Tuesday, 8 Dec 2020

Written Answers Nos. 500-520

Road Traffic Offences

Ceisteanna (500)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

500. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice , further to Parliamentary Question No. 145 on 18 November 2020, the number of learner drivers in 2019 and up to 31 October 2020 who failed to pay the fixed charge notice or FCN issued for driving unaccompanied by a qualified driver, under the Clancy amendment; the number who were summoned to court per year for failure to pay; the number convicted; the fines imposed per year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41289/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy is aware, the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2018, also known as the Clancy Amendment, seeks to penalise car owners who knowingly allow their vehicles to be used by an unaccompanied learner driver. The law allows the owners of these vehicles to be fined and gives Gardaí the power to seize their cars if being driven by unaccompanied drivers.  

The following table, furnished to me by the Garda authorities, shows the number of Fixed Charge Notices, issued for Learner Drivers unaccompanied by a qualified driver was as follows: 

Year	FCNs Issued
2019	6145
Jan - Oct 2020	5468

It is worth noting, the information contained in the table is based upon operational data from the PULSE and FCPS systems as was available on 4 December 2020 and is liable to change.

The following table, provided to me by the Courts Service, outlines the number of learner drivers unaccompanied by a qualified driver, who were summoned to court for failure to pay, the number convicted and the fines imposed for the period in question.      

Year	No. of Persons summoned to Court	No. of Persons convicted	No. of Fines imposed	Value of Fines imposed
2019	1,496	489	543	€89,449.00
Jan – Oct 2020	887	175	184	€29,865.00

Please note that the Courts Service can only provide data in relation to where offence codes provided on the system were used by prosecutors. Prosecutors may have used uncoded free text offences and any such offences would not be included in the data provided.

 It is also worth noting that the number of fines imposed is per offence and not persons.

Road Traffic Offences

Ceisteanna (501)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

501. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice , further to Parliamentary Question No. 167 of 17 September 2020, if the information requested by her from An Garda Síochána and the Courts Service on the number of drivers detected driving without a licence in 2018, 2019 and up to 31 July 2020 has been received; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41290/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The Deputy will appreciate that road traffic legislation falls within the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Transport.

I am informed by An Garda Síochána that section 38 of the Road Traffic Act 1961, as amended by section 12 of the Road Traffic Act 2006, creates the offence of ‘Driving without a Driving Licence’. The penalty for this offence is, upon summary conviction, a fine not exceeding €1,000, and in any other case, a fine not exceeding €2,000.

I am further informed that section 38 (5) of the Road Traffic Act 1961, as amended by Section 12 of the Road Traffic Act 2006, provides an increased penalty in respect of a person who is summarily convicted of the offence of Driving without a Driving Licence and was, at the time he or she committed the offence, disqualified for holding a driving licence, namely a fine not exceeding €5,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both.

The following table, provided by An Garda Síochána, shows the number of proceedings taken in relation to Driving without a driving licence 2018-2020. 2020 figures are for the period from January – July 2020.

Year	2018	2019	2020 (Jan – July)
Driving without a Driving licence	22,527	20,557	10,515

* All figures provided are provisional, operational and subject to change.

Please note that we have been advised by An Garda Síochána that these statistics are not compiled in such a way as to identify specific number of arrests for driving while disqualified under section 6(b) and (c) of the Road Traffic Act, as this would necessitate an extensive manual trawl of all relevant incidents recorded on PULSE to collate same, which would require a disproportionate expenditure of Garda time and resources.

Further to the statistics provided by An Garda Síochána, the Courts Service have provided the below tables. Please note that the Court Service have advised that they can only provide data in relation to where offence codes provided on the system were used by prosecutors. Prosecutors may have used uncoded free text offences and any such offences would not be included in the data provided.

