Written Answers Nos. 116-128
116. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the name of each venue that was granted a late licence in County Galway during 2018 and to date in 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27114/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra117. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the name of each venue that was been granted a licence in County Galway during 2018 and to date in 2019 for hosting underage discos; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27115/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 116 and 117 together.
As the Deputy is aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions, which include the provision of information on the courts system.
However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that there were 3,690 Special Exemption Orders granted in County Galway in 2018 and 1,538 to date in 2019.
The Courts Service has advised that the details of Licences are contained in the Register of Licences, which is available for inspection on the payment of the appropriate fee. The Courts Service has further advised that to extract the names of all of the people/venues which received Special Exemption Orders would involve a significant manual exercise requiring the expenditure of a disproportionate amount of staff time.
The Courts Service has also informed me that it does not record the reasons for applications for Special Exemptions.
The Courts Service has indicated that in relation to "underage discos" it is unlikely that Special Exemption Orders would be sought since serving alcohol to those under 18 would be illegal.
118. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons summoned to court for not paying a fixed charge notice relating to driving while holding a mobile phone by District Court in each of the years 2017 and 2018 and to date in 2019; the number convicted of this offence in each year by District Court; the number of driving licences recorded upon conviction by District Court in each year; the number of persons and reasons for non-conviction of this offence by District Court in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27121/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions, and this includes the provision of information on the courts system.
I have requested information from the Courts Service in relation to this matter and the Courts Service has stated it will contact the Deputy directly as soon as the information is to hand.
119. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons summoned to court for not paying a fixed charge notice for speeding by District Court in each of the years 2017 and 2018 and to date in 2019; the number convicted of this offence in each year by District Court; the number of driving licences recorded upon conviction by District Court in each year; the number of persons and reasons for non-conviction of this offence by District Court in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27122/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions, and this includes the provision of information on the courts system.
I have requested information from the Courts Service in relation to this matter and the Courts Service has stated it will contact the Deputy directly as soon as the information is to hand.
120. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons summoned to court for drink driving by District Court in each of the years 2017 and 2018 and to date in 2019; the number convicted of this offence in each year by District Court; the number of driving licences recorded upon conviction by District Court in each year; the number of persons and reasons for non-conviction of this offence by District Court in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27123/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions, and this includes the provision of information on the courts system.
I have requested information from the Courts Service in relation to this matter and the Courts Service has stated it will contact the Deputy directly as soon as the information is to hand.
121. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of places for young persons in the Garda youth diversion projects in Dublin by area; if there has been a decrease in gardaí referring young persons to these projects; if so, the reason; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27130/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are currently 37 Garda Youth Diversion Projects in Dublin. Projects do not have a defined number of places and the number of young people participating in a project at any one time will depend on a number of factors, primarily on the number of referrals and the individual assessment of potential participants in terms of risk. If a project identifies that they do not have adequate resources to provide the service to their community, additional resources may be provided in support, such as additional funding for staff.
The Garda Youth Diversion Projects receive referrals from a number of sources, but primarily from the Garda Juvenile Liaison Officers. The decision to refer an individual young person to a local Garda Youth Diversion Project is an operational matter for the Garda authorities and neither I as Minister nor my Department have any involvement.
The Table below sets out the numbers of young people who engaged with the Garda Youth Diversion Projects in Dublin in 2018 per Garda District. I have asked the Garda authorities if there has been a reduction in JLO referrals and the underlying reasons for any change in trends and will revert to the Deputy directly as soon as their reply is to hand.
TABLE
|
Garda District |
Participants |
|
Balbriggan |
33 |
|
Ballymun |
83 |
|
Blackrock |
17 |
|
Blanchardstown |
164 |
|
Bridewell |
34 |
|
Clondalkin |
88 |
|
Clontarf |
15 |
|
Coolock |
93 |
|
Crumlin |
27 |
|
Dún Laoghaire |
43 |
|
Fitzgibbon Street |
37 |
|
Kevin Street |
98 |
|
Lucan |
65 |
|
Raheny |
24 |
|
Store Street |
18 |
|
Tallaght |
197 |
|
Grand Total |
1036 |
122. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the funding allocated to the Irish Youth Justice Service in each of the years 2011 to 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27162/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will be aware the Irish Youth Justice Service is comprised of co-located staff of my Department and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. My Department currently funds some 106 local Garda Youth Diversion Projects, a number of measures of training and support for those projects, a mentoring initiative and a number of other initiatives including two pilot projects working with harder-to-engage young people. The Table below sets out the position in relation to the funding of all such community-based projects and their supports as sought by the Deputy.
