Written Answers Nos. 106-115
106. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will report on the actions and investigations being taken on foot of the reports of the Moriarty tribunal; the status of these investigations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52497/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra107. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will report on the status of the investigations by An Garda Síochána and the Director of Public Prosecutions into the findings of the Flood and Mahon tribunals; the stage these investigations are at; when he expects a decision to be reached; if he has set a deadline for this decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52498/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra108. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will report on the status of investigations by An Garda Síochána and the Director of Public Prosecutions into the findings of the Moriarty tribunal; the stage these investigations are at; when he expects a decision to be reached; if he has set a deadline for this decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52499/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 106 to 108, inclusive, together.
The consideration of criminal investigations is clearly a matter for the Garda authorities, and likewise it is a matter for the DPP to decide, independently, if any charges should be brought. It is not open to me, as Minister, to set deadlines in relation to these matters and it would be most inappropriate to attempt to go into the detail of ongoing Garda inquiries. I trust that all members of this House would wish to ensure that nothing is said that might in any way impinge on the progress of subsequent criminal proceedings.
I am advised that the position in relation to these matters remains unchanged at present. I am advised by the Garda authorities that investigations relating to the findings of the Flood and Mahon Tribunals, as well as the investigation of certain matters arising from the report of the Moriarty Tribunal, are ongoing. I am also advised that relevant liaison is maintained by Gardaí with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Deputy will appreciate that investigations of the matters in question may involve very extensive interviews and enquiries. While I do of course appreciate public concern about these matters, I am advised that the overriding concern for An Garda Síochána is to ensure that these investigations are carried out as comprehensively and effectively as possible.
The Government remains committed to supporting An Garda Síochána in pursuing all criminal investigations and this is underlined by the very significant investments which have been made in policing resources – all of which will support enhanced investigation and detection of crime, and benefit ongoing investigations.
This Government has made it abundantly clear that we are entirely committed to tackling corruption, as well as the broader 'white collar crime' area. This was evidenced by the significant package of measures we launched last month. The Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Bill has already passed second stage in this House on 15 November 2017 and a date for Committee Stage is awaited.
This Bill includes legislative provision for recommendations arising from the Mahon Tribunal and will substantially advance meeting Ireland’s obligations under a number of international anti-corruption instruments. This major modernisation of corruption offences law will repeal and replace the seven previous Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889 to 2010.
109. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the date by which the tender process to secure the membership of two academics for the scoping group to consider the availability of data and make recommendations on a study to identify the prevalence of sexual abuse and violence here and emerging trends will be completed. [52500/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraState Departments/agencies have now nominated officials to the scoping group. As the Deputy is aware a tender has issued to secure the membership of 2 academics with appropriate expertise in qualitative and quantitative data gathering. The closing date for tenders from academics is 11 December. It is intended that the selection will be made by the Chair of the Group (Professor Watson of the ESRI) in consultation with Cosc and that this process will be completed within a few days following the closing date for tenders.
110. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his Department has written to each applicant to the Magdalen restorative justice scheme that was rejected and asserted a longer duration of stay than was accepted by his Department to advise them of their right to reapply in view of the Ombudsman's recent report, Opportunity Lost, on his Department's administration of the scheme and in particular the Ombudsman's finding that his Department gave undue weight to the evidence supplied by the religious congregations in determining access to the scheme. [52507/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is giving full and detailed consideration to each of the four recommendations made by the Ombudsman in his report published on 23 November 2017.
The Ombudsman recommended that there should be a review of any cases where there has been a dispute over length of stay. No particular difficulty is foreseen with this recommendation and my Department is exploring the options for doing so.
The Ombudsman also recommended that certain industrial schools and training centres should also be included in the scheme notwithstanding the fact that such applicants may have already received payments under the Residential Institutions Redress Scheme for the same period. This recommendation raises a number of administrative, resource and legal implications which are currently being examined.
It is important to note that the existing Scheme remains open. To date 684 applicants to the Magdalen scheme have received their ex-gratia payments at a cost of €25.7m. The terms of the scheme recommended to Government by the Justice Quirke included the payment of “lump” sums in a range from €11,500 to €100,000, special access to health care, upgrading of pension entitlements to the full State Pension for those who had reached retirement age, and payment of a weekly sum of €100 inclusive of other State payments to others.
111. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda personnel attached to the three districts in County Longford in the past seven years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52511/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra112. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda personnel attached to County Westmeath districts in the past seven years. [52512/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 111 and 112 together.
As the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who 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. Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the optimum use is made of these resources.