Number of drivers before the courts by way of summons or charge sheet for driving without a licence for 2018, 2019 and Jan – July 2020 

Year	No. of Persons before the Courts
Jan – Dec 2018	16,851
Jan – Dec 2019	17,726
Jan – July 2020	7,531

 Report on the number of orders and number of persons per order for the years 2018; 2019 & Jan – July 2020

-		Jan – Dec 2018		Jan – Dec 2019		Jan – 31 July 2020
Court Orders	No. of Orders	No. of Persons	No. of Orders	No. of Persons	No. of Orders	No. of Persons
Community Service Order	66	64	76	68	21	19
Dismiss	184	176	253	242	122	120
Dismiss Probation Act	44	44	53	52	9	9
Disqualification	480	411	535	445	216	176
Fine	3,440	3,166	3,428	3,100	1,094	1,016
Imprisonment	234	171	312	244	123	86
Imprisonment - Part Suspended	1	1	1	1	1	1
Imprisonment   - Suspended	180	177	194	187	63	56
No Order	89	83	115	95	41	39
Other	3	3	12	6	2	2
Peace Bond	3	3	2	2	3	3
Poor Box	6	6	11	11	3	3
Probation Order	52	34	45	37	8	8
Sent forward for Trial			3	3	1	1
Strike Out	6,813	6,386	6,449	6,041	2,122	2,032
Strike Out - Not Served	4,680	3,865	4,986	4,184	2,728	2,485
Taken Into Consideration	3,623	2,826	3,903	2,990	1,451	1,144
Withdrawn	1,621	1,545	2,365	2,265	924	897
Total	21,519	18,961	22,743	19,973	8,932	8,097

Please note that a person may have received more than one order and will appear on the above report twice and an offence may have more than one penalty imposed and as such will also appear twice on the report.

Road Traffic Offences

Ceisteanna (502)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

502. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice , further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 168, 172 and 173 of 17 September 2020, if she has received the report requested from An Garda Síochána and the Courts Service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41291/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

I refer to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 168, 172 and 173, which were for answer on 17 September 2020, where the Deputy asked:

- If An Garda Síochána is capturing driver licence numbers at point of detection and recording the driver number on summonses; if the Courts Service is accepting this data and inputting the information on the disqualification orders for recording onto the national vehicle and driver file database.

- If the Courts Service is still using a manual form of sending details of drivers disqualified in court in batches of 1,600 at the end of each month to the RSA for later input onto the national driver file database (the database that Gardaí at the roadside rely on for the latest, most up to date driver information to identify, on the spot, those driving while disqualified); and,

- If I will report on plans by the Courts Service to automate its system of recording drivers disqualified in court and forwarding the data electronically to the national vehicle and driver file.

As you know, I sought clarification from your office in relation to Question No. 168 and you have confirmed you were referring to the licence number. At the outset please allow me to apologise for the delay in responding to your questions.

As you are aware, the Commissioner is responsible for the direction and control of An Garda Síochána. The Garda Commissioner is also responsible for the day to day management of An Garda Síochána which includes operational/road traffic matters.

I have been informed by the Garda authorities that An Garda Síochána have the facility to perform driver look-ups when engaging with motorists, when they are using the Mobility Data Stations.

This aids in the capture of the driver licence number at point of detection and using the Fixed Charge Notice (FCN) App allows this number, once captured, to follow the offence until completed, either by payment of fine or completion in Courts.

As you are 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, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that a project is underway to provide for electronic transfer of disqualification orders to the relevant agency once the time period to lodge an appeal has passed, and no appeal has been lodged. I am further informed that this project is being progressed under the oversight of the Circuit and District Courts Operations Directorate. 

I understand that this project is being pursued by the Courts Service independently of the work ongoing in An Garda Síochána to progress the mobility project.

I am further advised that manual notices continue to be sent to the Road Safety Authority with details of drivers disqualified. However, the Courts Service has been ready to automate the electronic transfer to disqualification to the National Driver Licence Service and the Road Safety Authority since the end of 2019 and are awaiting confirmation from the Department of Transport that they are able to receive the data in this format.

Finally, I am informed that, since 1 May 2020, the Courts Service has been sending the manual Court Notices relating to disqualifications to the Road Safety Authority on a weekly basis as opposed to monthly.

