Written Answers Nos. 105-114
105. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Defence the percentage of staff in his Department capable of dealing with the public in the Irish language; if training programmes are in place for staff to improve their level of working Irish; the provision there is for other minority languages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38621/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Defence complies fully with the provisions of the Official Language Act, 2003. The Department has limited interaction with the general public and, consequently, has a low demand for services through the medium of the Irish language. As provided for in its current and previous Irish Language Schemes, the Department draws from a pool of personnel which has been established on a voluntary basis to assist the Branches of the Department in providing services through the medium of Irish and to address customer interaction if required.
There are currently seven (7) personnel in the pool who have volunteered to assist with the provision of services through Irish and this has proved adequate to meet the needs arising. The pool of volunteers is kept under ongoing review.
Training is provided on request for Department of Defence personnel wishing to improve their level of working Irish. The option to participate in a joint civil/military Irish Language and Culture training initiative is also open to all staff.
106. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Defence the amount of funding allocated by his Department to organisations not audited directly by the Comptroller and Auditor General; the names of these organisations; the amount of funding allocated to each over the past five years; the process in place to ensure that value for money is achieved and that the funding allocated is audited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38667/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department provides funding to a number of organisations, both nationally and internationally, which are not audited directly by the Comptroller and Auditor General. Details of these organisations and the associated funding provided is as follows:
Irish Red Cross
|
Year |
Amount |
|
2010 |
€951,000 |
|
2011 |
€951,000 |
|
2012 |
€869,000 |
|
2013 |
€869,000 |
|
2014 |
€869,000 |
In each of these years, the total amount paid includes the Government’s annual contribution of €130,000 to the International Committee of the Irish Red Cross. The balance goes towards the salary and administration costs of running the headquarters of the Irish Red Cross Society. The payment of my Department’s annual grant to the Society is kept under review on an ongoing basis. The annual grant is paid in quarterly instalments and each year my Department receives a report from the Society providing full details of how the grant was utilised in the previous year and details of how it is to be used in the current year. The annual consolidated financial statements of the Society, which are published on its website, are subject to audit by an independent external firm of auditors whose report is also published. I am satisfied that the grant paid by my Department is properly accounted for and is used for the purposes for which it is granted.
Civil Defence
Civil Defence operations at local level are carried out under the control of the relevant local authority. Funding for Civil Defence operations is shared on a 70/30 basis between the Department of Defence and local authorities by way of an annual grant to each authority. The grant covers all allowable administration and running costs for Civil Defence in each local authority.
The annual grant is issued following a detailed examination of certified financial returns from the local authority on the previous year’s expenditure. Discretionary grants are also issued to local authorities from time to time towards the purchase of vehicles and equipment. Such grants are based on a business case and are subsequently paid on the basis of vouched expenditure.
The external auditor for Local Government includes a check on the Civil Defence grants as part of its annual audit agenda. The table below shows the total amount of funding allocated to local authorities over the past five years.
