Results 5,901-5,920 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Industrial Relations Issues (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: It is unfortunate that the GRA approaches a number of issues in the manner in which it does. It is unfortunate that it uses, with some regularity, inflammatory language. I recognise that there are members of the Garda force - as there are others throughout the community - who are suffering some personal financial difficulty. Not all the difficulty being suffered is directly connected to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Judicial Appointments (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: Again, it is important that we do not raise questions over the independence of any member of the Judiciary, regardless of which Government has made the appointment. I wish to assure the Deputy, despite what I read in the newspapers, that every judicial appointment made by this Government has been made on merit, and I can say that categorically. There was an interesting survey done by a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Judicial Appointments (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: I would be in favour of some additional transparency but I have particular concerns with what the Deputy is suggesting in his measure. Let us assume, for example, there is one person to be appointed to the Judiciary and three names are publicly given and background information about the candidates is also publicly given. It would be fine for the person who was appointed but it could be a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Judiciary Issues (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: It is usual for the Minister for Justice and Equality to have regular contact with the Judiciary regarding Courts Service matters. Since my appointment I have met regularly with the Chief Justice in her capacity as chair of the Courts Service Board on a range of issues and, from time to time, with other members of the Judiciary. Prior to the enactment of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Judiciary Issues (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: The controversy that arose and lasted for some days came as something of a surprise to me and it was as a result of a misunderstanding on the part of the AJI. There had been ongoing contact on the issues they raised that fall within my brief. For example, there was a suggestion that there had been no communication or contact with them regarding the provisions in the Personal Insolvency Act...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: I entirely agree with the Deputy. The public is entitled to effective policing. The public is getting effective policing because if the Deputy examines the Central Statistics Office figures, the most recent figures published show that crime is effectively down in 11 of the 14 crime categories. In the context of burglary, if one compares the last quarter of 2012 with the last quarter of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Judicial Appointments (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: As I indicated to the Deputy on the previous occasion we discussed the matter, I welcome his contribution to this important issue and will have regard to his Private Members' Bill in the context of my Department's review of the judicial appointments process. I have read his Bill very carefully and I appreciate the contribution he is making to this process. If his party wishes to progress...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 3 together. There are currently just under 13,400 members of the Garda Síochána, along with approximately 2,000 civilian support staff and 1,100 reserve gardaí. While it is difficult to predict with any certainty the number of Garda members who will retire in any year, given that members with 30 years' service may retire on full pension...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy has yet again illustrated that he has a neck as thick as a rhinoceros's behind, talking about dodging and weaving-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: I am sorry if I touched a sensitive zone.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy accused me of dodging and weaving on issues-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: -----and I am entitled to respond. He is classically dodging, weaving and trying to reinvent history.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: The simple reality is that, under the agreement Fianna Fáil entered into with the troika, there would have been - I emphasise this - €90 million per year less available to An Garda Síochána for 2012-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: -----2013 and 2014. That is factual.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: It is a factual matter that the Deputy seeks to avoid dealing with and dodge. Indeed, his leader, Deputy Martin, seeks to do that while pretending a concern for recruitment to An Garda Síochána so as either to con members of the Garda force about the level of Fianna Fáil's commitment or to mislead the general public disingenuously. The reality is, I have said - and I repeat -...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: -----to pay the salaries that must be paid. I remained quiet while the Deputy was asking his questions of me. He is great at asking questions, but the truth is that he has no answers. He does not like my answers, which is why he feels the need to interrupt. The simple reality is that we have provided the funding to An Garda Síochána to preserve numbers at a higher level than was...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Numbers (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: The total number of entry visas granted in 2011 and 2012 was around 74,700 and 79,300 respectively. This compares with about 65,700 and 70,300 in the preceding two years and represents an increase of almost 21% in that time. In addition, my Department also issued 53,480 re-entry visas in 2011 and 44,073 in 2012. Re-entry visas are issued to visa-required nationals who are legally resident in...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Retirements (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: Members of An Garda Síochána may retire on a voluntary basis once they have reached 50 years of age and have accrued 30 years service. Members must retire on compulsory age grounds on reaching the age of 60. In actual fact, most Gardaí take voluntary retirement ahead of their compulsory retirement age and it is not possible to predict with any certainty the number of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Family Reunification Policy (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 12 together. Work has been underway on a policy document on family reunification for some time and this is now well advanced. It is my intention to publish this document in the coming weeks. That is not to say that no policies are in place as things stand. On the contrary, every year the immigration authorities process significant levels of family...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Asylum Support Services (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Direct Provision system managed by the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) of my Department remains a key pillar of the State's asylum and immigration system and I have no plans to end it at this time. Rather, my intention is that the factors which lead to delays in the processing of cases are dealt with so that asylum seekers spend as little time as is necessary in that accommodation...