Written Answers Nos. 54 - 69
  Arts Funding
  Broadband Services Provision
  Broadband Services Provision
  Broadband Services Provision
  Motor Tax Collection
  Private Rented Accommodation Standards
  Electoral Divisions Report
  Voluntary Housing Sector
  Fire Service Issues
  Derelict Sites
  Proposed Legislation
  Legal Services Regulation
  Domestic Violence Incidence
  Prisoner Rehabilitation Programmes
  Garda Deployment
  Garda Retirements

Wednesday, 5 December 2012

Dáil Éireann Debate
Vol. 785 No. 2

Written Answers Nos. 54 - 69

Arts Funding

 54. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan   asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht   his views of the propensity for Arts groups to attract voluntary financial support throughout the community sector; if he will ensure that adequate core funding remains in place to facilitate this process and as a consequence contribute towards economic recovery and job creation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54723/12]

Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Deputy Jimmy Deenihan):   Government policy on the arts is set out in the Programme for Government . As Minister responsible for the arts and culture sectors, I am committed to securing the best possible funding provision for them during my term of office.

  Government policy is to promote and strengthen the arts in all its forms, increase access to and participation in the arts, to make the arts an integral and valued part of our national life, and maximise the potential for cultural tourism. Primary responsibility for the promotion of the arts at all levels throughout the country is devolved to the Arts Council, which, under the Arts Acts, is independent in its funding decisions. In 2012, the Arts Council received an allocation of over €63 million – a curbing of the budgetary decline of previous years.

  The Government appreciates the importance of the arts, culture and the creative industries to both our society and to our economy. I am fully aware of the challenges for those involved in the arts and culture sectors and of the tremendous work they are doing. I am committed to supporting the essential elements of the arts and culture sectors, within the available financial resources and in the light of the evolving budgetary and Estimates processes. The Programme for Government includes a commitment to "work with stakeholders in the Arts community to develop new proposals aimed at building private support of the Arts in Ireland exploring philanthropic, sponsorship or endowment fund opportunities".

  The Deputy may be aware that, in May, I announced the introduction of a new philanthropic initiative on a pilot basis for arts and culture organisations. The initiative - the Philanthropic Leverage Initiative   - was designed to encourage philanthropic sponsorship and endowment of the arts from private sources. The initiative, established with funding of €230,000 for 2012, has provided an incentive to arts organisations to proactively seek new funding relationships with sponsors which deliver private sector financial support, thereby increasing overall funding available to the arts. The initiative was available across projects of varying scale, geography and art forms to not-for-profit organisations for arts programming projects. The organisations approved for funding under the initiative were required to procure matching philanthropic funds and complete their drawdown from my Department in 2012. Matched funding cannot come from public funds or from any public sector organisation. It is anticipated that a multiple of 3.5 on the pilot initiative funds of €230,000 will result in philanthropic funding of some €800,000 being raised for the arts.

  The Leverage Initiative will run in parallel with a second initiative - the Arts Council's RAISE: Building Fundraising Capacity   pilot initiative. This will provide one-to-one professional support to eight selected organisations for two years through planning and implementing a tailored fundraising programme. This initiative will help those art organisations build and resource their capacity to attract philanthropic giving. In developing this complementary programme, the Arts Council has identified that it is vital for art groups to develop, agree and implement an effective fundraising strategy and to properly resource that fundraising function.

Broadband Services Provision

 55. Deputy Tom Hayes   asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources   in respect of the 100Mb/sec broadband programme for all post-primary schools nationwide launched in May 2009, the timeframe for the next stage of the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.  [54623/12]

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (Deputy Pat Rabbitte):   Following the completion of the initial pilot phase of this project, a total of 78 post primary schools were provided with 100Mbps broadband. I announced in February 2012 the full rollout of 100Mbps to all second level schools in Ireland, to be completed over a 3 year period. 202 post primary schools were selected this year for the first phase of the national rollout. Of these, 195 schools have been fully completed to date and already are using their enhanced broadband. The remaining schools could not be connected because of building and renovation work in each school. As soon as these works are completed the schools in question will be connected. I hope to be in a position shortly to announce details of a further 200 schools to be connected during 2013 with the remaining 250 schools being connected in 2014, after which all second level schools in Ireland will have a high speed broadband connection.

