Written Answers Nos. 87 - 97
87. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the progress to date in determination of an application for stamp 4 on the basis of de facto relationship with an Irish citizen in the case of a person (details supplied) who recently submitted their application for consideration; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7556/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned has submitted an application for De Facto Partner Permission which was received on 30 January 2017. This office is currently awaiting further documentation to enable the application to be considered.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by email 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 email service except in cases where the response from INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
88. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if there is a requirement for any security by An Garda Síochána at a hotel (details supplied) since President Trump was elected; and if so, the cost of any such security costs. [7562/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will appreciate that I have no direct role in the determination of whether Garda security is required. This is an operational matter for An Garda Síochána.
89. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to establish an office of the prison ombudsman. [7649/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is my intention to agree to the extension of the remit of the existing Ombudsman to prisons.
This is in line with the report of the Inspector of Prisons, R.I.P., on the prisoner complaints system “Review, Evaluation and Analysis of the Operation of the present Irish Prison Service Complaints Procedure”.
90. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality her plans for a building (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7659/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to refer the Deputy to reply given to Parliamentary Question no. 120 of 14 February 2017 from Deputy Mattie McGrath, the text of which is as follows: ''As the Deputy will be aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts, including the provision of accommodation for court sittings, 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 the Courts Service has informed me that the courthouse in Tipperary town was closed in 2010 due to it being in very poor condition and consequential health and safety concerns. Since then District Court sittings have been held in accommodation at the Excel Centre in Tipperary town while Circuit Court sittings are held at Clonmel, County Tipperary.
The Courts Service has also informed me that it has no plans to return sittings to the courthouse in Tipperary town which is not in its ownership. The Courts Service has advised that it keeps the provision of court services in Tipperary under review, including how the needs of court users in Tipperary town and county can best be met into the future."
91. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will establish an inquiry into the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7667/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have received a copy of the correspondence referred to and I am very conscious of the seriousness of the matters which have been raised in this case. I am also mindful of the considerable distress experienced by the person in question over an extended period.
I understand that the initial complaint related to a physical assault which occurred in 2006, and for which a person was charged and convicted. Further serious complaints relating to the incident in 2006 were brought to my attention late in 2014. An Garda Síochána has since conducted a detailed investigation of the matters raised. Following the submission of an investigation file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in 2016, a decision was taken not to initiate a further prosecution in this matter.
I am further advised that additional complaints made by the same person were referred by the Garda Commissioner to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC). GSOC subsequently submitted a file to the DPP who directed that there be no prosecution in relation to these additional complaints. However, I understand that the consideration by GSOC of some aspects of the case is ongoing.
As the Deputy will appreciate, GSOC is the independent body charged with the investigation of complaints against members of An Garda Síochána, and it would not therefore be appropriate for me to make any further comment on these matters at this time.
92. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of trips outside the State taken by either her or her Minister of State in tabular form; the locations they were to; the purpose of each trip; the duration of each trip; the officials who accompanied any Minister on each trip; and the costs of flights, accommodation and any other expenses incurred per person on each trip. [7732/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to inform the Deputy that it has not been possible to provide the information required in the time available. The information is currently being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is to hand.
93. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the Government's ongoing rationale for preventing persons in direct provision from working in gainful employment. [7734/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraSection 16(3)(b) of the International Protection Act 2015, provides that applicants for international protection shall not seek, enter or be in employment or engage for gain in any business, trade or profession during the period before the final determination of their application.
There is an effective visa and immigration system in place for those who wish to lawfully migrate to the State for employment purposes. The key concern in this regard is that both the asylum process and the wider immigration system would be undermined by giving people who secure entry to the State, on foot of claims to asylum yet to be determined, the same access to employment as legal immigrants who follow the lawful route to employment.
The International Protection Act, commenced on the 31 December, 2016, provides for the introduction of a single application procedure for international protection, which is specifically aimed at addressing the length of time persons spend in the protection process. The new procedure will streamline and speed up the processing of protection applications, allowing all relevant matters to be submitted at the time of application for consideration. This will significantly reduce the length of time that persons spend awaiting a decision on their protection application. This will bring certainty of status at a much earlier stage to qualified applicants. Any applicant subsequently granted refugee status is entitled to enter the labour market.
94. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the type of training members of her Department or those working with asylum applicants have received in cultural awareness when dealing with foreign nationals; the proportion of her departmental staff and outside staff in front-line roles dealing with asylum seekers and refugees who have received training in dealing with survivors of rape, torture or those suffering from PTSD; if her attention has been drawn to any kind of cultural awareness training that is provided to staff members, including staff not directly employed by her Department in hostels and accommodation used for those in direct provision. [7736/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraDue to the nature of their work, a number of divisions within the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department receive regular cultural awareness training, which encompasses training on how to sensitively deal with persons in the protection process who may have suffered various types of degrading treatment.
