Tuesday, 1 Feb 2022

An Garda Síochána

Ceisteanna (611)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

611. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice the number of members of An Garda Síochána by rank who previously worked for the PSNI; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4772/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

I have requested the information sought by the Deputy from An Garda Síochána, but I have not received this information in time. I will write to the Deputy as soon as the information is to hand.

The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51

I refer to your Parliamentary Question No. 611 of 1 February 2022 where you sought: “The number of members of An Garda Síochána by rank that previously worked for the PSNI.”

As you will recall, I had sought the information you requested from the Garda authorities and undertook to contact you again once the information was to hand. I have received a report from the Garda authorities and the information requested is outlined below.

Current legislation provides that nationals of an EU Member State, an EEA State, the United Kingdom or the Swiss Confederation are eligible to apply to join An Garda Síochána as recruits, or to join the Garda Reserve, through the normal competitions.

The Garda Síochána Act 2005 also provides for the direct recruitment, by way of open competition, of members of the PSNI into An Garda Síochána at certain senior levels, i.e. Superintendent, Chief Superintendent and Assistant Commissioner. There is also provision for the limited–term secondment of PSNI officers under certain circumstances.

The Garda authorities inform that currently within An Garda Síochána there is 1 Commissioner, 1 Assistant Commissioner and 4 Superintendents, who had previously worked for the PSNI.

The recruitment and selection process for these senior positions was undertaken by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) on behalf of the Policing Authority.

Citizenship Applications

Ceisteanna (612)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

612. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice the status of a citizenship application (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4845/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to by the Deputy is currently being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible.

During this time, it is important that the person maintains their immigration permission and takes all appropriate steps to renew their permission to be in the State.

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. However, 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.

In addition, the combined impact of the 2019 High Court judgment in the Jones case and the necessary health restrictions arising from the pandemic, has unfortunately resulted in the processing time for standard applications increasing.

However, my Department is taking a number of steps to speed up the processing of applications and a number of digitisation measures have also been introduced to increase efficiency in the process, including eTax clearance, eVetting and online payments. The end result of the digitisation process will be to free up more staff to focus on processing applications in a timely and efficient manner, to improve service to our customers and reduce waiting times.

In 2021, 11,512 citizenship decisions were delivered, significantly exceeding the levels achieved in the last two years. Additional staff have also been assigned to the citizenship team. Based on these measures, my Department's objective is to achieve an improved timeframe of 6-9 months for decisions on a majority of applications during 2022.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at INISOireachtasMail@justice.ie, 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 Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

European Council

Ceisteanna (613)

Peter Fitzpatrick

Ceist:

613. Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick asked the Minister for Justice if she will clarify directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4888/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy will appreciate, I cannot comment on the immigration laws applying in another jurisdiction, including in another EU Member State.

However, more generally, I can say that citizens of the United Kingdom are not considered to be ‘non-nationals’ for the purpose of Irish immigration law. They continue to enjoy arrangements held under the Common Travel Area (CTA), including the freedom to live in the State, following the UK's exit from the European Union. The CTA is comprised of the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Ireland. Within the CTA, Irish and British citizens can travel freely.

Furthermore, where a UK citizen is the spouse of an Irish national, this does not automatically confer the rights granted under the EU Free Movement Directive (Directive 2004/38/EC). EU Free Movement provisions no longer apply to UK citizens from the end of the Transition Period under the Withdrawal Agreement on 31 December 2020.

In order to acquire the rights of free movement under the Directive, a UK citizen married to an Irish national would need to apply for an EU Treaty Rights permission. The Directive applies to EEA nationals who move to another Member State or who live in a Member State other than their own and to the family members who accompany them or join them in the State (Article 3 of Directive 2004/38/EC).

Exceptions can apply in cases such as:

— Where the non-EEA national family member has previously held a “residence card of a family member of a Union citizen” that has been issued by another Member State under Article 10 of the Directive and where they and their non-EEA family member have subsequently moved to Ireland, or

— Where the Irish citizen has exercised their right to free movement in another Member State prior to returning to Ireland and their non-EEA national family member accompanies them on return, having resided with the Irish citizen as a family member in that other Member State.

