notified on November 2023 of this decision, the reasons for it and of their right of review and appeal. It is open to the person concerned to request either or both and submit the outstanding information to support their request.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
354. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) can be transferred from JSA to basic supplementary welfare whilst awaiting reply from the DA section in relation to their application for disability allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51170/23]
View answerJobseeker’s Transitional Payment (JST) is a means-tested payment. A person may qualify for this payment if they do not live with a spouse, civil partner or cohabitant and their youngest child is between 7 and 14 years old.
The basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) provides immediate assistance for those in need who are awaiting the outcome of a claim or an appeal for a primary social welfare payment or do not qualify for payment under other State schemes.
According to the records of my Department, the person concerned is currently in receipt of a JST payment. This payment will continue while the person’s Disability Allowance claim is pending. If the person concerned wishes to switch to a basic SWA while they await the outcome of their Disability Allowance application, they should contact their local Intreo Centre to close their JST claim. Once their JST claim has been closed, the person may apply for a basic SWA by completing a SWA1 form. This form is available in all Intreo Centres and Branch Offices and can also be requested by calling the National CWS freephone line at 0818 60 70 80 or at www.eforms.gov.ie/en/forms/5.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
355. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Social Protection the figure provided by her Department to maintain existing levels of service in 2024, under her respective remits ahead of Budget 2024; the figure granted by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in each case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51185/23]
View answerAs part of the annual budgetary process, the Department engages with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, to agree the level of expenditure required to carry out existing functions in the following year, prior to the introduction of any new Budget measures. This is referred to as the "Existing Level of Service" (ELS). ELS funding provides for the maintenance of services and schemes into the following year on a 'no policy change' basis.
The agreed level of ELS funding for the Department in 2024 is €24.1 billion. This will be added to Budget 2024 measures to total to the Revised Estimate Volume for 2024. A full breakdown of the estimated expenditure in 2024 will be published as part of the Revised Estimates process in December.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
356. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice the outcomes per nationality for IP applicants in both 2022 and to date in 2023, the number arriving from each country and the decisions reached, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50531/23]
View answerMy Department is taking all necessary steps to manage the international protection process fairly and efficiently, as part of the broader Government response to this challenging issue.
The number of international protection applications last year was 13,650, a significant increase on recent years. It represents a 186% increase on the number received in 2019, the most recent year in which application numbers were not impacted by Covid-19.
In July this year, I published a report on the international protection modernisation programme for 2023 and 2024. This programme is implementing measures to improve efficiencies and throughput as well as improving the application, interview and decision-making process for applicants. This will give status to those who are entitled to international protection to rebuild their lives here, while also ensuring faster decision making in respect of those who do not meet the criteria.
Already these reforms are having a significant impact with the median processing time for first-instance decisions reducing from 18 months in 2022 down to 15 months in 2023. The median processing times for appeals is also down from 15 months at the beginning of 2022 to five months in 2023.
As part of this modernisation programme, I also signed a regulation in November 2022 to introduce an accelerated procedure for international protection applicants from designated safe countries of origin. These applicants now typically receive a first instance decision in less than three months, which is a significant reduction from a norm of 22 to 26 months early last year.
The tables below details international protection application figures for 2022 and 2023 to date.
The table attached details first instance decisions made in 2022 and 2023 to date.
*Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.
*Please note, first instance decisions can be appealed to IPAT.
