Written Answers Nos. 571-594
571. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on a matter in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8006/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Criminal Law (Defence and the Dwelling) Act 2011 provides for the use of reasonable force by a householder against an intruder entering the dwelling with criminal intent. Section 2 of the Act sets out the criteria whereby the householder must believe that the intruder has entered the dwelling to commit a criminal act and the force used against the intruder must only be such as is reasonable in the circumstances as the householder believes them to be, to protect people in the dwelling from assault, to protect property, to prevent the commission of a crime or to make a lawful arrest. The application of the law is a matter for the Courts and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on any individual case.
572. Deputy Charles Flanagan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when he will introduce legislation facilitating a system of annual index-linked periodic payment orders for the lifetime of a person suffering serious and lasting injury where negligence of another has been established. [8014/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe position with regard to periodic payment orders is that the Government, at my request, approved the drafting of a General Scheme to implement the recommendations contained in the High Court Working Group Report on Periodic Payment Orders in catastrophic personal injuries cases with respect to awards made against the State and agreed that the extension of any such scheme to non-State defendants should be examined further in consultation with the Department of Finance.
My Department has prepared draft Heads of the Bill and is currently in discussions with the Department of Finance on the matter. I understand that the Department of Finance has, through the State Claims Agency, commissioned an actuarial study to examine the possibility of extending a periodic payment scheme to non-State defendants. It is expected that the report of the actuarial study will be available imminently. Once the report has been received, final discussions on the shape of the Bill will be concluded rapidly by my Department with a view to early consideration by Government of the General Scheme and finalisation of the resultant Bill, with a view to publication and enactment in 2014.
573. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will investigate the claim of a sexual harassment incident (details supplied). [8075/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will appreciate that I have no role in the investigation of alleged offences, which is a matter for An Garda Síochána, nor do I have a role in respect of any internal investigation along the lines referred to by the Deputy within the organisation in question.
574. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the funding available to carry out a pilot project regarding community text alert for an area (details supplied) in Dublin 5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8083/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraFollowing a pilot project, a Text Alert scheme was launched in September, 2013 by An Garda Síochána with the support of a number of existing community networks including Community Alert, Neighbourhood Watch, the Irish Farmers Association and related stakeholders. It provides a further mechanism by which An Garda Síochána can provide crime prevention information to community groups, who in turn will forward this information and advice by text or email to all members of the group in the community. Guidelines have been published which, it is expected, will facilitate the expansion of this scheme in 2014.
Guidelines for establishing and operating a Community Text Alert Service have been published and are available on the Garda Website www.garda.ie and information and advice on establishing such a scheme is available from local Community Gardaí. Neither my Department nor An Garda Síochána provide funding for the setting up of Text Alert Schemes.
575. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide in tabular form the legislation in place for which his Department is responsible for enforcing which also confers powers or responsibilities or a consultative or advisory role on the Minister for Defence, the Department of Defence or any authorised person within the defence organisation; the nature of any such powers, responsibilities, consultative or advisory roles conferred on same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8128/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that as members of the Government are not officially responsible to the Dáil for interpreting or stating the law I have no responsibility for the matter he has raised.
576. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the education facilities available in each prison here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8130/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraBroad programmes of education are provided in each prison, which generally follow an adult education approach. The aim of the Education Service is to deliver a high quality, broad, flexible programme of education that helps prisoners cope with their sentence, achieve personal development, prepare for life after release and establish an appetite and capacity for life-long learning.
Educational services are available at all institutions and are provided in partnership with the ETBs and a range of other educational agencies. The Department of Education and Skills provides an allocation of whole-time teacher equivalents to the prisons through the ETBs (220 in the academic year 2012/13). The Service seeks to deliver relevant programmes that cater for holistic needs, ensure broad access and high participation, and prioritise those with basic education needs. It promotes the principles of adult and community education and supports a multi-disciplinary approach within the prison system.
Programmes are adapted to take account of the diversity of the prisoner population and the complex nature of prison life, including segregation requirements and high levels of prisoner turnover. Educational courses and curricula which are based on individuals participating in one or more subject areas for an academic year and then sitting examinations are only appropriate for a small number of prisoners.
