Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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447. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of applications by persons (details supplied) to be appointed as Peace Commissioners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35654/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Peace Commissioners are appointed under section 88 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924. The Office of Peace Commissioner is an honorary appointment and Peace Commissioners receive no remuneration or compensation by way of fees or expenses for their services.

An application for appointment may be submitted by a person who is interested in obtaining an appointment or a third party may submit a nomination in respect of a person considered suitable for appointment. Nominations are generally received from public representatives. A local Garda Superintendent sometimes requests an appointment in a particular area in the public interest.

There is no qualifying examination involved but appointees are required to be of good character and they are usually well established in the local community. Persons convicted of serious offences are considered unsuitable for appointment. To this end, a background check on nominees is carried out by An Garda Síochána.

Persons who are members of professions or employed in occupations which engage in legal work or related activities and members of the clergy are, as a matter of practice, not appointed because of their occupation. Civil servants are usually only appointed where the performance of their official duties requires an appointment (i.e. ex-officio).

Officials in my Department have informed me that no application for appointment to the Office of Peace Commissioner has been received on behalf of the first person referred to by the Deputy.

Applications have been received on behalf of the other two persons in question.

I understand that officials in the Peace Commissioner Unit have made enquires with the office of the person who nominated the third person referred to by the Deputy, seeking basic contact details to enable them to process the application. To date, no response has been received. Processing of this application will continue when this information has been received. The other application is close to finality and a decision will issue shortly.