Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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564. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of prosecutions per year brought against drivers who fail to surrender their licence or learner permit to the Road Safety Authority upon disqualification where the disqualification is due to orders having been made by the courts or due to the driver having received the maximum number of penalty points; the number of convictions per year; the penalties imposed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4529/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, management of the courts, including operational matters and logistical functions, are the responsibility of the judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998, and given the separation of powers in the Constitution. 

As Minister, I have no role in these matters.

It is the function of the Courts Service to provide information on any convictions handed down or orders issued by the Courts. Data regarding the number of successful prosecutions in a particular area is also maintained by the Courts Service. 

The Courts Service has a dedicated email address for the provision of information to members of the Houses of the Oireachtas: oireachtasenquiries@courts.ie.

To be of assistance, I have also referred the Deputy's query directly to the Courts Service.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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565. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of asylum seekers seeking international protection who arrived in Ireland in 2022 having come from another European country; and the number who were returned under the Dublin Convention. [4549/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Seeking protection is a human right and when someone asks for protection at the border of a country, that country’s authorities must examine that application. Ireland, as a party to the Geneva Convention, must also meet this obligation. 

Immigration officials conduct passport checks on arrival to ensure passengers are properly documented in accordance with Section 11 of the Immigration Act 2004. If a person indicates or is identified as being in need of international protection, they are admitted to the international protection process. Each application for international protection is examined in detail on its individual merits, taking all factors into account.

Information is not available to my Department that would identify the country of transit (such as a European country) taken by a person arriving in Ireland and subsequently making an application for international protection.

When processing international protection applications, the International Protection Office (IPO) checks every applicant over the age of 14 against the Eurodac database, which is a database that stores the fingerprints of international protection applicants or people who have crossed a border illegally.

The making of a transfer decision under the EU Dublin Regulation is not a deportation order. The Dublin Regulation determines which EU Member State is responsible for examining an international protection application. It is based on the principle that the first Member State to facilitate entry to the EU should be responsible for examining the protection application.

The Dublin Unit of the International Protection Office (IPO) in the Department is responsible for determining whether an applicant should be transferred to another Member State (known as an outgoing transfer request) or have their application assessed in Ireland. The Unit also responds to requests from other Member States to transfer applicants to Ireland (known as an incoming transfer request). 

I can confirm that there were 24 outgoing transfer decisions made in 2022 under the Dublin Regulation and a total of 3 people were returned in 2022 on foot of a Dublin Convention transfer order. While the numbers of transfers effected appear low, it should be noted that Dublin iii transfers can be challenging to enforce due to a number of factors including potential legal challenges and transfer arrangements which need to be made with the returning country.

In addition a person can make submissions to the Minister requesting for their case to be dealt with in Ireland which can further impact on the timeframes and numbers transferred. 

My Department is committed to reducing processing times for international protection applicants and is taking steps to ensure that applications are dealt with as quickly as possible.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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566. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the total number of prisoners who died while in prison in the State in 2022, by month and prison, in tabular form. [4680/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I can advise the Deputy that 20 people died while in custody in 2022 and I would like to express my sympathies to the family and friends of each of those individuals.

As the Deputy may be aware, all deaths in custody are notified to An Garda Síochána, who investigate where circumstances warrant, in addition to the inquest held in the Coroner's Court. The cause of death is determined by a jury on the basis of the information presented to the Coroner's Court. 

The Deputy will also be aware that all deaths in custody and deaths that occur within one month of temporary release, are also subject to an independent investigation by the Inspector of Prisons. 

Following this investigation, the Inspector of Prisons Office makes recommendations for improvement where appropriate. These recommendations are forwarded to the Prison Service for their attention and the final report is submitted to the Minister for Justice. Finalised reports and any associated Prison Service Action Plan to address recommendations are published in an anonymised form on the Gov.iewebsite and made available to the Coroner.

Further, the Irish Prison Service has a robust, internal review mechanism which assesses the circumstances of a death in custody, highlights accountability and actions taken in relation to the incident, and outlines lessons learned. This outcome review is reported to the Irish Prison Service National Suicide and Harm Prevention Steering Group, which is chaired by the Director General.

The circumstances of each death in custody and incident of self-harm are also examined by a suicide prevention group in each institution. The groups are chaired by the Prison Governor and include representatives from the various services including; Prison Doctor, Psychiatry, Psychology, Chaplaincy, Probation, Education, and Prison staff. The Groups are required to meet quarterly, or more often if necessary. Their examinations fully cover the background and circumstances of each death and their objective is to identify, where possible, measures which might be implemented to contribute to a reduction in the risk of deaths in the future.

The information in the format requested by the Deputy in relation to the deaths in custody in 2022 is provided in the table below.

The Deputy may also wish to know that in addition to the above figures, four people died in 2022 while on temporary release or on renewable temporary release, three of which were referred to the Office of the Inspector of Prisons for independent investigation.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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567. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of deaths in custody investigations which have been commenced by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons following the deaths of prisoners in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4681/23]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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568. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of deaths in custody investigations by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons which are ongoing; and the number finalised and submitted to him awaiting publication, by year of death, in tabular form. [4682/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 568 and 567 together.

As the Deputy may be aware, all deaths in custody and deaths that occur within one month of temporary release, are subject to an independent investigation by the Inspector of Prisons.

Following this investigation, the Inspector of Prisons Office makes recommendations for improvement where appropriate. These recommendations are forwarded to the Prison Service for their attention and the final report is submitted to the Minister for Justice. Finalised reports and any associated Prison Service Action Plan to address recommendations are published in an anonymised form on theGov.iewebsite and made available to the Coroner.

The Office of the Inspector of Prisons in conducting their investigations seek to thoroughly explore and analyse all aspects of the case. As the Deputy will appreciate, this process can take time.  In addition, as part of this process, the Office of the Inspector of Prisons engages with the next of kin of the person who has died.  

I am advised that the Office of the Inspector of Prisons was notified of 23 Deaths in Custody (or within one month of temporary release) which occurred during 2022.  The report in one case was published on 15 September, 2022.  Investigation of all other cases is on-going.

The information sought by the Deputy relating to the number of death in custody investigations by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons which are ongoing; the number finalised and the number submitted to me and awaiting publication, by year of death, is contained in the Table below. 

Two of three reports currently with my office were received in late 2022 with the final one received in early 2023. These reports are being considered and I expect to publish them shortly.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my sympathies to the family and friends of all of those who died while in custody.