The Junior and Leaving Certificate courses are available but increasing numbers of prisoners require a more flexible curriculum which has multiple entry and exit points that take account of prior educational attainment. FETAC accreditation is therefore widely used with assessment by portfolio compilation. All prison Education Centres meet the quality assurance standards demanded by FETAC.
Organisations who provide in-reach education roles include Open University, the Samaritans, the Red Cross, Grow, Toe by Toe, Writers and Artists in prison. Other courses run through the education centres include pre-release programmes, parenting, hairdressing, Alternatives to Violence. The development of prisoner programmes forms a central part of the new Irish Prison Service Three Year Strategic Plan 2012 - 2015. There is a clear commitment in the Strategy to enhance sentence planning including Integrated Sentence Management and the delivery of prison based rehabilitative programmes such as education, work training and resettlement programmes.
577. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will re-examine the new evidence in relation to the death of a person (details supplied). [8132/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, my Department has responded on a number of occasions to correspondence concerning the case in question and I myself wrote to the person referred to on 1 October. While I fully appreciate the distress felt by all concerned, I do not believe there is any further action open to me in this matter. In particular, as has been set out in the previous correspondence, I have no function in relation to the direction or initiation of criminal investigations, which are a matter for the Garda authorities or, indeed, the preferment of charges which is matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Similarly, I am not in a position to comment or interfere in the conduct of an individual case which has been dealt with before the courts.
579. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to a parliamentary question on 5 February 2014, the reason requests by representatives of a person (details supplied) for a meeting with him have been refused in view of the fact that serious questions arose from the senior counsel's independent examination in 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8152/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, the concerns raised regarding this case were the subject of an independent examination and, in keeping with that review's findings, I do not believe that there are grounds for me to take this matter further. In light of this, and while I have considerable sympathy for the person concerned, I have responded to requests for a meeting to the effect that such a meeting would not alter these circumstances, and might only serve to raise unrealistic expectations on the part of the person concerned that there is further action open to me as Minister.
580. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an explanation for the delay and procedural roadblocks for the renewal of a firearms licence in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 4; if he will endeavour to ensure fair and transparent procedures are put in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8182/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the Garda Commissioner for a report in relation to this matter and will write to the Deputy when I have further information.
581. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the circumstances under which it was justifiable to increase the fee for Supreme Court appeals from €138 to €250; the person who proposed the increase; his plans to reverse same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8200/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to inform the Deputy that fees charged in the courts are set by means of Statutory Instrument. Court fees orders are made by myself as the Minister for Justice and Equality with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
During 2013, the Courts Service carried out a comprehensive review of court fees. The review considered areas in which court fees were unduly low having regard to the service being provided. It also examined the scope to harmonise and standardise court fees within and across jurisdictions to facilitate the introduction of on-line fee payments and the scope to introduce fees for items that were currently exempt from fees. Fees for new areas of work which were not reflected in the existing fees orders were proposed and the impending increase in the jurisdictional limits of the Circuit and District Courts, which since came into effect on 3 February 2014, was taken into consideration. The Supreme Court and High Court (Fees) Order 2014 (S.I. 24 of 2014) also came into effect on the 3 February 2014. This order, which includes the fee for Supreme Court Appeals, was made on foot of recommendations from the Courts Service on appropriate scales of court fees and charges in accordance with Section 6 (2)(e)of the Courts Service Act, 1998. As the Deputy will appreciate, court fee income forms a significant part of the funding for the general operation of the courts and the Courts Service keeps its fee structure under continuous review in accordance with the power given to it under the Courts Service Act. In view of the foregoing, I have no plans to reverse the fees introduced on 3 February last.
582. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to fund another sexual abuse and violence in Ireland report. [8221/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraSexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland, by Hannah McGee and colleagues in association with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, was published in 2002. The publication has become known as the SAVI report. The cost of approximately £500,000 or €635,000 for this research was borne by Atlantic Philanthropies, the then Department of Health and Children and the then Department of Justice and Equality. The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has been seeking a second SAVI report. I am awaiting sight of its proposal in this regard. I will consider this proposal on receipt, in consultation with ministerial colleagues.
583. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the definition of a suspicious transaction and improper conduct in relation to cash transfers which must be reported by a property service provider and other designated persons; the amount of money deposited in a bank which must be reported to the Revenue Commissioners by the bank that carries out the deposit; if a limit exists for the cash transactions made to a property service provider when a customer purchases a home and when it has to be declared to the Revenue Commissioners. [8259/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraSection 42 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 requires designated persons (which includes banks and property service providers) to report suspicious transactions to An Garda Síochána and the Revenue Commissioners. This includes information regarding verification of identity, the nature of business relationships and certain circumstances where a customer or a beneficial owner resides outside the State.
A designated person may have reasonable grounds to suspect that another person has been or is engaged in an offence of money laundering or terrorist financing if the designated person is unable to apply any measures specified in the Act in relation to a customer, as a result of any failure on the part of the customer to provide the designated person with documents or information.
The legislation does not provide for any threshold amounts, over which reports from designated persons should be made. Consequently, as there is no "de minimis" amount specified, the designated bodies are obliged to report any case once they have a suspicion. All Suspicious Transaction Reports are subsequently investigated as appropriate by the law enforcement authorities to examine any links such transactions may have to any form of criminal activity.
584. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide in tabular form a breakdown of the crime figures for the Whitehall area from 2009-2013. [8269/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Garda Síochána Act 2005 makes provision for the compilation and publication of crime statistics by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, and the CSO has established a dedicated unit for this purpose. I have requested the CSO to provide statistics directly to the Deputy.
585. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if the Courts Service has plans for the closed courthouse in a town (details supplied) in County Mayo; if there have been any approaches to the court service regarding the premises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8284/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in exercising its functions. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and have been informed that the courthouse is no longer used for court sittings. The Courts Service has indicated that it is prepared to offer the property to the local authority, the Office of Public Works or another public body for public use. The Courts Service has been in contact with the Office of Public Work and Mayo County Council about the future use of the courthouse. I am also informed that there have been no other approaches to the Courts Service about the premises.
586. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if it is the case that EEA citizens can be members of executive boards of integration forums receiving funding under Promoting Civic Partnership for Third Country Nationals. [8327/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI assume that the question has reference to a forum which has received funding under the European Fund for the Integration of Third Country Nationals. My Department's function in that regard is limited to the approval of the relevant funding on foot of recommendations by Pobal in accordance with the criteria of the Fund. My Department has no function in relation to the day to day operations of those forums but, based in particular on their constitutions, is not aware of any obstacle to the involvement of EEA nationals in executive boards of the type mentioned in the question.
587. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of illegal or unlicensed firearms he believes to be in circulation in the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8335/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra588. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of licensed firearms in the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8336/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra589. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of licensed firearms that have been stolen or reported missing in the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8337/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra590. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of firearms offences that have been committed using licensed firearms by the licensee in the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8338/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra591. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of murders that have been committed using licensed firearms by the licensee in the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8339/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra592. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of firearms offences that have been committed using unlicensed firearms in the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8340/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra593. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of murders that have been committed using unlicensed firearms in the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8341/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 587 to 593, inclusive, together.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that it is not possible to estimate the number of unlicensed/illegal firearms in circulation in the country. I am further informed that, as of 10 February 2014, the number of firearm certificates in the State is 178,191. I have sought a report from the Garda authorities in relation to the other information sought by the Deputy. I will be in contact with the Deputy when this information is to hand.
594. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will clarify if all branches of the civil service within his Department are applying Department policy that staff progress or incremental salary scales on the basis of a single point per annum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8686/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed that staff in my Department progress along incremental salary scales, where relevant, subject to both satisfactory attendance and performance under the Performance Management and Development System (PMDS). The award of an increment ordinarily falls for consideration on an annual basis. However, many of the salary scales contain two Long Service Increments as the final two points. The award of each of these Long Service Increments is only considered after three years service (i.e. six years service is required to receive the final two points on such salary scales). The terms of the Haddington Road Agreement are of course also relevant and are implemented in my Department. Under this Agreement, certain restrictions are placed on the award of increments, based on grade and salary level.