An Garda Síochána

Ceisteanna (614)

Joe Flaherty

Ceist:

614. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Justice further to Parliamentary Question No. 761 of 2 November 2021, if she has received a response from An Garda Síochána regarding statistical information in relation to gardaí assigned to County Longford in September 2021. [4890/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The Deputy will recall that the information requested in Parliamentary Question No. 761 of 2 November 2021 could not be obtained in the time available and I undertook to consult with An Garda Síochána and contact you again when the requested information was received.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is by law responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including the deployment of Garda members throughout the State. As Minister, I have no role in these independent functions. I am assured that Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review.

The Garda authorities have provided me with the information below.

Number of Gardaí on secondment to other units/stations or temporarily transferred in Co Longford on 30 September 2021	2
No of Gardaí in Co Longford absent due to injury on duty (IOD) on Sept 30 2021	6
No of Gardaí in Co Longford absent due to long term sick absence (>28 days) on 30 September 2021	8
No of Gardaí in Co Longford on restricted duty on 30 June 2021*	6
Total no of Gardaí assigned to Longford on 30 September 2021	139

* Restricted duty for September is not available, the last record was collated in June 2021.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that the category ‘Incapacitated Garda Members’ includes members who are absent due to IOD and Long Term Sick Absence.

An Garda Síochána have informed me that the medical criteria for ill health retirement is as follows:

1. The applicant has an ongoing medical condition that prevents him/her from working at his/her occupation.

2. This medical incapacity is likely to be permanent.

3. Reasonable workplace accommodations (such as part-time working / redeployment) have been considered by management.

4. Reasonable diagnostic and treatment options have been explored.

The CMO must ensure the above criteria is met in the case of ill health retirement. The time it takes to secure treatment and assess its effectiveness can prolong the time required to conclude on the long term fitness of a member.

I am further advised that it is not possible to provide statistics of Garda members incapacitated but not yet ‘ill health retired’ given the criteria above.

Asylum Seekers

Ceisteanna (615)

Bríd Smith

Ceist:

615. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice if she will address a series of matters in relation to the regularisation scheme application process for asylum seekers (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4909/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The Regularisation of Long Term Undocumented Migrants Scheme opened for applications on 31 January 2022. Applications will be accepted for six months until 31 July 2022, when the scheme will close. The scheme is only open to those who do not have a current permission to reside in the State and will enable eligible applicants to remain and reside in the State and to regularise their residency status.

As previously announced, international protection applicants who have an outstanding application for international protection and have been in the asylum process for a minimum of two years will have a separate application process. The International Protection Office of my Department will contact potentially eligible applicants shortly with further details, which will also be made available on the website www.ipo.gov.ie. There will also be a six month application window for this strand of the scheme from the date it is launched.

Applications will be assessed independently of the application that has been made for international protection. There is no requirement for the applicant to withdraw their international protection application, although some may choose to do so, if successful under this scheme.

Residency Permits

Ceisteanna (616)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

616. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the current and or expected residency status in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4910/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The person referred to by the Deputy currently holds a Stamp 1 immigration permission, which is valid until 23 August 2022. It is open to the person concerned to make an application to renew this permission, provided they meet the renewal criteria.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at INISOireachtasMail@justice.ie, 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 Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Legal Aid

Ceisteanna (617)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

617. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice if she will provide a schedule of the current premises owned and leased by the Legal Aid Board; the overall cost of each lease and the duration of same; and if the Legal Aid Board requires her permission in order to enter a new lease agreement and or purchase. [4988/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The Legal Aid Board provides legal advice and aid under the relevant terms of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 and the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996-2017. Section 3(3) of the Act provides that the Board shall, subject to the provisions of the Act, be independent in the exercise of its functions.

The acquisition of premises is an operational matter for the Legal Aid Board under such terms, whether leasehold or otherwise, as it may consider appropriate to its functions.

