Written Answers Nos. 336-350
336. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her views on the SAFE Ireland report The Lawlessness of the Home: on women’s experience of seeking legal remedies to domestic violence and abuse in the Irish legal system; if she will implement the recommendations made in the report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14067/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI welcome the SAFE Ireland report "The Lawlessness of the Home" as an insight into the very real difficulties that women affected by domestic violence can experience. I understand that the recommendations contained in the report were also brought to the attention of the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality in their hearings into Domestic and Sexual Violence and informed that Committee's recommendations.
I will consider the recommendations of the SAFE Ireland report in the context of the development of consolidated and reformed domestic violence legislation and the development of the next National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence. I expect to publish the General Scheme of the domestic violence legislation in the coming months following Government approval. I also intend to publish the new strategy in the coming months.
337. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if an application for leave to remain can be facilitated in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 1; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14071/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned was registered in the State under Stamp 2 conditions on 15 January 2007 until 06 June 2014. A decision letter issued to the person concerned on 24 July 2014 refusing an extension of their Student Stamp 2 conditions as the aggregate time permitted on Student conditions to study language, non-degree level and degree level courses is 7 years. The person concerned was advised that in their case the 7 year limit expired on 08 June 2014. In this regard the person concerned was advised to leave the State and submit documentary evidence to INIS of their departure by 23 August 2014. The person concerned currently holds no immigration permission to remain and is currently illegally residing in the State.
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.
338. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will support the proposal of a public inquiry into all of the cases of alleged Garda malpractice. [14073/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are currently 318 complaints being considered by the mechanism established by the Government for the independent review of certain allegations of Garda misconduct, or inadequacies in the investigation of certain allegations, which have been made to me as Minister for Justice and Equality, or the Taoiseach. I take it that these are the cases of alleged Garda malpractice to which the Deputy refers.
The review in each case consists of an examination of the papers by independent counsel, who then make a recommendation as to whether any further action might be taken. The purpose of the review is to triage the allegations to see if further investigations are needed. To establish a public inquiry into each of these cases at this stage would require full-scale investigations into over 300 cases, without having made any attempt to see if this was necessary or practical.
I would assure the Deputy that where further investigation is recommended by the review then that will occur. However I would also make the point that, in many cases, counsel may recommend that no further action can reasonably be taken. This might be, for example, because a case has already been through due process, such as an investigation by GSOC or a court hearing, even though the complainant remains unhappy with the outcome. The crucial point, however, is that every case will have been reviewed by independent counsel, who will have made an objective recommendation.
Although counsel have not finished their work, my Department has now received a number of recommendations from counsel, and I therefore intend to start the process shortly of notifying the persons concerned of the outcome of the review in their cases.
339. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the rostering arrangements for prison staff in the reception units of the Prison Service, where prisoners who have been committed to prison are either admitted to prison or released on temporary release; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14083/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe requirements for Reception and Registration areas of prisons is set out in Part 2 of the Prison Rules, 2007. In order to fulfil these statutory obligations there are rosters in place throughout the Prison Estate to meet these requirements. The rosters for these areas are generally on an 8am to 8pm basis with some variation depending on specific local demands. In addition to these rosters reception areas are manned as required outside of these hours to facilitate both Committals and Discharges.
The granting of temporary release is provided for in Section 1 of the Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Act, 2003. As provided for in this Act, I may consider those committed for non-payment of fines for temporary release where it is my opinion that it is necessary and expedient in order to ensure the good government of the prison concerned and to maintain good order in, and humane and just management of the prison concerned.
In practice, a prisoner may apply through the prison Governor for consideration for temporary release. Their family or their legal representative can also apply for consideration of such a concession. It is very important to note that it does not necessarily follow that a prisoner will receive temporary release even if the recommendation made by prison management and/or therapeutic services is to that effect. Each application is considered on its individual merits and a number of factors are taken into account when making a decision on whether to grant temporary release.
The Deputy will be aware that the Irish Prison Service Three Year Strategic Plan 2012-2015 and the Joint Prison Service/Probation Service Strategic Plan 2013-2015 includes working towards the objective of ensuring that all prisoners released early from custody are placed on appropriate structured programme of temporary release.