Broadband Services Provision

 56. Deputy Brendan Griffin   asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources   if he will review the broadband service being provided under the national broadband scheme (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54712/12]

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (Deputy Pat Rabbitte):   I wish to advise that my Department’s officials have been engaged in ongoing contact with “3”, the National Broadband Scheme (“NBS”) service provider since it was made aware of recent service performance problems being experienced by some NBS customers in County Kerry. I understand that these NBS customers in the Ballydavid area experienced intermittent service loss and degradation of service over a protracted length of time. “3” have advised my officials that service problems arose last month on two sites, at Ballydavid and Ventry and that these problems have been rectified with the sites being fully operational since 27^th   November last. “3” continue to monitor these sites very closely. Throughout the period, those customers whose service was affected were advised of the position via text message from 3’s customer care centre.

  The contract which my Department has in place with “3” provides for the monitoring of service availability. It provides for the payment of service performance rebates where service performance does not meet the minimum specified service levels and where service restoration is delayed beyond the target 5 working days. My Department operates a dedicated mailbox, nationalbroadbandscheme@dcenr.gov.ie, which NBS customers can contact with relevant details where they consider that their service performance issues have not been resolved to their satisfaction by 3’s customer care centre. I wish to advise the Deputy that service rebates will be applied to the accounts of all those customers whose service has been affected by these site outages.

Broadband Services Provision

 57. Deputy Robert Troy   asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources   his views on the unavailability of broadband in the Newtowncashel, County Longford.  [54713/12]

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (Deputy Pat Rabbitte):   Since market liberalisation in 1999, broadband services are delivered in the first instance through private sector operators. The State only becomes involved in the provision of services in instances of clear market failure. The National Broadband Scheme (NBS) and the more recent Rural Broadband Scheme (RBS) are examples of such interventions.

Prior to the launch of the NBS my Department had a full national mapping exercise carried out to determine precisely where the gaps in service provision existed. As a result Newtowncashel was one of the areas in the country that was excluded from the scheme as it was deemed to be already served by at least one private operator. Under the RBS my Department received a total of 81 applications from County Longford with a total of 17 applicants taking up an offer of service from one of the commercial operators participating in the scheme.

The recently published National Broadband Plan (NBP) commits industry and the Government to rolling out high speed broadband throughout the country in the next few years. The plan contains specific and ambitious targets, most of which are expected to be delivered by the private sector. The Government is committed to ensuring that high speed broadband will also be available in rural areas which might not be deemed commercially viable by the private sector to invest in. My Department expects to commence a national mapping exercise in early 2013 aimed at identifying precisely the areas of the country that the private sector will invest in and those rural parts that will require State intervention to ensure that our NBP and Digital Agenda for Europe targets are fully met.

Motor Tax Collection

 58. Deputy James Bannon   asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government   the position regarding motor taxation in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54745/12]

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Phil Hogan):   Motor tax for private cars is calculated on the basis of CO ₂ emissions or engine capacity, depending on the date of first registration of the car. There is no provision for adjustment of motor tax on the basis of personal circumstances. Specific personal needs are addressed through other codes, as appropriate, such as under the health services or social protection. I am not in a position to comment on potential increases in motor tax ahead of the Budget to be delivered today.

Private Rented Accommodation Standards

 59. Deputy Peter Mathews   asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government   the plans he has to introduce regulations for landlords who are committed to three year guaranteed tenancy agreements and are obliged to give their tenants time to vacate their accommodation when new legislation on bed sits is introduced in January 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter.  [54613/12]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Jan O'Sullivan):   Minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008, made under section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992. They specify requirements in relation to a range of matters such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light and safety of gas and electrical supply. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations and responsibility for the enforcement of the regulations rests with the relevant local authority supported by a dedicated stream of funding provided from part of the proceeds of tenancy registration fees collected by the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB).

  On 1 February 2013, Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008 will come into effect for all existing residential rented accommodation. This means that from that date all rental accommodation must have its own separate sanitary facilities. This will result in the phasing-out of the traditional “bed-sit” where sanitary facilities are shared between different rental units. The requirements in relation to heating and facilities for cooking, food storage and laundry have also been updated.