However, to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have asked the Legal Aid Board to provide a schedule of premises that are owned and leased by it. I am advised by the Board that it does not own any property. The Board rents properties at locations throughout the country for the delivery of its civil legal aid and mediation services to the public. Some of these property rentals are the subject of a lease agreement, and a schedule of the leased properties is shown in the table below. Lease agreements typically include at least one break clause, which provide some flexibility should the Board’s property needs change over the duration of a lease.

Section 3 (2) of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 states that the Legal Aid Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and, with the consent of the Minister, to acquire, hold and dispose of land or an interest in land or rights over or in respect of land and to acquire, hold and dispose of any other property.

Legal Aid Board leased property

Location	Usage	Name	Status	Expiry Date	Length of lease (years)	Rent
Limerick	Co-Location	1st Floor, Riverpoint, Lower Mallow Street, Limerick	Leased	09/09/2046	25	€57,810
Newbridge	Law Centre	Suites 1/2 Courtyard House, The Courtyard Shopping Centre, Newbridge, Kildare	Leased	30/09/2041	20	€61,992
Sligo	Co-Location	Bridgewater House, Rockwood Parade,Thomas St, Sligo	Leased	12/09/2041	20	€75,000
Ennis	Law Centre	Station Road, Ennis	Leased	01/09/2039	20	€34,262
Letterkenny	Co-Location	Fort Lynne, Letterkenny	Leased	31/12/2038	20	€55,000
Portlaoise	Co- Location	Unit 261, Gannon Court, Portlaoise	Leased	24/10/2038	20	€30,966
Navan	Law Centre	Kennedy Road, Navan, Co. Meath	Leased	30/09/2038	20	€41,000
Tallaght	Co- Location	Village Green, Tallaght, Dublin 24	Leased	09/10/2036	20	€72,138
Tullamore	Law Centre	Harbour Street, Tullamore, Co Offaly	Leased	30/09/2036	20	€13,800
Longford	Law Centre	Market Street, Longford	Leased	24/11/2035	20	€26,000
Monaghan	Law Centre	Alma House, The Diamond, Monaghan	Leased	30/10/2035	20	€22,100
Wicklow	Law Centre	Floor 3, Block D, Civic Offices, Bray, Co Wicklow	Leased	20/07/2034	20	€58,878
Jervis Street	Co-Location	Jervis Street, Dublin 1	Leased	31/03/2031	15	€177,674
Waterford	Mediation Centre	13B Wallace House, Maritana Gate, Canada Street, Waterford	Leased	31/01/2031	9 yrs 11 mths	€28,000
Redmond Square	Mediation Centre	Unit 8, Redmond Square, Wexford	Leased	31/05/2028	33	€25,000
Galway	Law Centre	Seville House, New Dock Street, Galway	Leased	31/12/2026	10	€60,000
Athlone	Mediation Centre	Suite 10, 1st Floor, Inish Carraig Business Centre, Golden Island, Athlone, Co. Westmeath	Leased	30/04/2026	10	€30,000
Limerick	Former Law Centre (sub-let)	Unit F, Lock Quay, Limerick	Leased	12/03/2026	35	€34,776
Wexford	Law Centre	Slaney Street, Wexford	Leased	28/02/2026	10	€22,500
Brunswick Street	Law Centre / administrative offices	48/49 North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7	Leased	31/01/2026	25	€685,487
Cork North	Law Centre	North Quay House, 2nd. Floor, Popes Quay, Cork	Leased	31/08/2025	30	€75,180
Montague Court	Law Centre / Library	Montague Street, Dublin 2	Leased	22/08/2024	25	€434,000
Tralee	Mediation Centre	Unit 2, Market Place, Maine Street, Tralee, Co. Kerry.	Leased	05/02/2024	10	€18,450
Kilkenny	Law Centre	Unit 1A, First floor, Smithlands Centre, Loughboy, Kilkenny	Leased	15/01/2024	10	€34,973
Castlebar	Law Centre	Humbert Hall, Main Street, Castlebar Co, Mayo	Leased	03/03/2023	15	€36,000
Waterford	Law Centre	Suite 9/10 Station House, Railway Square, Waterford	Leased	25/01/2042	20	€39,000

Prison Service

Ceisteanna (618)

Gino Kenny

Ceist:

618. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons who are currently in prison or out on temporary release for cannabis-related offences; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5057/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

I am advised by my officials in the Irish Prison Service that there are a number of offences listed as Controlled Drugs Offences on the prison system.

