Written Answers Nos. 198-209
198. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of staff in his Department who availed of study or training leave in 2012; the average duration of such leave; if all staff availing of this leave received full pay and benefits during the time; the number that will do so in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31242/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra199. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of staff in organisations or agencies under the aegis of his Department who availed of study or training leave in 2012; the average duration of such leave; if all staff availing of this leave received full pay and benefits during the time; the number that will do so in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31258/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 198 and 199 together.
I take it that the Deputy is referring to leave taken by staff who are pursuing education and development courses outside of work. In this respect, staff in my Department, and in organisations and agencies under the aegis of my Department, can apply for study leave in accordance with the relevant Department of Finance circular. As far as possible staff are facilitated to avail of study leave; however, the granting of study leave is subject to the business needs of the staff member's business unit. In all cases staff availing of study leave received full pay and benefits.
|
- |
Number of staff who availed of study leave in 2012 |
Average duration of such leave (in days) |
Number of staff who have applied for study leave to date in 2013 |
|
Department and agencies staffed by it |
47 |
6.08 |
36 |
|
Courts Service |
16 |
4.00 |
9 |
|
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission |
8 |
6.00 |
5 |
|
Human Rights Commission |
1 |
5.00 |
0 |
|
Irish Prisons Service |
115 |
5.00 |
40 |
|
Legal Aid Board |
25 |
3.19 |
24 |
|
National Disability Authority |
2 |
7.50 |
1 |
|
Property Registration Authority |
20 |
4.98 |
27 |
Information for An Garda Síochána is not to hand and will be forwarded to the Deputy separately.
200. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality how soon a person may return here after being ordered to voluntarily return to their native country, non-EU, due to the expiry of or non-existence of a visa; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31271/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service that one of the options open to persons faced with the prospect of having a Deportation Order issued in respect of them is that they can seek to return voluntarily to their country of origin. If they return voluntarily before a Deportation Order is made and have no outstanding criminal court proceedings in Ireland, they may apply to re-enter Ireland for the purpose of work, study, etc. with the relevant visa any time in the future. A person who is the subject of a Deportation Order is legally obliged to leave the State and thereafter remain outside the State.
Persons who agree to return voluntarily to their countries of origin can obtain financial assistance towards doing so through the International Organisation for Migration, who normally pay the return air fare of such persons and can also assist the persons concerned re-integrate in their countries of origin by advising on training and employment opportunities etc. The Department of Justice and Equality also directly assists persons who wish to return voluntarily to their countries of origin by providing administrative and other supports to persons requesting such assistance.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS 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 from the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
201. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if a non-EU person may avail of a student visa to complete second level education here; if so, the costs and criteria; if that person's parents may accompany them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31272/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder current immigration rules unaccompanied non-EEA children may be permitted to come to Ireland to complete second level studies provided they fulfil certain criteria. Non-EEA students seeking to complete second level education in Ireland are only permitted to enrol in a fee paying school. The placement of unaccompanied children in non fee paying schools continues to be prohibited. These rules apply equally to visa required and non visa required non-EEA nationals. Visa applications from visa required students will also be subject to the normal visa rules.
In addition to the requirement to enrol in a fee paying school there are a number of documents required in support of a visa application for visa required nationals and also at the port of entry for all students. These include: A letter from the fee paying school stating that the student fees have been paid (the amount should be stated) and that the student is enrolled as a pupil of the school; the address where the student will be staying (i.e. in the case of a boarding student that the school is providing all necessary accommodation and where the child is a day pupil living with a family, the name and address of the responsible adults with whom they are staying); notarised documentation from the parents/legal guardians of the unaccompanied child student confirming their agreement to the child coming to Ireland for study purposes and also confirming that the school/host family/education agency are the legal guardians of the unaccompanied child student during the child’s stay in Ireland; copies of the parents/legal guardians passports; where the child is residing with a host family other than relatives, Garda clearance in respect of that family will be required. Documentary proof of this will be required. The granting of a visa to a person under the age of 18 years for the purpose of study does not give any entitlement to any other family member to accompany or join the student in the State.
202. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will expedite an application for naturalisation in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry. [31273/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that a valid application for a certificate of naturalisation was received from the person referred to by the Deputy in June, 2013. The application is being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation, such as good character and lawful residence, and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible.
As well as being a significant event in the life of its recipient, the granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation as provided for in law is also a major step for the State 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.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS 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 from INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
203. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding residency in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 6; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31276/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that the person concerned is currently registered in the State under Stamp 2 student conditions valid until 30/09/2013 which is renewable directly with their local immigration officer shortly before its expiry date. An application for residency in the State under Stamp 4 conditions on the basis of family dependency of an Irish national arising from their parent's naturalisation was recently considered by INIS. This application was refused on 14 May 2013 because the person concerned failed to fully provide all the documentation requested by INIS despite having been requested on several occasions to supply the required documentation. A new application for residency in the State under Stamp 4 conditions on the basis of family dependency of an Irish national was received on 25/06/2013 and is currently under consideration.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS 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 from the INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate of too long awaited.
204. Deputy Paschal Donohoe asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when he expects the Gambling Control Bill to be published; the work that is being undertaken by his Department in respect of progressing the Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31295/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has prepared a General Scheme for the Gambling Control Bill. I hope to secure Government approval for the Scheme in the near future. Once it has been approved, it will then be sent to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, in the Office of the Attorney General, for drafting of the Bill. I am not in a position at this time to say when the Bill will be published. However, the Deputy may wish to know that it is my intention to publish the General Scheme on my Department's website once it has been approved by Government and while drafting of the Bill continues.
205. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide, in tabular form, based on the name of the institution and the time period involved, the total number of prisoners in each of the prisons managed by the Irish Prison Service who are locked up for 23 hours per day; for 22 hours per day; and for between 18 and 22 hours per day. [31296/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that it has not been possible to collate the information requested in the time available. I will forward a comprehensive response to the Deputy as soon as possible.
206. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda districts here currently without a Garda superintendent. [31297/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have requested the information sought by the Deputy from the Garda Commissioner and as soon as it is to hand I will pass it on to the Deputy.
207. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding an application to remain in the State in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31347/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere is currently no application pending in my Department for residency in respect of the person whose details were supplied. If an application for asylum has been made by the person concerned, the Deputy will be aware that it is not the practice to comment on applications which have not fully completed this process.
208. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will begin recruiting new gardaí; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31362/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraA resumption of Garda recruitment, at a time when both overall headcount and the size of the pay bill in the public service must be reduced, would have financial implications that must be managed within the overall resources available to Government. In that context, it is important that the LRC proposals, or what is now known as the Haddington Road Agreement, on saving €1 billion from the public service pay bill, including €300 million this year are fully implemented.
Importantly, those proposals contain provisions for a review of the Garda Síochána which would start in September and would include an examination of the structure, organisation and staffing of An Garda Síochána. The outcome of such a review would be an important determining factor in any final decision on Garda staffing levels. However, and whatever the approved staffing complement might be at any time, I do believe that it is important for an organisation such as the Garda Síochána to have some regular intakes of new recruits, even if on a modest scale. In this context, I am currently engaged in discussion with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform regarding this issue and I expect to bring a Memorandum to Government on the matter shortly.
209. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will expedite an application in respect of a person (details supplied) in view of the fact that an extension on their employment contract will be guaranteed once they receive an extension to their visa; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31365/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service that a favourable decision issued to the person mentioned by the Deputy on 7 June 2013.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS 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 from the INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