  The Regulations took effect in their entirety for all rented properties being let for the first time from 1 February 2009. However, in some cases Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the regulations may have required significant refurbishment works for existing tenancies and as such, a four year phasing-in period was afforded to these properties to facilitate any improvement works that needed to be carried out . This phasing-in period was introduced to take account of views expressed in wide-ranging consultations during the development of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008, that it would be necessary to allow time for the carrying out of any significant remedial work that could be involved in achieving compliance.

  My Department engaged in an extensive consultation process during the development of the Regulations involving landlord and tenant representative groups, local authorities and the social and voluntary pillar under the social partnership agreement Towards 2016. In addition, a period of public consultation was carried out during July and August 2008 inviting submissions from members of the general public on the proposed new standards regulations. Following the making of the Regulations in December 2008, copies were provided to various sectoral interests, including landlord and tenant representative bodies, and the coming into effect of the Regulations was advertised in the national print media.

  The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 provides the main regulatory framework for the private rented residential sector and for the operation of the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB). The Act provides for minimum entitlements in relation to security of tenure based on four year tenancy cycles, known as a Part 4 tenancy. The Act also sets out the grounds for the termination of a Part 4 tenancy. However, the Act does not preclude a landlord giving rights to tenants in a tenancy agreement in addition to those provided for in the Act. Where additional security of tenure rights are given to a tenant in a tenancy agreement, the termination of those rights will depend on the terms of that agreement. The parties to a tenancy may refer any matter relating to the tenancy, in respect of which there is a dispute between them, to the PRTB for resolution.

Electoral Divisions Report

 60. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor   asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government   if he has considered the request from the persons currently living in the southside constituency to maintain this title rather than the title Dublin – Rathdown as proposed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54699/12]

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Phil Hogan):   I refer to the reply to Question No. 437 of 13 November 2012. In publishing the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2012 the Government has accepted in full the recommendations in the Constituency Commission Report 2012. This is consistent with established practice since the first independent constituency commission reported in 1980. The determination of Dáil constituencies is a matter for the Oireachtas to prescribe in legislation. Debate on the Bill commenced in the Dáil on 20 November 2012.

Voluntary Housing Sector

 61. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl   asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government   the history of engagement that his Department has had with a body (details supplied) in County Kildare; the funding provided to date by his Department towards the provision of accommodation by this body; if in allocating the finance, his Department had an understanding of the way the facility in question would be administrated and financed on an ongoing basis; if his Department communicated with the Department of Health or the Health Service Executive in relation to this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54721/12]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Jan O'Sullivan):   My Department’s Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) provides funding to approved housing bodies of up to 100% of the approved costs of accommodation for people with specific categories of housing need, including victims of domestic violence. My Department’s involvement with the CAS relates primarily to the provision of funds for individual projects. The detailed administration of the schemes, the certification that projects comply with the terms and conditions of those schemes, and the processing of applications for funding are the responsibility of the relevant local authority.

My Department has no record of an application for funding from Kildare County Council in respect of a proposed women’s refuge at Newbridge. However, funding of €663,256 was approved under the CAS in respect of the provision of 8 units of accommodation to be provided by Teach Tearmann Housing Association at Coolaghknock in Kildare Town. An additional €30,000 was made available for the provision of communal facilities. My Department was not party to any discussions, involving the local authority, the approved housing body and the HSE in relation to operational costs. It was understood, however, that funding would be available from the HSE to assist in the ongoing running costs of the project.

Fire Service Issues

 62. Deputy Eoghan Murphy   asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government   his views on manning levels in Dublin City's Fire and Rescue Services (details supplied).  [54751/12]

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Phil Hogan):   I refer to the reply to Question No. 492 of 27 November 2012, which sets out the position in this matter.

Derelict Sites

 63. Deputy Finian McGrath   asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government   if he will respond to the issue raised concerning a site at a location (details supplied) under the Derelict Sites Act .  [54754/12]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Jan O'Sullivan):   My Department has been in contact with Dublin City Council and I understand that the Council is actively dealing with a number of the properties mentioned. The City Council has, in fact, already served notices under the Derelict Sites Act in relation to a number of the locations.  My Department has requested the City Council to provide updates on developments with regard to the properties concerned and I will arrange for an update to be provided by direct correspondence to the Deputy on foot of this.