|
Nationality |
Total IP Applications 2022 |
|
Georgia |
2710 |
|
Algeria |
1766 |
|
Somalia |
1567 |
|
Nigeria |
1108 |
|
Zimbabwe |
973 |
|
Afghanistan |
846 |
|
South Africa |
450 |
|
Ukraine |
422 |
|
Botswana |
370 |
|
Egypt |
339 |
|
Pakistan |
243 |
|
Albania |
219 |
|
Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The |
187 |
|
Morocco |
178 |
|
El Salvador |
177 |
|
Bangladesh |
159 |
|
Syrian Arab Republic |
98 |
|
Sudan |
97 |
|
Malawi |
94 |
|
Brazil |
91 |
|
Sierra Leone |
78 |
|
Iraq |
77 |
|
Ethiopia |
74 |
|
India |
70 |
|
Iran (Islamic Republic Of) |
69 |
|
Russian Federation |
69 |
|
Ghana |
67 |
|
Nicaragua |
61 |
|
Swaziland |
59 |
|
Tunisia |
51 |
|
Bolivia |
45 |
|
Kenya |
44 |
|
Türkiye |
43 |
|
Uganda |
42 |
|
Yemen |
40 |
|
Palestinian Territory, Occupied |
35 |
|
Eritrea |
34 |
|
Togo |
33 |
|
Cameroon |
27 |
|
Jordan |
27 |
|
Malaysia |
27 |
|
Nepal |
27 |
|
Angola |
26 |
|
Venezuela |
26 |
|
Mauritius |
25 |
|
Kosovo / UNSCR 1244 |
23 |
|
Belarus |
21 |
|
Viet Nam |
20 |
|
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya |
19 |
|
Kuwait |
18 |
|
Guatemala |
17 |
|
Lebanon |
15 |
|
Stateless |
14 |
|
Saudi Arabia |
13 |
|
Burundi |
12 |
|
China (Including Hong Kong) |
12 |
|
United States Of America |
12 |
|
Honduras |
10 |
|
Sri Lanka |
10 |
|
Myanmar |
9 |
|
United Kingdom |
9 |
|
Azerbaijan |
7 |
|
Panama |
7 |
|
Israel |
6 |
|
Kazakhstan |
6 |
|
Tanzania, United Republic Of |
6 |
|
Other* |
114 |
|
Total |
13650 |
*Please also note that it is the policy of the Department not to release numbers where there are less than 5 in respect of any nationality, as there is a possibility that a person may be identifiable by releasing such information.
|
Nationality |
IP Applications 2023 to Oct 31st Total |
|
Nigeria |
1416 |
|
Algeria |
1250 |
|
Afghanistan |
990 |
|
Georgia |
851 |
|
Somalia |
823 |
|
Zimbabwe |
634 |
|
Pakistan |
434 |
|
South Africa |
387 |
|
Bangladesh |
273 |
|
Egypt |
255 |
|
Botswana |
246 |
|
Ukraine |
169 |
|
Syrian Arab Republic |
167 |
|
Sudan |
159 |
|
Brazil |
146 |
|
Morocco |
140 |
|
Albania |
133 |
|
El Salvador |
127 |
|
Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The |
126 |
|
Bolivia |
117 |
|
India |
115 |
|
Iraq |
90 |
|
Palestinian Territory, Occupied |
84 |
|
Swaziland |
83 |
|
China (Including Hong Kong) |
73 |
|
Jordan |
69 |
|
Iran (Islamic Republic Of) |
65 |
|
Malawi |
64 |
|
Ghana |
59 |
|
Tunisia |
55 |
|
Nicaragua |
43 |
|
Ethiopia |
36 |
|
Kosovo / UNSCR 1244 |
36 |
|
Cameroon |
31 |
|
Viet Nam |
31 |
|
Angola |
29 |
|
Yemen |
29 |
|
Eritrea |
28 |
|
Kenya |
27 |
|
Russian Federation |
27 |
|
Uganda |
27 |
|
Guatemala |
24 |
|
Mauritius |
24 |
|
Mexico |
23 |
|
Stateless |
23 |
|
Kuwait |
22 |
|
Nepal |
22 |
|
Türkiye |
20 |
|
Sierra Leone |
17 |
|
Venezuela |
16 |
|
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya |
15 |
|
United States Of America |
14 |
|
Colombia |
12 |
|
Chile |
10 |
|
United Kingdom |
10 |
|
Zambia |
10 |
|
Gambia |
9 |
|
Mongolia |
9 |
|
Honduras |
8 |
|
Namibia |
8 |
|
Lesotho |
7 |
|
Panama |
7 |
|
Uzbekistan |
7 |
|
Burundi |
6 |
|
Israel |
6 |
|
Malaysia |
6 |
|
Myanmar |
6 |
|
Saudi Arabia |
6 |
|
Sri Lanka |
6 |
|
Other* |
89 |
|
Total |
10386 |
357. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons currently in prison for the offence of robbery and due to be released from prison in 2026, 2027 or 2028, in tabular form. [50546/23]
View answerIt has not been possible to collate complete information as requested by the Deputy in the time allowed. I will write to the Deputy directly when the information is to hand.
358. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Justice if funding has been provided in 2024 to purchase additional horses for the Garda mounted unit. [50547/23]
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 the Garda Mounted Unit is based at Áras an Úachtaráin, Phoenix Park, Dublin 8 and has a national remit under the direction and control of Assistant Commissioner, Organised and Serious Crime and the operational control of Detective Chief Superintendent, Operational Support Services.
I am advised there are currently 13 horses attached to the Garda Mounted Unit and that presently, there are no plans to purchase additional horses in 2024.
I am further advised that the retirement of a horse can however be unforeseen and in that regard, it can not be stated with absolute certainty that funding for a new horse(s) will not become applicable throughout 2024. Historically, funding is made available to purchase horses as the need arises when a horse is retired and a new one is required.
359. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the amount of money seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau in each of the past 15 years and to date in 2023. [50575/23]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is a multi-agency statutory body established under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996.
The Bureau’s remit is to target a person's assets, wherever situated, which derive, or are suspected to derive, directly or indirectly, from criminal conduct.
Since its inception, the Bureau has been at the forefront of fighting organised crime in this jurisdiction and disrupting the activities of criminal gangs by depriving them of ill-gotten assets.
Under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996, the Chief Bureau Officer is responsible for the administration and business of the Criminal Assets Bureau. Under the Act, the Chief Bureau Officer is responsible to the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána for these functions. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in these functions.
I am advised by CAB that the table below outlines the monetary value of financial assets (money seized and moneys frozen in financial institutions) seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau for the years 2012 – 2022. The Criminal Assets Bureau did not record monetary value by asset type prior to 2012. The figures for 2023 have not yet been compiled and will be outlined in the CAB Annual Report 2023.
|
Year |
Cash Seized / Moneys frozen in Financial Institutions |
|
2008 |
N/A |
|
2009 |
N/A |
|
2010 |
N/A |
|
2011 |
N/A |
|
2012 |
1,192,520 |
|
2013 |
1,610,666 |
|
2014 |
6,219,682 |
|
2015 |
747,301 |
|
2016 |
1,603,067 |
|
2017 |
3,576,661 |
|
2018 |
6,018,832 |
|
2019 |
54,650,943.92 |
|
2020 |
1,430,739 |
|
2021 |
911,659 |
|
2022 |
3,218,391 |
The large increase in 2019 is due to the granting of a freezing order over cryptocurrency to the value of €53,023,140.
360. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the monetary value of assets seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau in each of the past 15 years, and to date in 2023. [50576/23]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is a multi-agency statutory body established under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996.
The Bureau’s remit is to target a person's assets, wherever situated, which derive, or are suspected to derive, directly or indirectly, from criminal conduct.
Since its inception, the Bureau has been at the forefront of fighting organised crime in this jurisdiction and disrupting the activities of criminal gangs by depriving them of ill-gotten assets.
Under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996, the Chief Bureau Officer is responsible for the administration and business of the Criminal Assets Bureau. Under the Act, the Chief Bureau Officer is responsible to the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána for these functions. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in these functions.
I am advised by CAB that the table below outlines the monetary value of assets seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau for the years 2008 – 2022. The figures for 2023 have not yet been compiled and will be outlined in the CAB Annual Report 2023.
|
Year |
Section 2 Interim Orders EURO |
Section 2 Interim Orders STERLING |
Section 2 Interim Orders US DOLLARS |
|
2008 |
5,022,050.89 |
4,860.00 |
|
|
2009 |
11,012,543.00 |
20,630.00 |
760,051.86 |
|
2010 |
7,019,475.88 |
63,535.00 |
|
|
2011 |
5,384,559.73 |
6,725.00 |
|
|
2012 |
2,110,334.78 |
||
|
2013 |
2,821,302.00 |
||
|
2014 |
6,760,182.00 |
||
|
2015 |
941,078.59 |
||
|
2016 |
643,063.07 |
||
|
2017 |
7,020,539.20 |
||
|
2018 |
8,263,582.30 |
||
|
2019 |
64,985,550.30 |
||
|
2020 |
5,814,206.00 |
||
|
2021 |
3,068,051.74 |
||
|
2022 |
5,184,599.00 |
The large increase in 2019 is due to the granting of a freezing order over cryptocurrency to the value of €53,023,140.
361. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the amount in monetary value returned to the Exchequer by the Criminal Assets Bureau in each of the past 15 years and to date in 2023. [50577/23]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is a multi-agency statutory body established under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996.