Only two offences are listed on the prison system which specifically describe cannabis-related offences.

A prisoner could however be sentenced for a drug related offence that is not specifically categorised as cannabis related on the prison system.

On 31 December 2021, there were 14 individuals in custody whose most serious offence was specifically categorised as a cannabis related offence and there was one person on temporary release with the same offence.

On the same date, an additional 365 individuals were in custody whose most serious offence was categorised as a controlled drug offence. However, as the type of drug is not specified for this cohort, it is not possible to identify how many, if any, were convicted of a cannabis-related offence.

In addition, the above figure does not include those that were on temporary release with the same offences on that date.

It is important to note that each application for temporary release of any nature is considered on its individual merits and a number of factors are taken into account when making a decision, including the nature of the offence and whether the person poses a threat to public safety.

Drug and Alcohol Testing

Ceisteanna (619)

Gino Kenny

Ceist:

619. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Justice the cost in each of the past five years to forensically test cannabis; the amount of time that is taken up in the forensic unit testing cannabis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5058/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy will be aware, Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) provides a scientific service to the Criminal Justice System by analysing samples submitted from crime scenes and providing expert evidence in criminal trials. This includes the analysis of suspected drugs seized by State agencies.

I have been advised by FSI that they are unable to comment on the cost or time associated with cannabis testing.

FSI is able, however, to provide data as to the percentage of cannabis cases analysed as a proportion of all drugs cases in a given year. For the Deputy's information, it should be noted that when interpreting these figures that the percentage figure provided for cannabis in a given year does not equate to the percentage of forensic testing time, that is, that a figure of 35% cannabis cases analysed in a given year does not equal 35% of FSI's testing capacity.

% Cannabis cases analysed per year*

Year	Cannabis cases %
2017	39%
2018	47%
2019	31%
2020	35%
2021	44%

*as a proportion of all drug cases analysed

Drug Dealing

Ceisteanna (620)

Thomas Pringle

Ceist:

620. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons that have been convicted for grooming children into the drug trade; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5078/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

Diverting young people away from getting involved in criminal activity is a key priority for the Government and the exploitation of young people and children is a particular concern.

As the Deputy will be aware, while an adult may be prosecuted for a crime which has been committed by a child who has been incited to do so by the adult, there is currently no mechanism in law for explicitly recognising the damage done to the child.

The Programme for Government commits to developing a law which would take account of this and penalise adults for the exploitation and harm done to the child in such cases.

I can inform the Deputy that officials in my Department are already working to develop legislation in this regard. The General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Exploitation of Children in the Commission of Offences) Bill was published in January 2021. The Bill underwent pre-legislative scrutiny in November 2021 and is currently being drafted by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel.

It should be noted that this is a complex area as, in many cases, the adult in question is known to the child and may in some cases even be a family member, causing potential issues with regard to witness testimony.

As the Deputy may be aware, I published the new Youth Justice Strategy 2021-27 in April 2021 with Minister of State James Browne TD. This Strategy includes a commitment to develop the work of the Garda Youth Diversion Projects (GYDPs) to include targeted work with ‘harder-to-reach’ young people. This includes young people heavily involved in crime and anti-social behaviour, for whom there are little supports and interventions available in practice, unless they are before the courts, in which case they may be under the supervision of the Probation Service. The Strategy also prioritises early intervention work, including with younger children who are assessed as being at serious risk. Both of these cohorts may include children at risk of recruitment by crime gangs.