Proposed Legislation

 64. Deputy John Browne   asked the Minister for Justice and Equality   when he intends to repeal of the 1871 Lunacy Regulations Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter.  [54717/12]

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter):   

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to introduce a Mental Capacity Bill. The Bill will provide for the repeal of the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871 and the replacement of the Wards of Court system provided under that Act with a modern statutory framework to support persons with impaired decision-making ability. My intention is to ensure that the Bill is in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The proposals in the Scheme of the Bill, as published, have required extensive revision in order to meet that objective. Drafting of the Bill is at a very advanced stage and I expected it to be published early in the New Year.

Legal Services Regulation

 65. Deputy Paschal Donohoe   asked the Minister for Justice and Equality   if he will outline the measures to date, throughout the past 18 months, by the State to reduce costs in the legal practitioner sector of our economy in response to our economic difficulties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54675/12]

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter):   The Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011, which completed Second Stage in the Dáil on 23 February and is due to commence Committee Stage early in the new year, gives legislative expression to the commitment in the Programme for Government to "establish independent regulation of the legal professions to improve access and competition, make legal costs more transparent and ensure adequate procedures for addressing consumer complaints".Furthermore, as a sectoral objective under the EU/IMF/ECB Troika Memorandum of Understanding, it supports the objectives of structural reform, national competitiveness and early economic recovery, building on the relevant recommendations of the Legal Costs Working Group and the Competition Authority. Indeed, the new business models and technologies for the provision of legal services, that are already being rolled out across other common law jurisdictions similar to our own, pose additional competitiveness challenges to those relating solely to cost.

  The Legal Services Regulation Bill addresses these challenges on both fronts and provides the means to help ensure that our legal services sector will not be left to languish at a competitive disadvantage and will continue to thrive on the high reputation it enjoys internationally. The Bill is, therefore, a key component of the Government's strategy to reduce legal costs in this country by way of increasing our competitiveness, both nationally and sectorally, and I will address other aspects of this strategy later in this reply.

  The Legal Services Regulation Bill makes extensive provision, particularly in Part 9, for a new and enhanced legal costs regime that will bring greater transparency to how legal costs are charged along with a better balance between the interests of legal practitioners and those of their clients. The Bill sets out, for the first time in legislation, a series of Legal Costs Principles. These are contained in Schedule One and enumerate the various matters that may be taken into account if disputed costs are submitted for adjudication. For the first time, these cost transparency measures will apply to barristers as well as to solicitors.

  Under the Bill it will no longer be permissible to set fees as a specified percentage or proportion of damages payable to a client from contentious business. It will no longer be permissible to charge Junior Counsel fees as a specified percentage or proportion of Senior Counsel fees. Legal practitioners will be obliged to provide more detailed information about legal costs from the outset of their dealings with clients. This will be in the form of a Notice written in clear language which must be provided when a legal practitioner takes instructions. Among other things, the Notice must, as set out in Section 90 of the Bill, disclose the costs that are involved, or, where this is not practicable, the basis upon which such costs are to be calculated. A cooling-off period is to be allowed for the consideration of costs by the client. When there are any significant developments in a case which give rise to further costs the Bill provides that a client must be duly updated and given the option of whether or not to proceed with the case in question.

  The Bill also provides that a new Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicator will deal with disputes about legal costs – at present these are dealt with by the Office of the Taxing-Master. The new Office, headed by a Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator, will modernise the way disputed legal costs are adjudicated with greater transparency. The Office will be empowered to prepare Legal Costs Guidelines. It will establish and maintain a publicly accessible Register of Determinations which will include the outcomes and reasons for its determinations about disputed legal costs. Two new Taxing-Masters have been appointed by public competition under the enhanced qualification criteria of Part 14 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 to prepare the way for these modernisation measures.