Department of Defence funding to Local Authorities for Civil Defence
|
Local Authority |
2010 € |
2011 € |
2012 € |
2013 € |
2014 € |
|
Carlow |
54,568.30 |
74,153.81 |
60,931.65 |
49,855.69 |
80,451.54 |
|
Cavan |
76,594.84 |
85,975.99 |
65,941.41 |
64,369.12 |
92,850.74 |
|
Clare |
92,255.46 |
101,822.54 |
96,648.41 |
87,924.45 |
112,755.27 |
|
Cork City |
83,721.37 |
73,361.47 |
88,608.13 |
76,228.70 |
87,510.60 |
|
Cork County |
230,122.99 |
256,061.79 |
179,067.41 |
199,281.51 |
263,720.45 |
|
Donegal |
80,753.86 |
87,032.72 |
75,907.78 |
74,825.69 |
79,369.16 |
|
Dublin City |
402,131.24 |
356,461.08 |
408,702.79 |
382,817.71 |
443,698.16 |
|
Galway |
104,801.69 |
93,373.48 |
89,695.60 |
100,154.46 |
109,686.79 |
|
Kerry |
117,145.93 |
114,589.49 |
104,454.49 |
107,532.45 |
127,259.72 |
|
Kildare |
103,976.66 |
100,777.21 |
88,897.24 |
86,890.82 |
136,978.52 |
|
Kilkenny |
66,602.99 |
50,595.81 |
62,058.73 |
65,173.17 |
66,076.42 |
|
Laois |
78,531.40 |
88,337.77 |
92,489.58 |
78,517.62 |
90,640.44 |
|
Leitrim |
143,240.58 |
67,429.87 |
81,123.78 |
83,222.69 |
128,338.34 |
|
Limerick City |
87,510.24 |
75,415.40 |
65,453.75 |
75,583.49 |
82,044.75 |
|
Limerick County |
125,008.77 |
127,044.32 |
111,663.49 |
113,092.03 |
124,316.58 |
|
Longford |
73,768.75 |
58,009.86 |
56,283.54 |
56,400.45 |
79,422.35 |
|
Louth |
91,646.21 |
97,155.05 |
82,790.90 |
85,040.46 |
85,707.70 |
|
Mayo |
92,387.88 |
95,526.60 |
76,383.22 |
96,315.68 |
83,290.28 |
|
Meath |
198,199.23 |
131,036.29 |
139,986.57 |
125,230.02 |
140,016.72 |
|
Monaghan |
102,307.53 |
80,323.72 |
94,469.29 |
102,435.07 |
110,017.72 |
|
Offaly |
84,995.90 |
98,041.58 |
84,938.46 |
83,887.03 |
105,551.79 |
|
Roscommon |
83,666.86 |
85,008.89 |
70,955.31 |
69,365.77 |
73,434.94 |
|
Sligo |
93,268.31 |
73,244.36 |
99,561.64 |
73,101.51 |
79,093.69 |
|
Tipperary North |
76,271.53 |
96,791.71 |
94,618.17 |
115,366.73 |
67,371.26 |
|
Tipperary South |
106,564.63 |
109,256.57 |
110,861.81 |
86,130.72 |
96,653.70 |
|
Waterford City |
87,159.06 |
93,175.45 |
83,683.99 |
81,129.33 |
107,612.11 |
|
Waterford County |
81,003.64 |
73,984.06 |
77,755.37 |
75,541.75 |
86,292.25 |
|
Westmeath |
89,571.90 |
90,924.25 |
93,092.05 |
83,967.13 |
105,203.72 |
|
Wexford |
103,605.14 |
109,962.13 |
113,798.65 |
96,181.32 |
104,473.87 |
|
Wicklow |
74,676.77 |
67,840.72 |
80,934.06 |
115,195.26 |
84,283.49 |
|
Totals |
3,286,059.66 |
3,112,713.99 |
3,031,757.27 |
2,990,757.83 |
3,434,123.07 |
Other national organisations
|
Year |
Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association (PDFORRA) |
Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO) |
Reserve Defence Forces Representative Association (RDFRA) |
Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen and Women (ONE) |
Irish United Nations Veterans Association (IUNVA) |
Military History Society of Ireland |
|
2010 |
€52,694.13 |
€0 |
€68,568.00 |
€40,000 |
€10,000 |
€5,308 |
|
2011 |
€52,694.13 |
€0 |
€68,568.00 |
€40,000 |
€10,000 |
€5,578 |
|
2012 |
€52,694.13 |
€0 |
€68,568.00 |
€40,000 |
€10,000 |
€2,442 |
|
2013 |
€52,694.13 |
€21,879.12 |
€68,568.00 |
€40,000 |
€10,000 |
€7,980 |
|
2014 |
€52,694.13 |
€47,535.00 |
€68,568.00 |
€40,000 |
€10,000 |
€5,111 |
In accordance with agreed arrangements under the Conciliation and Arbitration Scheme, the Department provides the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO) and the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association (PDFORRA) with annual subventions. The Reserve Defence Forces Representative Association (RDFRA) is provided with office accommodation and also receives an annual subvention.
A condition of the grants/subventions to ONE and IUNVA is the annual submission of audited accounts to my Department. Monies paid to the Military History Society of Ireland are paid on a vouched basis.