Road Traffic Offences

Ceisteanna (503)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

503. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice , further to Parliamentary Question No.171 of 17 September 2020, if she has received the report requested by An Garda Síochána on the matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41292/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

I refer to your Parliamentary Question No. 171, which was for answer on the 17 September 2020, where you asked if the new Garda mobility device records and stores information on the number of disqualified drivers detected at roadside checks and if An Garda Síochána is keeping records of the number detected driving while disqualified for operational and statistical reasons.  At the outset please allow me to apologise for the delay in responding to you.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the mobile data station is a key tool used by frontline Gardaí in detecting motoring offences, allowing them to access real time information on drivers and vehicles, and most recently to electronically initiate fixed charge penalty notices.

It is part of an overall programme of digitalising policing where Garda tradecraft and experience are being increasingly complemented by device-based access to data. It is important to emphasise that it is the Garda rather than the device that makes the detection. Equally, it should be noted that there is not necessarily a correlation between a look-up on a device and a subsequent detection.

It is important to note that the device does not retain incident data locally for security reasons and it is not possible to definitively answer the question as to the exact number of detections of driving while disqualified made using a mobile data station because PULSE does not differentiate between these instances and detections made by other means.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that statistics are not compiled in such a way as to identify specific numbers of detections or arrests for driving while disqualified (additional powers were provided to An Garda Síochána, allowing the arrest of people who drive while disqualified under section 6(b) and (c) of the Road Traffic Act 2014), as this would necessitate a manual trawl of all relevant incidents recorded on PULSE to collate same, which would require a disproportionate expenditure of Garda time and resources.

Road Traffic Offences

Ceisteanna (504)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

504. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice , further to Parliamentary Question No. 145 of 18 November 2020, the number of registered vehicle owners penalised by the court per year for allowing their vehicle to be driven by an unaccompanied learner driver under the Clancy amendment (details supplied); if she is now in a position to answer my question; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41293/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy is aware, the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2018, also known as the Clancy Amendment, seeks to penalise car owners who knowingly allow their vehicles to be used by an unaccompanied learner driver. The law allows the owners of these vehicles to be fined and gives Gardaí the power to seize their cars if being driven by unaccompanied drivers.  

The following table, furnished to me by the Courts Service, shows the number of registered vehicle owners penalised by the court per year for allowing their vehicle to be driven by an unaccompanied learner driver.

Year	No. of persons before the court	No. of persons convicted
Jan – Dec 2019	26	8
Jan – Oct 2020	21	7

Please note that any offence listed as "Strike out not served" is not included on the report.

Please also note that the Courts can only provide data in relation to where offence codes provided on the system were used by prosecutors. Prosecutors can also use uncoded free text offences and any such offences would not be included in the data provided.

Garda Strength

Ceisteanna (505)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

505. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the number and location of Garda forensic collision investigators; when the last competition for new collision forensic investigators was held and the number trained; when a new competition is planned; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41294/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The Deputy will be aware that the Garda Commissioner is by law responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including personnel matters.  The allocation of Garda resources is made in light of identified operational demand.  This includes deployment of personnel among the various Garda Divisions.  As Minister, I have no direct role in the matter.

I have requested information from the Garda Commissioner in relation to this matter but it was, unfortunately, not possible to compile it in the time available. I will write to the Deputy directly with the information requested, when it is available.

Probate Data

Ceisteanna (506)

Róisín Shortall

Ceist:

506. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Justice the current average processing times for probate applications in Dublin; if there are delays due to the Covid-19 emergency period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41325/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The Probate Office is an office of the High Court and management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in exercising its functions under the Courts Service Act 1998.

However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that the introduction of restrictions under level 5 of the Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021 Plan for Living with COVID-19 necessitated the temporary closure of the personal applications process in the Dublin Probate Office for the six weeks in question.

Appointments with personal applicants will recommence in early January and I am informed that the Office has commenced the process of writing out to applicants to offer them times. Assuming no further imposition of restrictions, the applications on hand are expected to be cleared during January.

I understand the current waiting times for solicitor applications is eight to ten weeks. There has been an increase in the waiting times due to COVID-19. The waiting time has also increased due to a significant number of applications having been lodged by solicitors in September. When the latter cases are processed, the waiting times for solicitors' applications should reduce to eight weeks and should stay at that level for the foreseeable future.