  As the Deputy will be aware, the Oireachtas Committee for Public Accounts continues to highlight and address the unsustainable burden of legal costs that had previously been carried by the State. At the same time, a concerted drive to reduce expenditure and increase efficiency across all government Departments, is being led by my colleague, Minister Brendan Howlin, at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The Government has undertaken a comprehensive review of public spending on legal services, and the manner in which public bodies procure those services. This active review covers both direct employment of solicitors, engaging solicitors or barristers for particular cases and other related items of expenditure that arise from time to time.

  The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform recently outlined to the Dáil actions that have already been taken to address the issue of legal fees incurred by the State, a number of them having been taken by my Department. Among these are:

 - an 8% reduction to all legal fees with effect from 1 March 2009 applied to legal counsel fees in the Chief State Solicitor’s Office; Brief and Refresher fees in the Director of Public Prosecution’s Office; Payment of Witness Expenses; State Solicitors fees (this came into effect on 5th May 2009); Criminal and Civil Legal Aid fees including barrister, private practitioner, medical and legal fees; and Tribunal fees,

 - on foot of budget 2010, a further 8% reduction with effect from 1 January 2010 applied to legal counsel fees in the Chief State Solicitor’s Office; Brief and Refresher fees in the Director of Public Prosecution’s Office; and Criminal and Civil Legal Aid fees,

 - a fee reduction of 10% on Criminal Legal Aid fees was applied with effect from 13 July 2011 and 1 October 2011 for District, and Circuit and Higher Courts, respectively,

 - a reduction of 50% in the rate paid in respect of travel and subsistence and a reduction of 50% in the rate paid for sentence fees in respect of adjourned sentence hearings in the Circuit and higher courts was applied,

 - in October 2011, a further 10% reduction was applied to brief and refresher fees paid by the Director of Public Prosecutions Office to reduce the level of fees in parallel with the reductions applied to fees payable under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, and

 - a further 10% reduction was applied to Tribunal fees on 1 March 2012.

  In August of this year, the Legal Aid Board withdrew from an agreement with the Bar Council on Civil Legal Aid fees and adopted new arrangements for the retention of counsel. The new arrangements will have the effect, over time, of significantly reducing fees payable to barristers. In relation to procurement policy, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, following consultations with the Attorney General’s Office, will issue a circular underlining the importance of competitive tendering for such services to all public bodies. In addition, the National Procurement Service set up a working group on legal services earlier this year to examine ways to assist public bodies that procure legal services and to examine how resources can be leveraged to achieve best value for money. The Working Group consists of representatives from the National Procurement Service, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, my Department, the Chief State Solicitor’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General.

  Through the extensive legal costs transparency provisions contained in the Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011 and the comprehensive review of public spending on legal services across Departments and State bodies already underway in the Department of Expenditure and Reform, this Government is providing an unprecedented opportunity to achieve greater transparency and competitiveness in relation to legal costs. I am confident that this concerted approach will be of lasting benefit, not just to consumers and legal practitioners, but also to early economic recovery and the long-term prosperity of the State.

Domestic Violence Incidence

 66. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor   asked the Minister for Justice and Equality   the concerted action he intends to take in view of the fact that figures show that the number of women receiving support from domestic violence charities has more than doubled in the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54696/12]

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter):   Cosc, the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, an Executive Office in my Department, has been working on a 'whole of Government' approach to tackling domestic violence since the office was established in 2007. Its primary work at present is coordination of the implementation of the National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence 2010-2014.

  In terms of future legislation on the matter, the Programme for Government commitment - to introduce consolidated and reformed domestic violence legislation to address all aspects of domestic violence, threatened violence and intimidation, in a way that provides protection to victims - will be progressed as soon as possible having regard to the need for consultations and the need to dispose of urgent legislative matters in my Department including under the EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support for the State. In advance of wider reform, I have introduced reforms to domestic violence legislation by means of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011. That Act removed the minimum required period of cohabitation before one of a cohabiting couple may apply for a safety order (previously, the applicant was required to have resided with the respondent for at least six of the previous twelve months) and gave equal access to the protections of the Domestic Violence Act to opposite-sex and same-sex couples (the relevant provision previously referred only to couples “living together as husband and wife”). The 2011 Act also widened the scope of section 2 of the 1996 Act, which specifies who may apply for a safety order, to enable a person to obtain a safety order against a person with whom they have a child in common.   This is the only exception to the general rule that the protections available under the Domestic Violence Acts are for the benefit of persons who have lived together in the same household.

