Niamh Smyth
Ceist:240. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the residency status in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54008/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraNaturalisation Applications
Ceisteanna (240)
Freagraí scríofa
I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the processing of the application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to by the Deputy, who currently has permission to reside in the State until 18 March 2018, is ongoing.
A letter issued to the person concerned on 12 December 2017 requesting certain information. Upon receipt of the requested information the case will be further processed and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible.
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.
It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. While most straightforward cases are generally processed within six months, the nature of the naturalisation process is such that, for a broad range of reasons, some cases will take longer than others to process. In some instances, completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time.
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.
Public Relations Contracts Expenditure
Ceisteanna (241)
Jim O'Callaghan
Ceist:241. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the details of spending by his Department on external public relations in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54009/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
It has not been possible to answer this question in the time available. I will write to the Deputy directly in relation to this matter in due course.
Prisoner Data
Ceisteanna (242)
Clare Daly
Ceist:242. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 266 of 5 December 2017, if he will clarify that while the absolute numbers of prisoners on restricted regimes have decreased, the percentage of prisoners on restricted regimes has doubled between October 2013 and October 2017. [54017/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I am advised by my officials in the Irish Prison Service that the census of July 2013 recorded a total prisoner population of 4,180, 339 of which were subject to a restricted regime. Of this 339, 211 prisoners were on 22/23 hour lock up, a further 65 prisoners were on 21 hour lock up and 63 prisoners were on 19 hour lock up.
The October 2017 census reported a total prisoner population of 3,665. Of this figure, 428 prisoners were subject to a restricted regime. This included a total of 9 prisoners on 22/23 hour lock up, a reduction of 202 on the July 2013 figures. I wish to advise the Deputy that the total of 428 also includes 379 prisoners who had voluntarily requested protection under Rule 63.
The Prison Rules 2007 provide that the imposition of restricted regimes is closely monitored by the Irish Prison Service (IPS). The key statistics concerning prisoners on restricted regimes are collated by the IPS Statistics Unit for publication quarterly on its website (www.irishprisons.ie), under Census of Restricted Regime Prisoners July 2013 to October 2017.
Legal Services Regulation
Ceisteanna (243)
Catherine Murphy
Ceist:243. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 224 of 14 November 2017, if the reports that the Legal Service Regulatory Authority forwarded to him, a section 119 report of public consultation on multidisciplinary practices and section 120 report of public consultation on certain matters relating to barristers, have been laid before Dáil Éireann; if not, the reasons for not laying these reports as mentioned in his initial response to that question; the date on which he will lay them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54133/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I am happy to confirm by way of reply to Deputy Murphy that the two reports to which she has referred have been laid before each House of the Oireachtas as received and will also, I understand, be made similarly available on the web-site of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority, www.LSRA.ie.
Cross-Border Co-operation
Ceisteanna (244)
Declan Breathnach
Ceist:244. Deputy Declan Breathnach asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the cross-Border crime agency; the number of staff involved and agencies engaged; the annual budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54151/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I take it that the Deputy is referring to the Joint Agency Task Force which is led by police and revenue services in Ireland and the Northern Ireland and brings together the relevant law enforcement agencies in both jurisdictions to better co-ordinate strategic and operational actions against cross-border organised crime. It involves senior officers from An Garda Síochána, the PSNI, the Revenue Commissioners and HM Revenue and Customs; it also includes the Criminal Assets Bureau and UK National Crime Agency (who have the primary role in criminal assets recovery) as well as other appropriate law enforcement services (such as environmental protection agencies and immigration services) when required by the operations of the Task Force. The establishment of the Joint Agency Task Force was a commitment of the Irish and British Governments in the 2015 Fresh Start Agreement and the Task Force has been operational since early 2016.
The Joint Agency Task Force consists of a Strategic Oversight Group which identifies and manages the strategic priorities for combatting cross-jurisdictional organised crime and an Operations Co-ordination Group which co-ordinates joint operations and directs the necessary multi-agency resources for those operations.
As the Joint Agency Task Force is a multi-agency coordination structure is does not have a defined staffing complement or budget. Personnel from the participating agencies in both jurisdictions are assigned for specific operations. Similarly, budget resources are deployed from the various elements of an Garda Síochána, the Criminal Assets Bureau and other agencies as necessary for particular operational requirements.
I am very satisfied with the operation of the Joint Agency Task Force in the two years since its inception. There have, for example, been specific operations targeting rural crime, child sexual exploitation and human trafficking for labour exploitation that have resulted in a number of arrests, the seizure of stolen vehicles, equipment and other goods, cash and drugs and the identification by the Revenue services of unregistered business interests. In respect of rural crime, there was also a specific focus on awareness-raising and providing crime prevention advice at community level on both sides of the border.
The Joint Agency Task Force is just one example of the extensive co-operation that is undertaken between police and criminal justice agencies in the State and in Northern Ireland. I commend the work of all of the agencies involved in combatting cross-border criminal activity.
Gender Equality
Ceisteanna (245)
Fiona O'Loughlin
Ceist:245. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to introduce gender quotas for the boards of publicly listed companies here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54154/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020 contains the following actions:
"4.1 Commission an independent review of the situation of women in the governance and senior management of companies in Ireland and of measures to promote and to increase women’s representation, such as targets for business.
4.2 Informed by the recommendations of the independent review (at action 4.1), develop and implement a package of measures to promote greater representation of women on corporate boards and in the senior management of companies."
I hope to be in a position to make an announcement about the independent review early in the New Year.