The development of this work within the GYDP network will be supported by the Research Evidence into Policy, Programmes and Practice (REPPP) project at the School of Law in the University of Limerick (UL). The REPPP has led on the Greentown Project, which studied the influence of criminal networks on children in Ireland and a report was published in December 2016. The REPPP project is a strategic research partnership between UL and the Department of Justice.

The Greentown Report identifies crime networks as a separate and plausible risk factor underlying criminal offending by certain children. It outlines how the influence of criminal networks increases the level of offending by a small number of children and entraps them in offending situations.

The Greentown Report recommended the design of a programme to include interventions with children and their families to help them withstand the influence of criminal networks. The REPPP project team implemented a bespoke design process to produce a model for an Irish evidence-informed intervention programme. The Greentown programme has been designed with the input of leading international expertise on crime and criminal networks, together with Irish scientific, policy and practice expertise in child protection and welfare, drugs and community development.

The Greentown programme, developed by the REPPP, commenced in two locations in 2020 and will run for three years. The learning from these trial sites will then be incorporated into mainstream GYDP practice. This specially designed intervention programme was developed with international expert advice, to tackle coercive control of children by criminal groups which entraps them in offending situations. Funds are already available for the initial trial sites from the Dormant Accounts Funds, with a total of €4.2m allocated over three years.

The implementation of the trial sites of the Greentown programme is part of the Strategic Objectives of the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027. This implementation process began with the establishment of the Governance and Strategy Group, and the Youth Justice Oversight Group. Both groups are chaired by my Department, which will provide oversight arrangements for Youth Justice Initiatives, including the Greentown pilots, to ensure that there is a cohesive response in practice to the needs of particular cohorts of children and particular communities.

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Ceisteanna (621)

Jackie Cahill

Ceist:

621. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health if rehab care workers in the community are deemed eligible for the Covid recognition payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4994/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

Firstly I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all healthcare workers for their efforts during this most challenging period.

In recognition of the efforts of the general public, volunteers and all workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and in remembrance of people who lost their lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on Wednesday 19 January last, the Government announced a once-off public holiday will take place on Friday 18 March 2022.

The Government also announced COVID-19 recognition payment for frontline public sector healthcare workers, to recognise their unique role during the pandemic. The payment of €1,000 will not be subject to income tax, USC, or PRSI. The measure will be ring fenced to staff ordinarily onsite in COVID-19 exposed healthcare environments within the period between 1 March 2020 and 30 June 2021.

Those public sector frontline healthcare workers eligible for the payment will be directly employed public health sector staff working in clinical settings. A pro-rata arrangement will apply for eligible part time staff / equivalents and supernumerary students who were required to perform training in clinical sites.

The Department of Health will also introduce a measure for making a similar payment to staff in private sector nursing homes and hospices that were affected by Covid-19.

I would like to assure the Deputy that work is underway to ensure fairness in the application of this measure as the Government intended.

The Department and the HSE are currently engaging in finalising arrangements to give effect to the Government announcement concerning the Recognition Payment. Full particulars, eligibility and terms and conditions that apply to this payment shall be made available shortly. It is important that this measure is applied fairly as intended and I welcome the work that is ongoing to ensure this is so.

There are many, many individuals in our country who did so much during the pandemic. I and the Government is sincerely grateful for this commitment but it is appropriate that these public sector frontline healthcare workers get particular recognition. They exposed themselves to particular COVID-19 risks that did not exist in other work environments or those working from home. I am also deeply appreciative of all those frontline workers who worked in our nursing homes and hospices during this pandemic and that they also get similar recognition.

Outside of the above recognition, the Government also notes that some private healthcare companies have recognised the work of their employees during the pandemic. I would encourage private healthcare companies that have not already done so to consider appropriate measures to recognise their own frontline workers for their work during this most trying period.

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Ceisteanna (622)

Jackie Cahill

Ceist:

622. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health if security guards that worked in public hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic will be eligible for the Covid recognition payment considering that other front-line healthcare workers (details supplied) in hospitals all qualify for this payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4995/22]