TABLE
|
Year |
Allocation € millions |
Expenditure € millions |
|
2011 |
16,757 |
16,753 |
|
2012 |
16,757 |
16,691 |
|
2013 |
16,757 |
16,741 |
|
2014 |
16,937 |
16,930 |
123. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which he remains satisfied that adequate resources are made available to An Garda Síochána to enable it to combat gangland wars; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27181/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for the allocation of the very substantial resources that An Garda Síochána receives. Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities.
A core focus of the work carried out by An Garda Síochána is aimed at tackling drugs and organised crime. An Garda Síochána continues to develop and implement operations and strategies to target, dismantle and disrupt organised criminal networks, utilising advanced analytical and intelligence methodologies. It is important to note that Gardaí, supported by the significant resources allocated to it by this Government, have made important progress in tackling the insidious threat of organised crime. The resources available to the Commissioner have reached unprecedented levels and I am pleased that Budget 2019 provides for the continuation of this with an increase of €110 million in the Garda Vote to bring total provision available in 2019 to €1.76 billion which includes up to €95 million for the payment of overtime.
The Criminal Assets Bureau was established as a national multi-disciplinary agency specialising in targeting the proceeds of crime. The Bureau draws together the necessary expertise from a number of Departments and agencies. The Bureau has for some considerable time maintained a presence in each of the Garda Divisions through the operation of the Divisional Assets Profiler Programme. Under this Programme asset profilers are providing a criminal asset profiling service across the Garda Divisions in relation to persons or suspects operating within the area, with particular reference to those involved in serious and organised crime. The Bureau utilises the local knowledge supplied to it by the asset profilers which enables it to target the proceeds of crime in local communities. I can inform the Deputy that a number of legislative measures have been introduced to tackle gang-related and associated crime including the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2016 which provides additional powers for Gardaí; in particular, powers to allow for the immediate seizure of assets suspected of being the proceeds of crime to prevent them being disposed of.
Since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014, almost 2,800 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide. This and on-going recruitment will clearly provide significant additional policing hours throughout the country, both in terms of the increase in new Gardaí and the redeployment of Gardaí to frontline policing duties due to civilianisation of their current roles. These new resources coming on stream have allowed the Commissioner to allocate additional resources to the specialist bureaus that comprise Garda Special Crime Operations including the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.
The Garda capital allocation has increased from €61 million to €92 million in 2019, a 50% increase. This will facilitate investment of around €65 million in ICT which is now an important element of the fight against organised crime. This substantial investment will provide new and leading edge technology to support our front line Gardaí in their daily work in tackling the scourge of organised crime in our communities.
I can assure the Deputy that I remain in close contact with the Commissioner to ensure that the necessary resources are available to An Garda Síochána to robustly confront and tackle those involved in organised criminal acts.
124. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of members of An Garda Síochána, including Reserve members, available for duty at all times nationally; the extent to which membership of the force continues to be deployed in order to bring the strength of the force up to optimum levels in all areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27182/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is statutorily responsible for the management of An Garda Síochána, including personnel matters, and I, as Minister, do not have responsibility for this matter.
I am informed by the Commissioner that as of the 30 April 2019, the latest date for which information is available, the overall strength of An Garda Síochána was 14,126 with 508 Reserves and 2,659 Civilians.
I am further informed by the Commissioner that a class of approximately 100 Garda reserve recruits commenced training on 23/24 March 2019 at the Garda College, Templemore. This is a positive development and delivers on the target set out under 'A Policing Service for the Future', the implementation plan for the Report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland.
The Commissioner has this year been provided with an additional €100 million bringing his budget to almost €1.8 billion, which includes provision for the recruitment of up to 800 Gardaí this year. The Commissioner plans to recruit a total of 600 trainee Gardaí in 2019 and a net 600 Garda Staff. This Garda Staff recruitment will allow the Commissioner to redeploy a further 500 fully trained Gardaí from administrative duties to frontline policing in 2019.
Since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014, almost 2,800 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide. Garda numbers reached the target of 14,000 by the end of 2018 and are on track to reach 15,000 by 2021.
I believe that the injection of this large number of experienced officers into the field, along with the new recruits, will be really beneficial in terms of protecting communities. This and on-going recruitment will clearly provide the Commissioner with the resources needed to deploy increasing numbers of Gardaí to deliver a visible effective and responsive policing service to communities across all Garda Divisions.
