Written answers
Tuesday, 30 September 2014
Department of Justice and Equality
Departmental Agencies
Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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311. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide in tabular form all of the State agencies, bodies, organisations and working groups under her Department's remit; the core duties and functions of same; the number of staff at same; the budget of each for 2013 and proposed budget for 2014; the date of establishment of the agencies or organisations; and the legislation, primary or otherwise, from which they derive their powers. [37209/14]
Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The information requested by the Deputy is set out in tabular form. I wish to advise the Deputy that I have not provided details of any appeal boards in my response as they are but part of the broad process/function of their main agency.
Name | Core duties and functions | Number of staff | Budget 2013 (€)(M) | Budget 2014 (€)(M) | Date of establishment | Legislation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awareness Raising and Training Working Group | Facilitate the implementation of the National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat the Trafficking of Human Beings in Ireland | Composed of representatives from Government, non-Government and International organisations | The budget of this body is provided as required by the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit | The budget of this body is provided as required by the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit | 2008 | N/A |
| National Referral Mechanism Working Group | As above | As above | - | - | 2008 | N/A |
| Sexual Exploitation Working Group | As above | As above | - | - | 2008 | N/A |
| Labour Exploitation Working Group | As above | As above | - | - | 2008 | N/A |
| Child Trafficking Working Group | As above | As above | - | - | 2008 | N/A |
| Office of the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland | The Board of the Charity Commissioners is mandated under the Charities Acts, 1961 and 1973 to provide services to trustees of charities and to carry out the intentions of persons making donations and bequests to charity. | 6 | .360 | .355 | 1845 | Charities Acts, 1961 and 1973 |
| The Irish Film Classification Office | To examine and certify all cinema films and videos/DVDs distributed in Ireland. To provide the public, and parents in particular, with a modern and dependable system of classification. | 7 FTE (Full Time Equivalents) | .700 | .700 | July 1923 | Censorship of Films Act 1923 Censorship of Films Amendment Acts, 1930, 1970 and 1992 Video Recordings Act 1989 |
| Office of the Data Protection Commissioner | To protect the individual’s right to data privacy by enabling people to know, and to exercise control over, how their personal information is used, in accordance with the Data Protection Acts and related legislation. | 29.03 FTE | 1.74 | 1.89 | July 1988 | Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003. European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) (Privacy and Electronic Communications) Regulations 2011. |
| Property Registration Authority | To provide a system of registration of title (ownership) to land which is comprehensively and readily accessible. To manage and control the Land Registry and the Registry of Deeds and to operate the Ground Rents Scheme. | 498 FTE | 31.2 | 30.1 | November 2006 | Registration of Title Act 1964 Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act 1978 Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006 Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 Land Registration Rules 2013 Registration of Deeds Rules in 2008, 2009 and 2013. |
| Property Services Regulatory Authority | To control, supervise and regulate Property Services Providers (i.e. Auctioneers/Estate Agents, Letting Agents and Management Agents); To operate a comprehensive licensing and complaints system in respect of Property Services Providers; To establish and maintain a Commercial Leases Database and Public Registers of Property Sales Prices and Licensed Property Services Providers. | 17.1 FTE | .832 | 1.07 | April 2012 | Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011. |
| Insolvency Service of Ireland | To restore insolvent debtors to solvency in a fair, transparent and equitable way. | 88.2 FTE | 7.40 | 7.20 | March 2013 | Personal Insolvency Act 2012 Bankruptcy Act 1988 The Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 (Part 7) Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 |
| Courts Service | The role of the Courts Service is to manage and administer the Courts.The functions as set out in the Courts Service Act, 1998, are to: a) Manage the Courts b) Provide support services for the judges c) Provide information on the Courts system to the public d) Provide, manage and maintain Court buildings and e) Provide facilities for users of the Courts. | 910.86 FTE | Gross Budget: 105 Net Expenditure Budget (less appropriations-in- aid): 58 | Gross Budget:105 Net Expenditure Budget (less appropriations-in- aid):58 | November 1999 | Courts Service Act 1998 |