The Bureau’s remit is to target a person's assets, wherever situated, which derive, or are suspected to derive, directly or indirectly, from criminal conduct.
Since its inception, the Bureau has been at the forefront of fighting organised crime in this jurisdiction and disrupting the activities of criminal gangs by depriving them of ill-gotten assets.
Under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996, the Chief Bureau Officer is responsible for the administration and business of the Criminal Assets Bureau. Under the Act, the Chief Bureau Officer is responsible to the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána for these functions. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in these functions.
I am advised by CAB that the table below outlines the amount in monetary value returned to the Exchequer by CAB for the years 2008 – 2022 and to date in 2023. Figures for 2023 are considered provisional pending the publication of the CAB Annual Report 2023.
|
Year |
Section 4/4A (returned to Exchequer) |
|
2008 |
€2,802,460.37 |
|
2009 |
€1,421,332.11 |
|
2010 |
3,114,312.59 |
|
2011 |
€2,734,715.22 |
|
2012 |
€4,850,540.17 |
|
2013 |
€1,038,680.52 |
|
2014 |
€467,152.37 |
|
2015 |
€1,642,962.29 |
|
2016 |
€1,412,920.41 |
|
2017 |
€1,698,721.08 |
|
2018 |
€2,271,799.92 |
|
2019 |
1,559,726.31 |
|
2020 |
€1,838,507.25 |
|
2021 |
€1,143,834.14 |
|
2022 |
€2,065,265.03 |
|
2023* |
€589,146.00 |
362. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the steps now being taken to finalise the application for citizenship in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50662/23]
View answerThe naturalisation application from the person referred to by the Deputy continues to be processed by my Department.
This naturalisation application is based upon "Irish Association" and not residency in the State. At present "Irish association" cases are taking in excess of 30 months to process.
Section 16 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, gives the Minister discretion to waive the statutory conditions in certain circumstances, including where the applicant is of Irish descent or Irish associations (related through blood, affinity or adoption to a person who is or is entitled to be an Irish citizen).
Any application under Section 16 that relies on Irish associations and affinity should be supported by substantive documentation that in the Minister’s view renders the application exceptional and one where the normal pathways to citizenship provided for under the legislation are not appropriate.
The Deputy should be aware that there is no automatic right or entitlement to have any of the statutory conditions waived, even where the applicant comes within the certain circumstances defined.
I understand the extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants and my Department has been working hard to clear backlogs.
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.
My Department is taking a number of steps to speed up the processing of applications and a number of digitisation measures have been introduced to increase efficiency in the process, including eVetting and online payments.
In October, my Department moved from paper based applications to online forms for all new adult applications going forward. Online applications will make the process easier for customers, allowing them to easily fill in the relevant forms, upload the required documents, make payments and submit. The forms will provide a seamless application process and will help guide applicants through what is required for an application.
The end result of the digitisation process will be the freeing up of more staff to focus on processing applications in a timely and efficient manner, improving service to our customers and reduction of waiting times.
Finally, I can advise the Deputy that the Citizenship Division of my Department intends to communicate regularly with all applicants on a quarterly basis into the future, to keep them updated on the status of their application.
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.
363. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice if she will provide an update on the review of Part 4 of the Sexual Offences Act 2017; if a new lead researcher has been appointed; if she will provide a timeline for its completion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50677/23]
View answerThe changes made by the 2017 Sexual Offences Act allow those engaged in prostitution to provide information to Gardaí, for instance if they were subjected to violence by clients, without fear of prosecution for selling sexual services.
Section 27 of the Act provides for the review to which the Deputy's question refers.
As the Deputy is aware, my Department commissioned an independent consultant to undertake this statutory review but, due to a number of reasons, it wasn’t possible for the review to be completed within the desired timeframe.
I very much regret the delay.
Expressions of interest to complete the Part 4 review of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act, 2017 were sought with a closing date for receipt of 31 October 2023. The Department is in the process of convening a review panel to assess the expressions of interest received and should be in a position to select a new consultant in the coming weeks.
Again, I reiterate that I regret the delay with this review and want to see the report finalised and published as soon as possible. The intention is that, once a new study lead is engaged, this review can be brought to a conclusion without any further undue delay.
I can assure the Deputy that once the review is completed and the report received, any recommendations made will be considered as a priority.