The Community Return Scheme is an initiative whereby carefully selected prisoners, serving sentences between 1 year and 8 years, can be granted reviewable temporary release coupled with a requirement to do community service work such as painting, gardening or graffiti removal in a supervised group setting. The type of work involved is intended to assist the community and the scheme is involved with a large number of charitable organisations and local community groups.
340. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the annual cost of transporting persons committed to prison for the non-payment of fines; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14084/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by the Garda authorities that persons committed to prison are transported by Garda vehicles as part of their routine duty and not separately accounted for. I am further informed that the annual cost pertaining to the transport of persons committed to prison using Garda personnel and vehicles for the non-payment of fines is not readily available and would require an inordinate amount of administrative resources to obtain this level of detail.
As regards the use of other methods of conveyance of persons detained where deemed operationally expedient by the Commissioner, I am advised that the annual cost of these services for the transport of persons detained for 2014 was €227,873 and to 13th April, 2015 is €80,232.
341. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the current residency in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; the degree to which this case was examined, in view of the evidence of trafficking, and the possibility that the person was a victim of drug abuse, which could be a case for that person allegedly making an effort to obtain a British entrance visa; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14086/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraIf the person whose details were supplied has made an application for asylum or subsidiary protection, the Deputy will be aware that it is not the practice to comment on such applications for so long as as they remain in the protection process. The position in this regard is in accordance with Section 19 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended) which provides for the protection of the identity of asylum applicants.
Protection applicants are issued with a temporary residence permission pending a final decision on their application.
All applications for refugee status are processed by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC) in accordance with the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended).
I am informed by the Commissioner that each application is decided on its own individual merits and the elements considered during the determination process include the facts and circumstances of the application (including any trafficking allegations); the protection available to the applicant in his/her country of origin; internal protection options available to the applicant elsewhere in their country of origin; whether the fears of the applicant amount to persecution; the reasons for the alleged persecution; and their fear of return in relation to their country of origin.
All asylum applicants are interviewed in accordance with the statutory procedures set out in the Refugee Act 1996. Interviewers are trained to conduct focused interviews which afford applicants the opportunity to fully explain the reasons why they fear returning to their country of origin. As part of the investigation process, the interviewer researches objective country of origin information that will inform the analysis of the application. This work is essential for researching the political and human rights situations in an applicant's country of origin.
In relation to trafficking specifically, caseworkers have received anti human trafficking training as part of their comprehensive training programme. ORAC also has a referral procedure in place with the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) and the Anti Human Trafficking Unit of my Department for investigating any possible trafficking cases. ORAC will also request GNIB at regular periods to provide updates/results on any trafficking cases referred to them as such information may be of relevance if the investigation of an asylum application is still ongoing. Where allegations of trafficking have been raised by an asylum applicant, these claims will be assessed by the caseworker in line with usual tests regarding the balance of probabilities for credibility and the reasonable likelihood of a well founded fear of persecution.
342. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the revenue generated from speeding fines in County Louth for each year since 2012; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14090/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraInsofar as the amount of revenue generated on foot of fixed charge notices in respect of speeding offences in County Louth is concerned, I am informed by the Garda authorities that the information is not recorded in such a manner that is readily accessible and would require a disproportionate use of resources to provide. Insofar as the amount of revenue arising from the imposition of court imposed fines is concerned, the Deputy will appreciate that under the provisions of Section 4(3) of the Courts Service Act, 1998 the Courts are independent in the performance of its functions, which includes the provision of statistics. However, to be of assistance, I have had enquires made and am informed by the Courts Service that the total value of fines recovered in respect speeding offences in County Louth in 2012 was €35,683; €20,968 in 2013; €27,081 in 2014 and €12, 655 to date in 2015. It should be noted amounts refer to the total amount recovered irrespective of the date on which the speeding offence occurred and the date of issue of the relevant fixed charge notice.
343. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the current residency status of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15; if an application for citizenship can be facilitated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14100/15]
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, who currently has permission to reside in the State until 10 June, 2015. My predecessor decided to defer a final decision on this application for 18 months. The person concerned was notified of this decision and the reasons for it in a letter issued on 27 June, 2013.
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. Processing of the application is ongoing and the case will be re-submitted for final 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.
344. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she has received a report from the Committee for the Prevention of Torture following its visit here in September 2014; her plans regarding same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14102/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can confirm that the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) recently submitted its report following its visit to Ireland in September, 2014. The Government now has a time-frame of six months to respond to the CPT on the findings contained in the report.
It is expected that the report and proposed responses to the findings will be brought to Government in the near future. As with the publication of previous reports, I will publish the report along with the responses to the findings once these have been approved by Government and conveyed to the CPT.
345. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the procedure to be followed by a person (details supplied) in County Carlow who arrived here as an accompanied minor aged 13 years. [14103/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that the person referred to by the Deputy was granted permission to travel to and reside in the State on the 4th February 2004 as the subject of an application for Family Reunification by his father.
The person referred to by the Deputy should continue to register with the Garda National Immigration Bureau as the approved subject of an application for Family Reunification.
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.
346. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when legislation allowing for convictions to be deemed spent will be debated in Dáil Éireann; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14127/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra351. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when a minor conviction is considered spent and removed from a person’s record; when she expects the Spent Convictions Bill 2012 to be signed into law; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14210/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 346 and 351 together.
Before the Spent Convictions Bill was enacted, a 2013 UK Court of Appeal judgment necessitated a review of the provisions in both the Spent Convictions Bill and the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012. That review has been completed and amendments to both pieces of legislation are currently being drafted. I intend to bring the amendments to the Bill before the Oireachtas in the current session in order to have the Spent Convictions Bill enacted by the autumn. Pending the amendment of the Bill, an Administrative Filter for Garda Vetting Disclosures has been introduced, which provides that certain minor offences that are over 7 years old are no longer disclosed.
A copy of this Administrative Filter is set out as follows.
Garda Vetting Procedures
Administrative Filter
In anticipation of the amendment and commencement of the National Vetting Bureau Act 2012, an administrative filter in respect of Garda Vetting Unit Disclosures will operate in accordance with the following procedural guidelines.
A. Criminal Convictions to be disclosed in all cases:
1) Offences Against the Person.
2) Sexual Offences
3) Convictions on indictment.
B. District Court Convictions which will not be disclosed:
1) Motoring Offences:
District Court convictions for motoring offences will not be disclosed after 7 years even where more recent offences have been committed. This is because it is considered that old minor motoring offences would not be relevant due to the passage of time.
2) Minor Public Order Offences:
The following convictions under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 will not be disclosed if the offence is over 7 years old even where more recent offences have been committed:
· Section 4 (Intoxication)
· Section 5 (Disorderly conduct),
· Section 6 (Threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour),
· Section 7 (Distribution or display of material which is offensive),
· Section 8 (Failure to comply with direction of Garda),
· Section 9 (Wilful obstruction).
3) Other minor offences – 1 Only:
District Court convictions for any other minor offence will not be disclosed after 7 years where the person has one such offence only (excluding motoring or public order offences over 7 years old). This provision does not apply to offences against the person or to sexual offences.
C. Probation Act Provisions
Where persons have been dealt with by a district court in accordance with the provisions of section 1(1) (i) or 1 (1) (ii) of the Probation Act 1907, the offences will not be disclosed except in cases where the circumstances of the offence gives rise to a bona fide concern that the person concerned may harm a child or vulnerable person. Where persons have been dealt with by a court in accordance with section 1 (2) of the Probation Act, these will be disclosed in all cases. (Section 1 (2) relates solely to persons "convicted on indictment".)
D. Offences in respect of which a person is charged but subsequently not prosecuted or acquitted.
Non convictions will be considered for disclosure where the circumstances of an offence gives rise to a bona fide concern that the person concerned may harm a child or vulnerable person. This information will only be disclosed if the information is of such a nature that its disclosure is necessary, proportionate and reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of children or vulnerable persons, or both, as the case may be.