International Organisations
|
Agency Funding |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
(1) European Defence Agency (EDA) |
€315,760.00 |
€284,036.55 |
€451,145.78 |
€268,398.99 |
€363,161.90 |
|
(2) European Union Satellite Centre (EUSC) |
€75,772.26 |
€70,310.25 |
€64,798.31 |
€63,380.25 |
€72,093.74 |
|
(3) Athena Special Committee |
€208,349.04 |
€228,473.52 |
€173,466.42 |
€496,260.05 |
€759,717.26 |
(1) The European Defence Agency (EDA) is an EU Agency which falls under the authority of the Council of the EU. Council Decision 2004/551/CFSP provided for the creation of the EDA in 2004 to assist EU Member States to develop their defence capabilities for crisis-management operations under the Common Security & Defence Policy (CSDP) and is audited by the EDA’s College of Auditors.
(2) The European Union Satellite Centre (EUSC) is an agency of the Council of the European Union dedicated to the exploitation and production of information derived from the analysis of earth observation space imagery in support of the EU’s decision making in the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Council Decision 2014/401/CFSP on the EUSC (repeals Joint Action 2001/555/CFSP on the establishment of the EUSC) lays out the financial and budgetary principles for the agency.
(3) The Athena Special Committee is a working body of the EU Council which administers the financing of EU CSDP military operations. Pursuant to the European Union Council Decision 2011/871/CFSP (repealed and replaced by the Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/528 of March 2015) the Athena College of Auditors, comprising six members appointed from national audit bodies, audit the consolidated financial statements of the Athena Mechanism and its operations/missions and exercises in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards.
107. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide details of the staffing complement and the staff structures at the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38525/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) was established under Section 9 of the Data Protection Act 1988 and is independent in the performance of its functions. I can advise the Deputy that the Government, and I as Minister, continue to keep the resourcing of the ODPC under review and my aim is to ensure that the Commissioner has the necessary resources to continue to meet the ongoing demands of this expanding sector.
I am pleased to confirm that the resources made available to the ODPC have been significantly increased. The ODPC's 2015 budget allocation of €3.647m is double its allocation for the previous year, permitting a staff complement of approximately 50 including an additional 18 staff. The budget has been further increased to over €4.7m for 2016.
The ODPC's staff complement includes legal, technical, investigations, audit and communications specialists as well as policy and administration staff.
Recruitment to the Office is ongoing and a number of assignments are expected to be finalised within the coming weeks. These will also be augmented by a further injection of staff, including specialist staff in coming months. The current staff number (for both the Dublin and Portarlington Offices) is 42, as shown by grade in the table below.
|
Grade |
Number |
|
Commissioner |
1 |
|
Principal Officer |
2 |
|
Assistant Principal Officer level |
9 |
|
Higher Executive Officer |
8 |
|
Executive Officer |
12 |
|
Clerical Officer |
10 |
|
Total |
42 |
108. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda Síochána checkpoints that took place in 2014 and in 2015 to date; the location of each checkpoint; the number in each locality; the instances of drink-driving, dangerous driving and speeding identified at each checkpoint; the number of each of these instances which resulted in charges being brought against the driver; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38428/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can inform the Deputy that the statistics requested are not available from the Garda authorities. A range of information is available on the Garda website in relation to road traffic matters, including with respect to the number of mandatory alcohol testing (MAT) checkpoints held in 2014 and to end September 2015 (78,000 and 59,426 respectively).
109. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 511 of 14 July 2015, which was replied to on 26 August 2015, and which reply stated that between January 2013 and May 2015 20,830 drink-driving cases were listed, if she will provide per year and per District Court the number of cases adjourned, struck-out, withdrawn and continuing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38429/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will be aware that under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service and I have no role in the matter. Section 4(3) of the 1998 Act provides that the Courts Service is independent in the performance of its functions, which includes the provision of information on the courts system. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have made enquiries and the information is currently being compiled and verified. I shall arrange for the information requested to be forwarded to him shortly.
110. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 511 of 14 July 2015, which was replied to on 26 August 2015, and which reply stated that between January 2013 and May 2015 20,830 were drink-driving cases listed and there were 8,391 convictions, if recent figures published by the Courts Service will be revised and backdated once all outstanding cases are completed following adjournments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38434/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will be aware that under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service and I have no role in the matter. Section 4(3) of the 1998 Act provides that the Courts Service is independent in the performance of its functions, which includes the provision of information on the courts system. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have made enquiries and the information is currently being compiled and verified. I shall arrange for the information requested to be forwarded to him shortly.
111. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if an official from her Department is tasked with comparing statistics and figures kept by the Road Safety Authority, the Courts Service and An Garda Síochána, specifically statistics on drink-driving, dangerous driving and disqualified drivers; the protocol when discrepancies in record-keeping occur; if there is a procedure in place to verify records; the role of the Central Statistics Office in the compilation of figures on road traffic offences and convictions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38435/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can advise the Deputy that there is ongoing liaison between my Department, the Garda authorities, the Courts Service, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Road Safety Authority in relation to the matters referred to.
In relation to the role of the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the CSO as the national statistical agency, is responsible for the publication of recorded crime statistics, including in relation to offences under Road Traffic legislation. The CSO publishes quarterly Recorded Crime Statistics based on data recorded on the Garda PULSE system and categorised according to the CSO Irish Crime Classification System.
112. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí allocated to the Garda traffic corps in the years 2012 to 2014 and in 2015 to date. [38436/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra113. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of vehicles allocated to the Garda traffic corps in the years 2012 to 2014 and in 2015 to date. [38437/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra114. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the budget allocation to the Garda traffic corps in the years 2012 to 2014 and in 2015 to date. [38438/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 112 to 114, inclusive, together.
The Deputy will appreciate the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel, including the Traffic Corps, among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of resources. It is important to note that roads policing is the duty of every Garda member, this duty is not reserved for Garda members of the Traffic Corps Units. As part of this enforcement policy members of An Garda Síochána carry out planned and ‘ad hoc’ checkpoints as required, including mandatory alcohol testing (MAT) checkpoints.
I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that the personnel strength of the Garda Traffic Corps on the 31 December 2012 - 2014 for which figures are readily available was as set out in the table below.
Garda Traffic Corps Personnel
|
Year |
No. |
|
2012 |
877 |
|
2013 |
811 |
|
2014 |
749 |
As the Deputy will be aware, Garda recruitment recommenced in 2014 with 475 new recruits having already commenced training; 295 having already passed out and are now working in the community; a further 75 to enter the Garda college in the coming weeks; and 600 to be recruited in 2016. I have requested further up to date details in relation to the personnel strength of the Garda Traffic Corps during 2015 including on foot of this recent recruitment. I will revert to the Deputy directly with this information.
The provision and allocation of Garda transport is also a matter for the Garda Commissioner in the light of identified operational circumstances and the availability of resources. The table below outlines the vehicle allocation for the Garda Traffic Corps from 2012 – 2014:
GARDA TRAFFIC FLEET STRENGTH 2012 – 2014
|
Year |
CARS |
VANS |
MOTORCYCLES |
4X4 |
OTHER |
TOTAL |
|
|
MARKED |
UNMARKED |
||||||
|
2012 |
79 |
29 |
17 |
113 |
41 |
10 |
289 |
|
2013 |
95 |
26 |
15 |
94 |
42 |
13 |
285 |
|
2014 |
109 |
28 |
19 |
95 |
34 |
10 |
295 |
As the Deputy will be aware, the Government has also invested over €34 million in new Garda vehicles since 2012 with over 640 new vehicles coming on stream in 2015, including vehicles for use in patrols of the road network.
I have requested further details of the Garda Traffic Fleet strength during 2015 including an up to date report on the allocation of new vehicles to the traffic fleet. I will revert to the Deputy directly with this information.
I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that as the Garda Traffic Corps units are assigned to Garda Divisions throughout the State, the costs associated with the Traffic Corps are not accounted for separately and are included in the total cost of running a Garda Division. Consequently, it is not possible to isolate the costs and budget allocations in respect of the Traffic Corps for the years 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