| Working Group on Efficiency Measures in the Criminal Justice System (Circuit and District Courts) | The Working Group on Efficiency Measures in the Criminal Justice System (Circuit and District Courts) was established at the request of the Chief Justice and previous Minister for Justice and Equality. The Group has as its remit the identification of efficiencies and cost reduction measures across the Justice sector as a whole. | The Group is chaired by the Department of Justice and Equality and comprises members of the judiciary and senior representatives of the Courts Service, an Garda Síochána, the Irish Prison Service, the Probation Service, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Office of the Attorney General and the Legal Aid Board. | There are no costs, additional resources or legislation associated with the Group. No member of the Group is in receipt of any additional fee or payment. | There are no costs, additional resources or legislation associated with the Group. No member of the Group is in receipt of any additional fee or payment. | November 2011 | N/A |
| Legal Aid Board | Provision of legal aid and advice to persons of modest means. The Board holds responsibility for the following schemes: (i) The Garda Station Legal Advice Revised Scheme (ii) The Legal Aid-Custody Issues Scheme (iii) The Criminal Assets Bureau Ad-hoc Legal Aid Scheme (iv) Family Mediation Service (v) Service for Asylum Seekers | 373 (FTE) | Grant-in-Aid: 33.759 | Grant-in-Aid: 32.574 | Established in an administrative capacity in 1979 and was placed on a statutory footing under the Civil Legal Act, 1995. | Civil Legal Aid Act, 1995 (as amended). |
| Criminal Assets Bureau . | Section 4 and 5 of the CAB Act (as amended) set out the statutory objectives and functions of the Bureau which is primarily to identify and deprive the assets, wherever situated, of persons which derive or are suspected to derive, directly or indirectly, from criminal conduct. | 71 | 6.455 | 7.037 | The Bureau was established in 1996 by the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996. | The Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996/2005 The Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2005 All Revenue Legislation, but principally the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 All Social Welfare Legislation - primarily the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 |
| Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR) | The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains was established by an intergovernmental agreement between the Irish and British Governments, signed on 27 April, 1999. The purpose of the Commission is to facilitate the location of the remains of victims of paramilitary violence (The Disappeared), who were murdered and buried in secret arising from the conflict in Northern Ireland. | 1 | .419 | .611 | April 1999 | Criminal Justice (Location of Victims’ Remains) Act 1999 |
| Private Security Authority (PSA) | The Private Security Authority (PSA) is, an independent agency and the regulatory body with responsibility for regulating and licensing the private security industry. | 32 (FTE) | 2.254 | 2.234 | Late 2004 | Private Security Services Acts 2004 and 2011 and associated Regulations. |
| Criminal Law Codification Advisory Committee (currently inactive) | To oversee the development of a programme for the codification of the criminal law. | None | Nil | Nil | February 2007 | Part 14 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 |
| National Disability Authority | The principal function of the National Disability Authority is to advise the Minister for Justice and Equality regarding issues of policy and practice relating to disability and to act as a central national body which will assist the Minister in the coordination and development of policy in relation to persons with disabilities. | 30.9 FTE | 4.133 | 3.884 | June 2000 | The National Disability Authority Act 1999 (as amended by the Disability Act 2005). |
| Human Rights Commission (HRC) | The Human Rights Commission was established to promote and protect the human rights of everyone in Ireland under the Irish Constitution and under international agreements, treaties and conventions to which Ireland is a party. | The staff number for the HRC at the end of 2013, was 6 plus 3 on career break. | 4.34 | N/A (see Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission below) | 2000 | Human Rights Commission Act, 2000 |
| The Equality Authority. | The Equality Authority is an independent body set up under the Employment Equality Act 1998 and replaced the Employment Equality agency. The Employment Equality Act, 1998 and the Equal Status Act, 2000 outlaw discrimination in employment, vocational training, advertising, collective agreements, the provision of goods and services and other opportunities to which the general public generally have access on nine distinct grounds.These are gender; civil status; family status; age; disability; race; sexual orientation, religious belief; and membership of the the Traveller Community. | The staff number at the end of 2013 was 22. The current staff number for the Equality Authority is 28. This figure includes 9 staff redeployed during 2014 in preparation for the merger of The Equality Authority with the Irish Human Rights Commission. | 2.984 | N/A (see Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission below) | October 1999 | Employment Equality Act, 1998 |
| Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) | Legislation to merge the Human Rights Commission and the Equality Authority into the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) was passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas was signed by the President on 27th July, 2014. The functions of the Commission are as set out in section 10 of the Act and includes the following: (a) to protect and promote human rights and equality, (b) to encourage the development of a culture of respect for human rights, equality, and intercultural understanding in the State, (c) to promote understanding and awareness of the importance of human rights and equality in the State, (d) to encourage good practice in intercultural relations, to promote tolerance and acceptance of diversity in the State and respect for the freedom and dignity of each person, and (e) to work towards the elimination of human rights abuses, discrimination and prohibited conduct. (f) to provide information to the public in relation to human rights and equality generally, (g) to keep under review the adequacy and effectiveness of law and practice in the State relating to the protection of human rights and equality. | In the context of the merger of the HRC and the Equality Authority an Employment Control Framework of 47 has been provided for the IHREC. | N/A | 6.3 | July 2014 | Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014. |
| Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) (Eolaíocht Fhóiréinseach Éireann | To provide a service of scientific examinations to aid Garda investigations and verifiable results for use in Criminal trials. | 87.2 | 8.27 | 8.61 | First established as State Forensic Science Lab in 1975. Given new legal status as Forensic Science Ireland in 2014. | Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act, 2014 |
| An Garda Síochána | Provide policing and security services for the State as detailed in Section 7 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. | 12,905 members of An Garda Síochána as at the 31st July 2014. There are approx 14,500 including Garda and Civilian employees. | 1.46bn * * Post supplementary estimates | 1.34bn | Established following the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the Dublin Metropolitan Police merged with An Garda Síochána in 1925. | Numerous enactments including the the Garda Síochána Act 2005. |
| Garda Síochána Inspectorate | Examination of the effectiveness of the resources available to the Garda Síochána with regards to best international practice. | 12 | .970 | 1.002 | July 2006 | Garda Síochána Act 2005 Part 5 |
| Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) | The objectives and functions of GSOC are as specified in section 67 of the Garda Síochána Act, 2005 (as amended). | 79.6 (FTE) | 8.131 | 7.924 | December 2005 | Garda Síochána Act, 2005 (as amended) |
| Garda Síochána Complaints Board | The principal functions of the Garda Síochána Complaints Board were to generally supervise investigations into complaints by members of the public against members of An Garda Síochána and to adjudicate upon such complaints as provided for under the Garda Síochána (Complaints) Act, 1986. Following the establishment of GSOC the Garda Síochána Complaints Board’s mandate is now complete. The Department is currently arranging the repeal of the Garda Síochána (Complaints) Act, 1986, which will bring the Board’s existence to an end. | 2 | Pay: .177 Non-Pay:.018 | Pay: .092 Non-Pay: .018 | April 1987 | Garda Síochána (Complaints) Act, 1986 |
| Advisory Committee on Garda Interviewing of Suspects (Smyth Committee) | The Terms of Reference for the Committee are to keep the adequacy of the law, practice and procedure relating to the interviewing of suspects detained in Garda custody under review, taking into account evolving international best practice, and to advise the Minister and the Garda Commissioner on any changes that may be necessary. | 9 | No allocated budget | No allocated budget | July 2010 | The sixth report of the Morris Tribunal, published in 2008, included a recommendation that a Committee be established to oversee policy on interviews in Garda custody and to consider any changes in the law or practice as required. |
| Task force on the Second Report of the Convention on the Constitution | To examine issues arising from the Second Report of the Convention on the Constitution. | 2 staff of the Gender Equality Division provide a secretariat to the task force as part of their duties. | None | None | October 2013 | None |
| Monitoring Committee of the National Women's Strategy 2007-2016 | Monitoring the implementation of the Strategy | As part of their duties, 3 staff of the Gender Equality Division provide a secretariat to the committee as needed. | None | None | April 2007 | None |
| Office of Refugee Applications Commissioner | To investigate applications from persons seeking a declaration of refugee status or subsidiary protection and to issue appropriate recommendations to the Minister; To investigate applications by refugees to allow family members to enter and reside in the State and to report to the Minister on such applications. | The budget and staffing of ORAC is included in the overall budget and staffing allocation for the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service. | - | - | November 2000 | Refugee Act 1996 (as amended) |
| Refugee Appeals Tribunal | To consider and decide appeals against recommendations of the Refugee Applications Commissioner that applicants should not be declared to be refugees or persons entitled to subsidiary protection and to make appropriate recommendations to the Minister. | The budget and staffing of RAT is included in the overall budget and staffing allocation for the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service. | - | - | November 2000 | Refugee Act, 1996 (as amended) |