Extensive training is provided to staff in the International Protection Office (IPO) and International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) who have responsibility for investigating applications for international protection and deciding on protection appeals respectively. Such training is based on national experiences as well as best practice approaches developed internationally by agencies such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). The training includes interviewing skills techniques which encompass awareness of the needs of vulnerable groups such as children and victims of torture and of other types of degrading treatment. Training on cultural awareness as well as the effect of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other psychological issues is also provided. Caseworkers are also trained to deal sensitively with applicants from different cultural backgrounds in the assessment of their applications including when conducting interviews. It is also the policy to ensure that each individual international protection applicant is treated with courtesy and professionalism at all times.
Training is provided by in-house trainers and, from time to time, by outside experts such as the UNHCR, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and the Centre for the Care of Survivors of Torture (SPIRASI).
Members of the Office for the Promotion and Integration Office (OPMI), Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP), and the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) have received anti-racism and diversity training. In addition, senior members of staff within the relocation side of the IRPP have received child protection training from Tusla (the Child and Family Agency) and training in dealing with unaccompanied minors and victims of human trafficking through the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB). It is also worth noting that in advance of any refugees being resettled or relocated, staff of the IRPP carry out research into the ethnic and cultural aspects of the new communities before they arrive and also consult with the new refugees on aspects of their culture which might differ from our norms in order to prepare the receiving community for their arrival.
The HSE has also developed a suite of training programmes for persons working with refugees which includes modules dealing with persons experiencing trauma and sexual violence. This training also includes a specific module on 'minding your own health' for staff working in reception centres and for those working with refugees in the receiving communities.
To ensure that applicants in Direct Provision centres are treated with sensitivity to their cultural and psychological needs, RIA, along with COSC (the National Organisation for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence) engaged in a working group with a number of non-governmental organisations including Akidwa and the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre to develop a RIA policy around incidences of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and harassment within Direct Provision Centres. Prior to the implementation of this policy in 2015, a number of two-day training programmes were delivered to centre staff by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre in conjunction with Women's Aid. The agreed policy is now operational in all centres and is available on the RIA website.
The training needs of all staff working with vulnerable migrants are kept under continual review in order to ensure that the Department and its agencies working in the area are fully equipped to deal with the various challenges that emerge when dealing with diverse cultural mores.
95. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she is satisfied with waiting times at passport control in Dublin Airport; and if she has been in contact with the authorities such as the DAA regarding making practical changes to procedure and staffing to avoid a repeat of the hour long wait. [7738/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraInformation supplied by the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) in relation to queue times for arriving passengers at Dublin Airport shows that over 90% of all travellers are processed through immigration control in a matter of minutes with the figures being even higher for passengers of EU nationalities. This is in the context of passenger numbers at Dublin Airport reaching record levels last year with almost 28 million passengers using the airport. On the rare occasions that passengers may experience delays this can be for a variety of reasons including congestion arising in the terminal building due to the number of passengers disembarking from flights at peak daily periods, delayed flights due to weather conditions, or other factors including the conducting of enhanced checks on passengers or current building works in one of the immigration areas which has reduced the space available. The Irish immigration authorities have an excellent relationship with the DAA and work closely together to address queue management issues where they arise.
The Deputy will appreciate that the protection of our borders is a matter of the utmost priority and that checks undertaken on passengers must be thorough and appropriate. Issues may arise that require further processing and checks of individual passengers but every reasonable effort is made to minimise the impact on travellers. In this context, and in line with developments in other EU Member States, my Department and An Garda Síochána continues to progress a broad series of initiatives to strengthen border security. For example, since November 2016 an automated connection to INTERPOL’s Lost and Stolen Travel Documents database was rolled out to all international airports and seaports. In the first eight weeks of operating systematic checks against this Database over 700,000 documents were searched, with a number of people having been refused entry to Ireland on the basis of an alert on the system having been triggered. This has not had any significant impact on immigration processing times.
Later this year the Irish immigration authorities will begin to process Advance Passenger Information on flights into the State from outside the EU and preparations are also under way to implement the EU Directive on Passenger Name Records (PNR). These systems will provide further protection for our borders against crime, terrorism and illegal immigration threats. In addition, I expect to be in a position to award a contract for the provision of automatic border control (ABC) gates in the next few months and to begin installation at Dublin airport later in the year. This facility will be available for EU nationals with e-passports to effectively self-immigrate through the airport.
Furthermore, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) will this year take on the front line checks in Terminal 2 at Dublin airport (they already carry out this function in Terminal 1 and the Transit area of Terminal 2) which will release further Gardaí for core policing duties.
96. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she is considering additional resources to allow gardaí to issue summonses to cyclists found to break road laws; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7739/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. I am assured by the Garda Commissioner that the allocation of Gardaí is continually monitored and reviewed taking into account all relevant factors including crime trends, demographics, and security assessments relating to the area in question so as to ensure optimal use is made of Garda human resources. It is the responsibility of the Divisional Officer to allocate personnel within his/her Division.
This Government is committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and deter crime. To make this a reality for all, the Government has in place a plan to achieve an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. This year, funding has been provided for the recruitment of 800 Garda recruits and up to 500 civilians to support the wide ranging reform plan in train in An Garda Síochána. Appointments will also be made to the Garda Reserve of approximately 300.