The Garda Central Vetting Unit will make such decision in the context of:
§ The information concerned
§ The relevance of the information to the type of work/activity
§ The source and reliability of the information
§ The rights of the vetting applicant and any submissions made by them.
Where the GCVU makes a determination to disclose information under this section the GCVU will:
- Notify the person who is the subject of the application for the vetting disclosure concerned, in writing, of its determination and of the reasons for it,
- Provide to the person a copy of the information to be disclosed,
- Notify the person of the intention to disclose the information to an Authorised Signatory for the registered organisation concerned after the expiry of 14 days from the date of notification, and
- Allow the applicant the opportunity to make a written submission.
- There will also be an appeals process in respect of a decision to disclose the information.
The GCVU will not issue a vetting disclosure in respect of a person until this process has been completed.
347. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an update on the undocumented migrants and any regularisation proposals being considered; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14140/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI refer the Deputy to my reply below to Parliamentary Question No. 12 of 2 April 2015. The position remains the same.
At EU level, Member States, including Ireland, agreed back in 2008 that they would deal with regularisation only on a case by case basis and the Government continues to support this position.
Ireland has shown itself to be a country that welcomes foreign nationals and this is abundantly clear from our census figures and from our citizenship ceremonies. More than 80,000 people have been naturalised in the past 4 years.
However we are entitled to expect that people coming here will obey our laws, including those that relate to immigration. It is open to any foreign national who finds him or herself in an undocumented situation to apply to the authorities for permission to remain. Cases are carefully considered before a decision is made and it is reasonable for the State to expect that people will respect that decision. It should also be remembered that most people become undocumented through their own conscious actions or omissions. Recognising that in a minority of instances that may not be the case, the Department has operated a scheme to address the situation of those who became undocumented through no fault of their own.
348. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the steps being taken to promote the use of Irish in her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14176/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince 2006, with the commencement of its inaugural Irish Language Scheme, the Department of Justice and Equality has run 23 in-house Irish courses, both written and oral, tailored for members of staff. These courses were run, concurrently in some cases, by Gaeleagras, Gaelchultúr and the Institute of Public Administration, in the Department's offices in both Dublin and Killarney. In addition, the Department has supported members of staff who wished to do Irish courses outside of the Department, and officials who participated in an on-line written Irish course, and continues to support staff who wish to do Irish courses. One official of the Department has gone on to do a Master's Degree in Irish while another, who had attended a number of the in-house courses, has gone on to do a B.A. Degree in Irish.
The Department of Justice and Equality has 50 members of staff on a panel of officials of the Department who are available to deal with queries in Irish from members of the public, arising principally from the courses mentioned above.
During Irish Language Week each year, for the past number of years, the Department has held an event to foster the use of the language within the Department, all of which events have been very well attended. Finally I wish to further inform the Deputy that the Department has twice published an internal Irish magazine and each issue of the Department's quarterly newsletter has contained an article in Irish.
349. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if it is envisaged that candidates from bands 2 and 3 from stage 1 of the Garda recruitment process will be brought forward for consideration under the recently announced Garda recruitment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14204/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra350. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality in relation to the Garda recruitment process, the number of candidates still within band 1 for consideration, and the current drop-out rate within the Garda college; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14206/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 349 and 350 together.
I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that the Public Appointments Service (PAS) is managing the recruitment process for the Garda Commissioner and I have no direct involvement in the matter. I understand however that 5,000 candidates (i.e. those in Band 1) were invited to take a subsequent battery of tests and of that number, just over 3,000 were successful. To date the top 2,000 approximately from that group have been invited to supervised assessments and interviews. These interviews are ongoing and the details of successful candidates are forwarded to the Garda Commissioner. Those remaining from Band 1 will be brought forward for further assessment and depending on the Commissioner's recruitment needs, PAS will then move to those in Band 2 and possibly Band 3, if necessary.
To date 300 trainees have entered the Garda College, two of whom subsequently left training. One of these trainees has been replaced.
