Written Answers Nos. 143-151
143. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if a temporary travel document and return of their national passport will issue in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Louth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2082/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that, in response to a notification pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned has submitted written representations. These representations, together with all other information and documentation on file, will be fully considered, under Section 3 (6) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) and Section 5 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended) on the prohibition of refoulement, in advance of a final decision being made.
I am advised also that in exceptional cases an application for a temporary Irish Travel Document may be considered in respect of qualifying non-Irish nationals who are resident in Ireland. In all such cases, however, the INIS must first be satisfied that there is no alternative open to the applicant before a temporary Irish Travel Document will be issued. In the context of the person concerned, they would have to show that they have made reasonable and formal efforts to obtain a national passport, that it has been formally and unreasonably refused and that their own consular authorities are unable to offer consular assistance to them whilst resident in the State.
I am advised that the INIS has no record of having received an application for a temporary Irish Travel Document from the person concerned. It is, however, open to the person concerned to submit such an application, accompanied by the relevant supporting documentation. Any such application should be addressed to the INIS' Travel Document Unit, Residence Division, Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, Department of Justice and Equality, 13-14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2. Detailed information on the application process and the relevant application form is available on the INIS Website - www.inis.gov.ie.
I am advised that the passport of the person concerned is not held on their immigration case file.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department 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.
144. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the current residency status of a person (details supplied) in County Carlow; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2083/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person referred to by the Deputy has not made an application to INIS. This person arrived in the State on 21/07/2011 and was registered as a Student from 08/08/2011 to 04/08/2014.
As the person referred to was registered in the State as a non-EEA Student, they are subject to the student immigration rules as set out under the "new immigration regime for full time non-EEA students" which was published in September 2010 and has been in effect since 1 January 2011. These rules stipulate that non-EEA nationals may reside in Ireland as students, subject to the provisions of the new regime, for a maximum period of seven years. A maximum of three years student residence is permitted for courses at non degree level. The person referred to has now exhausted three years on non-degree courses. In order to be further registered as a student they must progress to a degree course.
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.
145. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if all documentation requested in respect of their residency-permission to remain in the State has been received in her Department in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 1; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2087/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that correspondence issued to the person mentioned on 16 December 2014. In this correspondence, my officials requested documentation and information. To date no response has been received.
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.
146. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if a satisfactory response has been received from a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; if it is acceptable that all penalties have been satisfactorily discharged in accordance with the requirements in that letter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2093/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that a valid application for a certificate of naturalisation has been received from the person referred to by the Deputy.
As the Deputy will appreciate, 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. Certain information was requested from the applicant and a response has been received. A letter has issued to the person concerned requesting additional information. When a response has been received, the case will be finalised and submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible.
The Deputy may wish to note that 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 established specifically 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.
147. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which she expects restructuring of An Garda Síochána to take place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2095/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe review of An Garda Síochána under the Haddington Road Agreement will make recommendations on the use by the force of the resources available to it, with the objective of achieving and maintaining the highest level of efficiency and effectiveness in its operations and administration.
The elements of the review dealing with the structure and organisation of the Garda Síochána and the deployment of members and civilian staff to relevant and appropriate roles are being undertaken by the Garda Inspectorate.
The review which is expected to be completed shortly will encompass all aspects of the operation and administration of An Garda Síochána.
150. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the total number of persons currently serving prison sentences; the extent to which they receive rehabilitative training or have access to programmes of a nature likely to encourage them away from crime; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2100/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can advise the Deputy that on the 14 January 2015 there were 3,661 prisoners in custody. Of this 3,169 were serving prison sentences.
The Irish Prison Service provides to those in custody a wide range of rehabilitative programmes that include education, vocational training, health care, psychiatric, psychological, counselling, welfare and spiritual services. which have the dual purpose of providing prisoners with purposeful activity while serving their sentences and encouraging them to lead non-offending lives on release. These programmes are available in all prisons and all prisoners are eligible to use the services.
The development of prisoner programmes forms a central part of the Irish Prison Service Three Year Strategic Plan 2012 - 2015. There is a clear commitment in the Strategy to enhance sentence planning through Integrated Sentence Management and the delivery of prison based rehabilitative programmes.
Other areas where there has been significant progress in prison education are in physical education, in the provision of higher education, in the arts and in preparing prisoners for release and supporting their transition to life, and often to education, on the outside. A top priority for the Irish Prison Service is ensuring help for those with reading and writing problems and peer mentoring programmes are currently active in all of our prisons.
As well as seeking to draw on best practice in adult and further education in the community, there has been a lot of curriculum development over the years that is specific to prison circumstances, such as courses on addiction, health issues and offending behaviour.
The guiding principles which underpin the prisons' work and training service are to make available, work, work-training and other purposeful activities to all those in custody aiming to give useful skills and serve the purpose of promoting rehabilitation. Training activities are designed to give as much variety as possible and also to give opportunities for those in prison to acquire practical skills which will help them secure employment on release. The areas include catering, laundry, industrial cleaning, woodwork, construction, industrial skills and gym.
The Irish Prison Service has also been expanding the number of accredited courses and opportunities available to prisoners in Work Training in recent years. Enhanced partnership arrangements with accrediting bodies such as City and Guilds, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), and the Guild of Launders and Cleaners and the centralising of coordination and quality assurance arrangements have enabled us to extend the number of available courses and activities with certification.
On committal, all prisoners are interviewed by the Governor and are informed of the services available in the prison. At this point prisoners may be referred to services or they can self refer at a later date. Where Governors consider, on the information available, that a prisoner needs a particular intervention they will initiate a referral.
I can inform the Deputy that figures that the latest available figures (22/11/14 - 28/11/14) show that an overall total of 1,816 offenders participated in Education activities which represents almost 48% of the prisoner population at that time.
Similarly an average of 1,051 prisoners engaged in vocational training activities each day in November and this represents 28% of the average prison population in that month. It should be noted that a prisoner may participate in more than one activity.
151. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of members of organised criminal groups who have been charged with serious crimes annually during the past five years; those convicted or found not guilty for whatever reason; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2101/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will appreciate that membership of criminal groups tends to be fluid and the nature of criminal activity is such that offences committed by members may or may not be connected with the individual’s membership of such groups. The existence of such groups and their membership does not remain static. It is therefore not possible to accurately attribute crime figures to criminal group members.
I have however asked the Garda Authorities to provide me with any relevant information that may be available and I will be in further contact with the Deputy when the information is to hand.