Criminal Assets Bureau

Ceisteanna (507)

Thomas Gould

Ceist:

507. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice the value of seizures by the Criminal Assets Bureau from 2010 to date, in tabular form. [41399/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy may be aware, responsibility for the identification, tracing, freezing, and ultimate confiscation of criminal assets does not rest with a single body in Ireland and is spread across a number of different agencies and statutory bodies, not all of which are the responsibility of the Department of Justice. These include An Garda Síochána, the Criminal Assets Bureau, Revenue, the Chief State Solicitors Office, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Courts. It should be noted that in some cases, funds seized represent overdue/unpaid personal taxation.

I understand that, in accordance with the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Acts 1996-2016, the Criminal Justice Act 1994, as amended, and SI No. 418/2011 - Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011, all confiscations relating to the proceeds of crime are transferred to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to be paid into, or disposed of, for the benefit of the Exchequer. It is from this central fund which the Government draws for expenditure on all necessary public services and investment including for communities affected by crime.

The following tables were provided by CAB indicate the total value of seizures as requested. As outlined, there are a number of pieces of legislation that CAB can utilise to seize assets and the values are broken down by currency. CAB have advised that the figures for 2020 are not available at present and will be published in their annual report once finalised.

The following table sets out the value of assets seized under Section 2 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 to 2016 and returned to the Exchequer under Section 4 and 4A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 to 2016 for the years 2010 to 2019.

Year	Section 2 Interim Orders EURO	Section 2 Interim Orders STERLING	Total sent to Exchequer from Section 4(1) & 4A
2010	7,019,475.88	63,535.00	3,114,312.59
2011	5,384,559.73	6,725.00	2,734,715.22
2012	2,110,334.78		4,850,540.17
2013	2,821,302.00		1,038,680.52
2014	6,760,182.00		467,152.37
2015	941,078.59		1,642,962.29
2016	643,063.07		1,412,920.41
2017	7,020,539.20		1,698,721.08
2018	8,263,582.30		2,271,799.92
2019	64,985,550.30		1,559,726.31
2020	Not available	Not available	Not available

The following table sets out, in tabular format, taxes collected and social welfare recoveries for the years 2010 – 2019.

-	Tax Collections				Social Welfare Recoveries
Year	Amount			Year	Amount
2010	€4,084,498.00			2010	€181,272.00
2011	€3,804,867.00			2011	€454,037.49
2012	€1,967,925.00			2012	€393,797.00
2013	€5,418,000.00			2013	€287,380.00
2014	€3,017,000.00			2014	€335,911.00
2015	€2,038,000.00			2015	€185,354.32
2016	€2,106,000.00			2016	€297,430.12
2017	€2,374,000.00			2017	€319,720.31
2018	€3,097,000.00			2018	€302,673.36
2019	€2,206,000.00			2019	€324,055.73
2020	Not available			2020	Not available

Please note that the 2020 figures are not yet available and will be published in the CAB Annual Report 2020.

Immigration Data

Ceisteanna (508)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

508. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the number of registrations Kildare Garda National Immigration Bureau is processing each week; the average waiting time for an appointment; the current backlog in registrations for the Kildare office; and the opening hours of the office. [41402/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The management and administration of the Immigration Office in Kildare is the responsibility of An Garda Síochána. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have made inquiries with the Commissioner and received the following update.

The Immigration Office in Kildare Garda Station administers immigration registrations for persons living in the Kildare, Newbridge, Athy, Rathangan and Monasterevin areas.

The office currently processes between 30 and 40 applications per week.  The current wait time for an appointment is between 7 and 10 days.

I am advised that there is no backlog in registrations for the Kildare office and the office is open between 9 am and 7.30 pm Monday to Friday.

Immigration Data

Ceisteanna (509)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

509. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the number of registrations Naas Garda National Immigration Bureau is processing each week; the average waiting times for an appointment; the current backlog in registrations for the Naas office; and the opening hours of the office. [41403/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The management and administration of the Immigration Office in Naas is the responsibility of An Garda Síochána. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have made enquiries with the Commissioner and received the following update.