| Audit committee | The role of the Departmental Audit Committee is as follows: (i) A source of independent advice to Accounting Officers; (ii) Review the plans and reports of the Internal Audit Unit and quality assure the service provided by the Unit; (iii) Assess whether appropriate action is taken to deal with key issues identified by the Internal Audit Unit and in external audit reports; (iv) Examine and monitor the implementation of the Department’s risk management strategy; (v) Facilitate improvements in internal audit and internal control through the exchange of information between (ia Departments/Offices and (b) between the private and public sectors. | 5 representatives (4 external and one internal) | .369 | .385 | 2004 | N/A |
| Interdepartmental Working Group on Refugee Resettlement | Oversee and Co-ordinate the Refugee Resettlement Programme | 3 members of Department of Justice and Equality staff and staff from other Government Departments | Drawn from existing resources | Drawn from existing resources | 2006 | N/A |
| Cross Departmental Working Group on Migrant Integration | Review Ireland's Strategy on Migrant Integration | 4 members of Department of Justice and Equality staff and staff from other Government Departments | N/A | Drawn from existing resources | March 2014 | N/A |
| Mental Health (Criminal Law) Review Board | The Board is a statutory, independent body whose function is to review the detention of patients at the Central Mental Hospital. | 3 Departmental support staff 4 Board Members | .397 | .396 | September 2006 | Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2010 |
| Irish Prison Service | Providing safe and secure custody, dignity of care and rehabilitation to prisoners for safer communities | 3271 FTE Not including 120.45 HQ staff which are DoJ staff | 329 | 325 | Operates as an Executive Agency of the Department of Justice and Equality | N/A |
| Inspector of Prisons | The key role assigned to the Inspector is to carry out regular inspections of the 14 Prisons in the State and to present his report(s) on each institution inspected as well as an Annual Report to the Minister for Justice and Equality. | 5 | .388 | .382 | May 2007 | The Office of the Inspector of Prisons is a statutory, independent office established under the Prisons Act, 2007. |
| Parole Board | The Board's principal function is to advise the Minister for Justice and Equality in relation to the administration of long-term prison sentences. | 5 Departmental support staff 12 Board Members | .338 | .335 | April 2001 | The Parole Board, which replaced the Sentence Review Group, was established on an administrative basis in April 2001. |
| Probation Service | The role of the Probation Service is to contribute to public safety by the management of community sanctions and measures, the effective assessment and management of offenders and by facilitating the re-integration of ex-offenders. | 395 | 38.12 | 37.30 | 1 January 1908 Operates as an Executive Agency of the Department of Justice and Equality | Probation of Offenders Act, 1907 |
| National Traveller Monitoring and Advisory Committee (NTMAC) | To give concentrated attention to achieving greater progress for Travellers with a specific remit to advise on policy in relation to the Traveller Community. | Both the National Traveller Monitoring & Advisory Committee (NTMAC) and the High Level Group on Traveller Issues (HLG) are supported by the Traveller Policy Division of the Department of Justice & Equality which participates in and provides a secretariat service to both groups. NTMAC is chaired by Mr Joe Horan, an independent chairperson and includes membership from four national Traveller organisations along with a number of prominent individual Traveller representatives, Senior Officials from relevant Government Departments and agencies, and private sector interests. The HLG is chaired by the Minister for State for Equality issues and includes membership from relevant Government Departments and agencies, and reports to the Senior Officials Group on Social Policy. | N/A | N/A | March 2007 | N/A |
| High Level Group on Traveller Issues | To ensure that the relevant statutory agencies involved in providing the full range of services to Travellers, focus on improving the integrated practical delivery of such services and to report to the Senior Officials group on Social Policy. | See above | N/A | N/A | December 2003 | N/A |
| Logan Report Implementation Group | To report to the Minister for Justice & Equality by the end of the year on how the recommendations in the Logan Report are being implemented. | The Logan Report identifies a range of steps that need to be taken, including detailed issues that need to be addressed within An Garda Síochána and the HSE/Child and Family Agency and others, as well as wider issues that relate to how public services generally engage with members of the Roma community. An Implementation Group was established, chaired by the Department of Justice & Equality and comprising members from relevant Government Departments and agencies, which is supported by the Traveller Policy Division of the Department which participates in and provides a secretariat service. | N/A | Traveller Policy Division Budget Allocation for 2014: .305 | September 2014 | N/A |
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