For more general information on Garda Facts and Figures please see the link below
http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/An_Garda_Siochana_facts_and_figures
125. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if and when statistics for 2018 are being released by the CSO with a view to measuring the extent to which the new bail guidelines are preventing or reducing the incidents of recidivism, with particular reference to the need to determine if a major reduction in reoffending while on bail is being achieved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27184/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra127. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of incidents of reoffending while on bail that have been reported throughout 2018 and to date in 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27186/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 125 and 127 together.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, is responsible for the compilation and publication of the recorded crime statistics, and the CSO has established a dedicated unit for this purpose. I have asked the CSO to forward any available statistics in relation to the information requested directly to the Deputy.
However, I understand that due to changes to the PULSE system implemented during 2018 in respect of how offenders are recorded, bail figures for 2018 are not directly comparable with previous years.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Criminal Justice Act 2017 strengthens the operation of the bail system with the aim of making the law as effective as possible in protecting the public against crimes committed by persons on bail.
Under the Act, a Court, in considering an application for bail, is required to have regard to persistent serious offending by an applicant for bail and the nature and seriousness of any danger presented by the grant of bail to a person charged with an offence that carries a penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment or more. The Court will also have the power, in certain cases, to hear evidence from the victim of an offence before a decision on bail is taken.
Where an accused person is granted bail, the Act provides for stricter bail terms for repeat serious offenders, strengthens Garda powers to deal with breaches of bail, increases the use of curfews, and, where requested by Gardaí, allows for the introduction of electronic tagging for those on bail in certain circumstances.
126. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which various cold cases continue to receive attention; if he remains satisfied with the adequacy of resources available in respect of such cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27185/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by the Garda authorities that the Serious Crime Review Team (SCRT) continues to review serious cases that remain unsolved including the identification of evidence and witnesses to assist in the development of these cases.
I am further advised that at the conclusion of each review by the SCRT, a substantive report is provided to the Senior Investigating Officer who considers the opportunities for further investigation. Any recommendation of organisational effect is disseminated within the Garda organisation to improve the overall investigative capability of An Garda Síochána.
As the Deputy will be aware, the provision and allocation of Garda resources is a matter for the Garda Commissioner and his management team in the light of identified operational demands. However all Garda activities, including the investigation of unsolved cases, will benefit from 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.
Indeed, the resources provided by Government to An Garda Síochána have reached unprecedented levels, with an allocation for 2019 of €1.76 billion. This represents an increase of over 6% over the initial allocation for 2018.
128. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent of gender balance within An Garda Síochána at all ranks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27187/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by the Commissioner that the total number of women in all ranks of An Garda Síochána as of the 31 May 2019, the latest date for which figures are currently available was 3,780 or approximately 27% of the total strength of 14,099. This compares favourably with 3,130 or 21.7% of the total strength on 31 December 2008. While this is broadly in line with other police services in England and Wales, there is clearly plenty of scope for improvement.
In the course of its work the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland (CoFPI) held semi-structured focus group discussions with female Garda members to explore the experiences of female Garda personnel regarding their careers, training and development and future prospects. Among the recommendations made in the CoFPI report, which the Government adopted in December 2018, is the reform of the current roster and greater flexibility of work practices which would enhance the attractiveness and job satisfaction of a career in An Garda Síochána.
In addition, the report also recommended that An Garda Síochána should reflect the diversity of Irish society, not only in gender and ethnicity, but also in terms of socio-economic, educational and geographical backgrounds and that they would need to develop recruitment strategies which reach a more diverse intake.
An Garda Síochána is developing a Garda Diversity and Inclusion Strategy which is at an advanced stage and recognises the importance of recruiting from a wide cross-section of the population so that the organisation provides a policing service that reflects the growing diversity of Irish society.
A concerted effort is being made to encourage women and minority communities to consider a career in An Garda Síochána so that its membership reflects the community that it serves. Recent recruitment campaigns have made a significant effort through on-line videos and other media to attract candidates from minority communities and diverse social groups. In the most recent recruitment campaign a series of videos and text were produced in multiple languages including English, Irish, French, Spanish, Italian and Arabic. They were published on the Garda Facebook page which has more than 180,000 followers.
For the Deputy's information I have attached below in tabular form, as requested, the Garda strength by gender and rank on the 31 May 2019, the latest date for which figures are currently available, as supplied by the Commissioner.
Garda Members as at 31/05/2019
|
Rank |
Male |
Female |
Female as % of total |
|
Commissioner |
1 |
0 |
0% |
|
Deputy Commissioner |
1 |
0 |
0% |
|
Assistant Commissioner |
7 |
2 |
22% |
|
Chief Superintendent |
39 |
8 |
17% |
|
Superintendent |
153 |
15 |
9% |
|
Inspector |
316 |
64 |
17% |
|
Sergeant |
1602 |
431 |
21% |
|
Garda |
8200 |
3260 |
28% |
|
Totals |
10,319 |
3,780 |
27% |