The Immigration Office in Naas Garda Station currently processes approximately 50 applications per week. There is currently no wait time for appointments, with appointments available this week.

There is also no backlog in registrations for the Naas office. The office is open between 9 am and 5 pm Monday to Friday and some Sundays. Appointments are arranged either via email to [e-mail] or by phone during office hours with an out-of-hours facility for calls at the public office.

Garda Data

Ceisteanna (510)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

510. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the number of additional gardaí who have been trained as divisional asset profilers during 2019 and to date in 2020, in tabular form. [41404/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy will be aware, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is a multi-agency statutory body established under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996.  The Bureau’s remit is to target a person's assets, wherever situated, which derive, or are suspected to derive, directly or indirectly, from criminal conduct. Since its inception, the Bureau has been at the forefront of fighting organised crime in this jurisdiction and disrupting the activities of criminal gangs by depriving them of ill-gotten assets.

The Bureau is widely regarded as a best practice model in the context of combating organised crime.  It works closely with law enforcement bodies at national and international levels and continues to relentlessly pursue the illicit proceeds of organised crime activity. The actions of the Bureau send a strong message to criminals and to local communities that profiting from crime will not be tolerated.

The Deputy will be aware that CAB published its Strategic Plan for 2020 to 2023 in July of this year.  The strategic plan describes the structure of CAB and its key programmes of activity to deliver its remit. CAB has trained a nationwide network of asset profilers to identify assets acquired from the proceeds of criminal conduct. The Bureau continues to develop specialist expertise and technology to trace and investigate these assets. It also continues to work closely with international crime investigation agencies, and has successfully targeted proceeds of foreign criminality from countries such as the US and the UK.

The Criminal Assets Bureau normally conducts training courses for asset profilers twice per year.  For the most part asset profilers are members of An Garda Síochána from local divisions and from special units.  In addition, a small number have been trained from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners.

During 2019, the Criminal Assets Bureau provided Divisional Asset Profiler Training for 100 personnel. Unfortunately, due to Covid19 restrictions, no Divisional Asset Profiler Training took place to date in 2020.   However, preparations have been made to provide the Divisional Asset Profiler Training Programme on-line in 2021.

Year	No. of Gardaí who received Divisional Asset Profiler Training
2019	100
2020	0

There are currently 446 Gardai, 17 Revenue and 8 Social Welfare Divisional Asset Profilers operating Nationwide.

Proposed Legislation

Ceisteanna (511)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

511. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the current status of the Criminal Justice (Hate Crime) Bill. [41405/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

My Department is working to prepare new legislation on hate crime and hate speech as a priority. This is in accordance with the commitment in the Programme for Government to introduce such legislation within the first twelve months.

As part of this work a comprehensive public consultation has been carried out which included an online survey and an opportunity for stakeholders to make formal submissions. This consultation was conducted to ensure that the Department fully understands the lived experience of those impacted by hate speech and hate crime as well as the views of professionals and other stakeholders in the field. This is necessary to ensure the laws developed are robust, clearly understood and effective.

I am pleased with the high level of engagement by the public with this important topic and can inform the Deputy that my Department received in the region of 3,800 written responses to the consultation, including more than 175 detailed written submissions.

In addition to this comprehensive consultation, my Department has also completed comparative research on international best practice on hate crime legislation.

I expect to publish the report on the public consultation, together with the comparative research on international approaches in the coming days.

This work will help to ensure that the legislative proposals presented are evidence-based, proportionate and effective, while respecting important rights to freedom of expression and association.

I intend to bring a General Scheme of new legislation to Government for approval early in 2021. There will be a further opportunity for stakeholders to share their views as part of the pre-legislative scrutiny process.

Legislative Measures

Ceisteanna (512)

Darren O'Rourke

Ceist:

512. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Justice when section 36 of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 will come into effect [41437/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

Section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 substituted a new section for section 17 of the Firearms Act 1925. As the Deputy is aware this section has not been commenced.

