Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 22: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform his plans to proceed with the plan to allow the Irish Prison Service to assume responsibility for escorting remand prisoners to and from court; if he will confirm that the Irish Prison Service has said that it cannot afford to take on responsibility for this task; the number of Garda hours used to provide this service each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35372/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

As part of the Proposal for Organisational Change in the Irish Prison Service (IPS), which was agreed with staff representatives in 2005, a dedicated Prison Service Escort Corp (PSEC) was established. Essentially, this is a dedicated corps of staff whose task is to escort prisoners to and from court in new cellular vehicles, thus eliminating the need to resort to overtime working as had been the practice heretofore.

During 2008 preliminary discussions were held between the Irish Prison Service and An Garda Síochána in relation to the potential for the PSEC to undertake some escorts that are currently being carried out by An Garda Síochána; specifically the escorting of remand prisoners. These discussions identified that there would be a necessary increase in Irish Prison Service staffing levels to allow it to undertake this work. The IPS were not at that time in a position to put the necessary additional staffing in place, and in September 2008 informed An Garda Síochána of that position. The IPS has, however, since the opening of the new Criminal Courts Complex in Dublin taken responsibility for some escorts that were previously carried out by An Garda Síochána.

In the context of the Public Service Agreement 2010 - 2014 my Department has been examining the potential for the delivery of efficiencies through greater cooperation and interaction between elements of the criminal justice system and issues such as this will be considered in that context. The following tables show the number of hours expended by Garda and civilian personnel in performing duties relating to the transportation of remand prisoners to / from Court by An Garda Síochána for 2009 and 2010 (to roster ending 19th September, 2010)

Period 12/1/09 – 10/1/10

Period 11/1/10 – 19/9/10

^^ Liquor Licensing Laws ^^

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 23: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the recent annual report of the Garda diversion programme that teenagers came to the attention of the Garda for public drunkenness more than any other offence last year; the steps he is taking to deal with the illegal sale of alcohol to those under age; the steps planned to regulate so-called home deliveries of alcohol; when it is intended to implement the provision in the Intoxicating Liquor Act of 2002 providing for the traceability of take-away drink sales; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35374/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Annual Report on the Garda Diversion Programme for 2009 indicates that there was a reduction of 13% in the number of incidents referred to the programme, and a reduction of 14% in the number of children referred to it, during that period. As regards alcohol-related offences, there was a reduction of 22% in the number of such offences compared with 2008. This suggests that the Government's approach to tackling alcohol-related offences, and associated anti-social behaviour, is proving effective and I want to congratulate the Gardaí for their work in this area.

The sale of alcohol products to underage persons is already prohibited under licensing law. It is an offence under section 31(2) of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 1988 for a license holder to sell or deliver, or permit another person to sell or deliver, intoxicating liquor to a person under 18 years. This applies equally to premises with off-licences, including supermarkets, convenience stores and similar outlets, and those with on-licences such as public houses. The penalties for selling or delivering alcohol products to under-18s, originally set out in the Intoxicating Liquor Act 1988, were substantially increased in the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008. On conviction for a first offence, a mandatory closure order of between 2 and 7 days will be imposed, together with a fine of up to €3,000. The penalties for a second, or subsequent, offence is a closure order of between 7 and 30 days, and a fine of up to €5,000. In addition, the licensee is required to continue to pay staff for the duration of the closure period.

The Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008 also provided the Gardaí with significant additional powers to address the problem of alcohol sales to underage persons. Section 14 contains provisions which allow a Garda who believes with reasonable cause that such a person possesses a bottle or other container containing intoxicating liquor which is being, or is intended to be, consumed by him or her to seize and remove the container. Section 14 of the 2008 Act also makes provision for the test purchasing of alcohol products. The primary objective of the scheme, which entered into force on 1 October, is to enable the Gardaí to target those licensed premises which are suspected of engaging in illegal sales to young people. This scheme will provide them with an additional instrument in their overall enforcement programme.

As regards additional measures to combat home deliveries of alcohol products to underage persons, I have already announced my intention to make it an explicit offence in the forthcoming Sale of Alcohol Bill for a third party, e.g. courier or taxi, to deliver alcohol to an underage person. I am also considering the possibility of introducing of a 'test delivery' scheme to complement the test purchasing scheme. It would cover both home deliveries to under 18s, and also deliveries to any person where, contrary to the law, payment for the alcohol product is accepted on delivery.

As regards the labelling of alcohol containers, section 22 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003 already provides for the making of regulations to specify particulars to be displayed on containers which are adequate to enable the licensee and the licensed premises concerned to be identified. However during consultations between my Department and the Attorney General's Office on implementation of section 22, the Attorney General's office expressed serious doubts about the evidential value of possession of a labelled container by an under-18 year old. For example, the container might have been taken from the home by the underage person, or legally sold to a person over 18 years and passed on to the underage person. This has cast serious doubt on the benefits to be gained from any regulations that might be made under the 2003 Act.