  Finally, I would like to state that funding for front-line community and voluntary domestic violence services is provided at present by the Health Service Executive for whom the Minister for Health has responsibility. I understand that responsibility for funding these services will transfer to the Child and Family Support Agency when established and that agency will come under the remit of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

Prisoner Rehabilitation Programmes

 67. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan   asked the Minister for Justice and Equality   the number of teachers, scheduled classes, work training programmes that have been curtailed and or cancelled in each prison and the comparable numbers for six and 12 months ago; the impact of the reduction in prison officers and prison office hours on the availability of services for prisoners including education, psychology, work training, health care and drug addiction service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54734/12]

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter):   The Deputy will be aware that the Irish Prison Service, in common with the Public Service in general, has been affected by the moratorium on recruitment. In addition, the savings required of the Irish Prison Service under the Public Service Agreement 2010 – 2014 requires a reduction in staff numbers. The reality is that governors have to run their prisons with fewer staff and therefore there have been occasions where governors have had to prioritise tasks within the prisons. Where it is necessary to reassign certain staff members to frontline areas for security and operational reasons this is done on a rotational basis to ensure minimum disruption to other services. The detailed statistics, in relation to closures and curtailments, requested by the Deputy are not readily available and would require a manual examination of records in 14 prisons. This would involve an inordinate amount of staff time and effort that could not be justified where there are other significant demands on resources.

The reduction in staff numbers is being brought about through a joint staff/management in-depth review of all tasks in the Irish Prison Service, that will examine all aspects of prison work, including the provision of services to prisoners. Current staffing levels are some 300 below authorised numbers. To ensure that this reduction in staff numbers does not lead to a reduction in levels of service delivery, the joint task review process is creating new staffing configurations for all prisons. These new configurations take account of the reduced staff numbers and set out new work processes, new business processes and new policies with a view to maintaining and, in many cases, increasing services delivered to prisoners. In particular, the staff configuration is being rebalanced in favour of work training activities to support the introduction of the Incentivised Regimes programme and the continued application of an Integrated Sentence Management approach. Governors are aware of the importance of prisoners having access to a range of appropriate programmes and every effort is made to minimise the impact of any curtailment on prisoner programmes.

The Deputy will also be aware that I launched the Irish Prison Service Three Year Strategic Plan 2012 - 2015 in April of this year. The development of prisoner programmes forms a central part of this Strategy. There is a clear commitment in the Strategy to enhance sentence planning including Integrated Sentence Management and the delivery of prison based rehabilitative programmes such as education, work training and resettlement programmes. The Strategy Statement is available on the Irish Prison Service's website www.irishprisons.ie.

Garda Deployment

 68. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan   asked the Minister for Justice and Equality   the total number of Gardaí deployed to each Garda division and sub-division on an annual basis over the past ten years to date; the areas in which the greatest degree of fluctuation in numbers has occurred during this period; if cognisance has been taken of demographic trends; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54799/12]

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter):   I am informed by the Garda authorities that the personnel strength at the end of 2002 - 2007, 2008, 2009 - 2011 and as of 31 October 2012, the latest date for which figures are readily available, was as set out in the tables hereunder. Due to changes in Regional, Divisional and District boundaries in 2008 and 2009 it is not possible to present information in one single table.

  The Deputy will be aware that the Commissioner is responsible for the detailed allocation of resources, including personnel, throughout the organisation and I have no direct function in the matter. The allocation of Garda personnel is determined by Garda Management taking a number of factors into account including population, crime trends and as the policing needs of each individual Division dictates.

The tables for 2002-2007, 2008 and 2009-2012 are available in attachment Q68.xls at the top of the web page.

As of 31 October 2012

Tables

Tables

 Tables

Tables

Tables

Garda Retirements

 69. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan   asked the Minister for Justice and Equality   the total number of Gardaí who have retired or resigned in each of the past five years and to date in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54800/12]

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter):   I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that the number of Gardaí who have departed the Force in the years 2007-2011 and up to 30 November 2012 is as set out in the table.