The net effect of Section 36 would be that firearms could only be imported into the State by a registered firearms dealer.

The section was intended to address distance selling of firearms as required under the Firearms Directive 2008/51/EC. However, the Directive has since been transposed by S.I. 493 of 2010 without the need to commence Section 36.

In addition, it is also thought that Section 36 could have created difficulties for Irish shooters returning from trips abroad with their firearms as the firearms concerned may have been considered imports requiring importation licences.

Accordingly, I will consider whether or not this provision should be repealed.

Garda Equipment

Ceisteanna (513)

Darren O'Rourke

Ceist:

513. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Justice if funding is available in 2021 to update the boats within the Garda water unit. [41438/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy will appreciate, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 as amended, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for managing and controlling the administration and business of An Garda Síochána. Further, the allocation of Garda resources is a matter for the Commissioner, in light of identified operational demands. This includes responsibility for the allocation of Garda vehicles among the various Garda divisions and national units.  As Minister, I have no role in these matters. I am assured, however, that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities to ensure their optimum use.

The Garda Water Unit is part of Operational Support Services within An Garda Síochána. I am informed by the Garda authorities that the existing boat capabilities and requirements going forward are currently being reviewed. In the event that new boats are required, a business case will be submitted seeking sanction to purchase suitable boats.

Crime Data

Ceisteanna (514)

Darren O'Rourke

Ceist:

514. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons successfully prosecuted for possession of fireworks without a valid licence in each of the years 2018, 2019 and to date in 2020, in tabular form; and the monetary value of fireworks seized by An Garda Síochána in the years in question. [41439/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner has responsibility for managing An Garda Síochána and for the allocation of Garda resources, in light of identified operational demands.  Further and following investigations by An Garda Síochána, prosecutions are a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions, who is independent in the performance of her functions.

The decision about whether or not to prosecute a person, and for what crime, is entirely a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions and I have no role in such matters.

Government policy restricts the availability of all hazardous fireworks to the general public. Licences under the Explosives Act are issued by my Department only for the importation of fireworks which are to be used in organised displays conducted by professional and competent operators.

There are serious penalties for breaching the legislation relating to fireworks. An example of the penalties faced include a fine of up to €10,000 and up to five years imprisonment if convicted of having fireworks in your possession with intent to sell or supply. Igniting fireworks or throwing an ignited firework at a person or property is also liable to the same severe penalty. These penalties demonstrate the seriousness attached to breaches of the legislation governing the importation and use of fireworks.

While the information regarding the number of prosecutions is a matter for the DPP, in order to be of some assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made of the Courts Service and they have provided the information requested on convictions in the table below.  The Deputy may be aware that, 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 information relating to convictions.

It should be noted that this information provided has been drawn from instances where prosecutors used offence codes. It is possible for prosecutors to use uncoded free text when inputting offences. Where uncoded free text has been used, any such offences are not included.

-	Jan- Dec 2018		Jan - Dec 2019		Jan to Oct 2020
	Offences	Persons	Offences	Persons	Offences	Persons
Possession of a firework for the purpose of sale/supply	3	3	5	5	3	3
Igniting firework			3	3
Throw/direct/propel ignited firework	1	1			1	1
Total	4	4	8	8	4	4

As well as Part 6 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, which gives An Garda Síochána the power to make arrests in relation to the possession of unlicensed fireworks, a number of strong legislative provisions are available to Gardaí to combat anti-social behaviour more generally and include -

- the Criminal Damage Act 1991;

- Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994;

- the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 2003; and

- the Intoxicating Liquor Acts 2003 and 2008.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the following table sets out information on the number of explosives seized in the years 2018, 2019 and to date in 2020 as well as their estimated value.