I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014, 838 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide. I am also informed by the Commissioner that another 750 trainee Garda are scheduled to attest this year which will see Garda numbers, taking account of projected retirements, increase to around the 13,500 mark by year end. This accelerated recruitment is complemented by substantial investment in resources that will support the delivery of An Garda Síochána’s Modernisation and Renewal Programme 2016-2021 which sets key strategic objectives for Roads Policing and will inform and guide An Garda Síochána’s road policing plans over the next 5 years.
The 2017 Garda Policing Plan has indicated a commitment to increase the number of personnel dedicated to traffic duties by 10% to reflect the increasing numbers of personnel across the entire organisation. Given that there was no recruitment for a period of five years it will take some time before there are fully trained officers available to replace the number of personnel that have retired across the entire organisation, including traffic. However, the Commissioner has confirmed that the personnel requirements of the Garda Traffic Corps is currently being assessed to identifying the most vulnerable areas in regard to serious traffic collisions and the level of compliance to Road Traffic Legislation. Combined with this data I am informed that the Assistant Commissioner, Roads Policing and Major Event/Emergency Management is currently assessing the capacity of Divisions and Districts to identify and target areas where An Garda Síochána could accelerate the deployment of personnel to traffic in 2017. The filling of the vacancies identified will be conducted on a structured basis and will be further enhanced with the recently renewed recruitment campaigns to An Garda Síochána.
Road traffic legislation is, of course, also enforced as part of the day to day duties of members of An Garda Síochána. Both targeted and general methods of enforcement have a valuable role to play in An Garda Síochána's enforcement programme, which targets locations with a view to preventing the commission of offences, detecting errant motorists, changing their behaviour and ultimately reducing death and injuries on our roads. As roads policing is the duty of every Garda member, this duty is not reserved for Garda members of the Traffic Corps. Similarly, members of the Traffic Corps are required to engage in the core activity of An Garda Síochána concerning the prevention and detection of crime.
The Road Traffic (Fixed Charge Offences — Cyclists) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 331 of 2015) provide for the issuing of Fixed Charge Notices (FCNs) to cyclists. I have requested details of the number of FCNs issued to cyclists in 2016, from the Garda Commissioner and I will arrange for this to be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as this is to hand.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A
I refer to Parliamentary Question No. 96 for answer on Wednesday, 15 February 2017, the text of which was as follows:-
"To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she is considering additional resources to all Gardaí to issue summonses to cyclists found to break road laws; and if she will make a statement of the matter."
At the time I responded that I would request the information sought by the Deputy from the Commissioner and I would write directly to you on receipt of the same.
I am informed by the Commissioner that the recommencement of Garda recruitment has facilitated the allocation of additional resources to all Garda Divisions. An Garda Síochána will ensure that additional resources are allocated to Roads Policing Units incrementally in accordance with An Garda Síochána’s Policing Plan for 2017. However, it remains the duty of every member of An Garda Síochána to enforce the provisions of the Road Traffic legislation and other relevant legislation to contribute to reducing the number of fatal and serious injury road traffic collisions involving all road-users, including pedestrians and pedal cyclists. Certain road traffic offences specifically relating to pedal cyclists on public roads became Fixed Charge Notice (FCN) offences on 31 July 2015. The offences include a cyclist riding a pedal cycle without reasonable consideration; no front lamp or rear lamp lit during lighting-up hours; cycling in pedestrianised street or area; a cyclist proceeding past traffic lights when the red lamp is illuminate; a cyclist proceeding past cycle traffic lights when red lamp is lit; a cyclist failing to stop for a School Warden sign; a cyclist going beyond a stop line, barrier or half barrier at a railway level crossing, swing bridge or lifting bridge, when the red lamps are flashing.
I am further informed by the Commissioner that the number of FCNs issued to pedal cyclists in each year since such offences became FCN offences on 31 uly 2015, is as set out in the table,
|
Yeqar |
Total number of FCNs issued to pedal cyclists |
|
2017* |
337 |
|
2016 |
631 |
|
2015 |
558 |
*Valid as of 19 June 2017 I hope this information is of assistance.
97. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the safeguards and supports in place for persons found to be the victims of trafficking; the procedure in place for persons residing here illegally who have been tricked by people traffickers and are therefore without documentation and reluctant to make themselves known to authorities. [7740/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland endeavours to achieve best practice in its victim-centred approach to combating human trafficking and provides a wide range of services to victims of trafficking. These include accommodation (where necessary), medical care and planning, psychological assistance, material assistance, legal aid and advice, security advice, vocational training and education.
The Government recognises that Human Trafficking is a hidden crime, and that victims may be reluctant to make themselves known to authorities. In making determinations as to whether a person is a suspected victim of human trafficking, An Garda Síochana takes into account any information provided by NGOs. In circumstances in which persons have no legal basis to remain in the State, the Administrative Immigration Arrangements for the Protection of Victims of Trafficking provide for the granting of a 60 day recovery and reflection period. This may be followed by a 6-month renewable temporary residence permission, where the trafficked person wishes to assist An Garda Síochána or other relevant authorities in any investigation or prosecution in relation to the alleged trafficking. Ireland's approach to the issue of Human Trafficking is further set out in the Second National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking in Ireland which was published in October 2016.