The Garda strength of the Roscommon/Longford Division on 31 October 2017 was 309 with 9 Garda Reserves and 29 Garda civilian staff attached to the Division. The Garda strength of the Westmeath Division on 31 October 2017 was 266 with 13 Garda Reserves and 24 Garda civilian staff attached to the Division. When appropriate, the work of local Gardaí is supported by a number of Garda national units such as the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Armed Support Units, the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.
As the Deputy will be aware, 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 to deter crime. To achieve this the Government has put in place a plan for an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. We are making real, tangible progress on achieving this goal.
I am informed by the Commissioner that since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014, close to 1,400 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide, of whom 10 and 27 have been assigned to the Roscommon/Longford and Westmeath Divisions respectively. I look forward to attending the graduation of another 200 trainee Gardaí tomorrow 8 December, which will see Garda numbers, taking account of projected retirements, increase to around the 13,500 mark by year end - a net increase of 500 since the end of 2016.
I am also pleased that Budget 2018 maintains this high level of investment in the Garda workforce and ensures that the vision of an overall workforce of 21,000 by 2021 remains on track. A further 800 new Garda Recruits will enter the Garda College. This will see Garda numbers reach the 14,000 mark by the end of 2018.
In addition, a further 500 civilians will also be recruited to fill critical skills gaps across the organisation and to facilitate the redeployment of Gardaí from administrative and technical duties to front-line operational duties. There are plans to strengthen the Garda Reserve with new Reserves expected to commence training early in 2018.
This focus on investment in personnel is critical. The moratorium on recruitment introduced in 2010 resulted in a significant reduction in the strength of An Garda Síochána. We are now rebuilding the organisation and providing the Commissioner with the resources needed to deploy increasing numbers of Gardaí across every Garda Division, including the Roscommon/Longford and Westmeath Divisions in the coming years.
I am informed by the Commissioner that the Garda strength of the Roscommon/Longford and Westmeath Districts for the past seven years and as of 31 October 2017, the latest date for which figures are readily available are as set out in the following tables.
Strength of the Westmeath Districts
|
Year |
Athlone |
Mullingar |
Total |
|
2010 |
93 |
169 |
262 |
|
2011 |
92 |
163 |
255 |
|
2012 |
92 |
162 |
254 |
|
2013 |
87 |
158 |
245 |
|
2014 |
85 |
160 |
245 |
|
2015 |
86 |
160 |
246 |
|
2016 |
86 |
156 |
242 |
|
2017* |
93 |
173 |
266 |
*As of 31 October 2017
Strength of the Roscommon/Longford Districts
|
Year |
Boyle |
Castlerea |
Granard |
Longford |
Roscommon |
Total |
|
2010 |
41 |
50 |
42 |
76 |
92 |
301 |
|
2011 |
35 |
46 |
41 |
74 |
90 |
286 |
|
2012 |
36 |
45 |
39 |
73 |
87 |
280 |
|
2013 |
- |
82 |
39 |
78 |
86 |
285 |
|
2014 |
- |
84 |
41 |
78 |
82 |
285 |
|
2015 |
- |
87 |
39 |
84 |
82 |
292 |
|
2016 |
- |
87 |
47 |
87 |
80 |
301 |
|
2017 |
- |
89 |
47 |
88 |
85 |
309 |
As of 31 October 2017
113. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 128 of 23 November 2017 regarding the case of a person (details supplied), if his attention has been drawn to the fact that no such permission issued; if the extension to stamp 4 will issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52517/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the responsibility for the registration process and confiscated passport of the person concerned, is a matter which must ultimately be resolved between the person concerned and their local Immigration Registration Office.
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.
114. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if regularisation of residency status can be approved in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52518/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that it is not possible to identify the person referred to by the Deputy due to the lack of detail provided. If the Deputy can provide further details such as the person's full name (if different from that already provided), their date of birth, their GNIB Registration Number, a Passport number, I will have the matter investigated further. If it is the case that the person in question has not engaged with the immigration service already he or she should do so as soon as possible.
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.
115. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when consideration will be given to the residency status in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52520/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned is the subject of a Deportation Order, made on 11 March 2005, following a comprehensive and thorough examination of their asylum claim and a detailed examination of the representations they submitted for consideration under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended).
The person concerned, through their legal representative, has made a request to have that Deportation Order revoked, based on the provisions of Section 3 (11) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended). This request will be considered as soon as it is possible to do so. The Deputy might wish to note that the resulting decision will be to 'affirm' or to 'revoke' the existing Deportation Order.
The person concerned, again through their legal representative, has also sought to be re-admitted to the asylum/protection process, pursuant to the provisions of Section 17 (7) of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended) and the initial decision in this regard is currently under review. Once a final decision has been arrived at, it will be notified in writing. The Deputy might wish to note that the resulting decision in this instance will be to re-admit, or refuse to re-admit, the person concerned to the asylum/protection process.
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.