Year	No. of Explosives Seized	Estimated value of seizure
2020	250	€36,341
2019	155	€34,378
2018	214	€53,129

Garda Transport Provision

Ceisteanna (515)

Darren O'Rourke

Ceist:

515. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Justice the number of unmarked cars, jeeps and vans attached to the Garda National Immigration Bureau as of 30 November 2020, in tabular form. [41440/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy will appreciate, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 as amended, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for managing and controlling the administration and business of An Garda Síochána. Further, the allocation of Garda resources is a matter for the Commissioner, in light of identified operational demands. This includes responsibility for the allocation of Garda vehicles among the various Garda divisions and national units.  As Minister, I have no role in these matters. I am assured, however, that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities to ensure their optimum use.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that as of 30 November 2020 there were 31 vehicles attached to the Garda National Immigration Bureau. For the Deputy's information, the following table, as provided to me by the Garda authorities, breaks down the number of vehicles.

Cars	Vans	Bikes	4x4	Others	Total
27	2	0	1	1	31

All vehicles in the GNIB fleet are unmarked.

Probate Applications

Ceisteanna (516)

Pearse Doherty

Ceist:

516. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice if her attention has been drawn to delays in processing applications in the Probate Office; her plans to increase staff capacity to deal with any backlog in the office; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41463/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The Probate Office is an office of the High Court and management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in exercising its functions under the Courts Service Act 1998.

However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that the introduction of restrictions under level 5 of the Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021 Plan for Living with COVID-19 necessitated the temporary closure of the personal applications process in the Dublin Probate Office for the six weeks in question.

Appointments with personal applicants will recommence in early January and I am informed that the Office has commenced the process of writing out to applicants to offer them times. Assuming no further imposition of restrictions, the applications on hand are expected to be cleared during January.

I understand the current waiting times for solicitor applications is eight to ten weeks. There has been an increase in the waiting times due to COVID-19. The waiting time has also increased due to a significant number of applications having been lodged by solicitors in September. When the latter cases are processed, the waiting times for solicitors' applications should reduce to eight weeks and should stay at that level for the foreseeable future.

I am informed that there are no plans to increase staff capacity as the arrears are manageable within the existing staffing complement.

Extradition Arrangements

Ceisteanna (517)

Jim O'Callaghan

Ceist:

517. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice if steps have been taken to seek the extradition of a person (details supplied) from South Africa; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41474/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The Extradition Act 1965 provides a legislative basis for extradition between Ireland and non-EU states.

The Deputy will appreciate that for good reason it is not the policy to comment on the existence or otherwise of individual cases.

Crime Data

Ceisteanna (518)

Neale Richmond

Ceist:

518. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Justice the amount of fireworks seized as part of Operation Tombola; if the success of the operation compared with previous years will be evaluated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41715/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner has responsibility for managing An Garda Síochána and for the allocation of Garda resources, in light of identified operational demands.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that An Garda Síochána take a proactive approach and put measures in place in every Garda Division to assist in the prevention and detection of the sale and importation of fireworks in the run-up to Halloween.

This year the Garda Commissioner put in place policing plans under the auspices of “Operation Tombola”, one month earlier than on previous years as of the 4 September, 2020. To assist local management in supplying additional personnel over the Halloween weekend, annual leave not already sanctioned for this period was cancelled.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the following table sets out information on the number of ‘Fireworks Offences’ incidents reported during the given years.

The following table provides data on the number of fireworks incidents recorded, the number of incidents where a quantity of ‘explosives’ were seized, the number of explosives seized and the estimated value of the seizures for each year from 2016 to date. 

Year	Fireworks Incidents	Incidents where Explosives were Seized	No. of Explosives Seized	Value of Seized Explosives
2020	312	121	250	36,341
2019	220	95	155	34,378
2018	173	112	214	53,129
2017	188	80	131	10,396
2016	143	136	168	40,147

Leave to Remain

Ceisteanna (519, 520)

Patrick Costello

Ceist:

519. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice the most recent number available of persons with an open application for leave to remain on humanitarian grounds at present. [41760/20]

Patrick Costello

Ceist:

520. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons with an open application for leave to remain on humanitarian grounds at the end of each of the years 2009 to 2019, inclusive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41761/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

I propose to take Questions Nos. 519 and 520 together.

Unfortunately, the data sought by the Deputy is not recorded by the Immigration Service of my Department in the manner requested. It would require a manual search of all records for that time period which would divert resources away from processing and take an inordinate amount of time.