Results 6,361-6,380 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The Deputy wants to nationalise them all.

Prison Accommodation. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I wish to inform the Deputy that as of 17 September 2009 there were 3,947 permanent beds available in the prison system. On the same day there were 3,904 prisoners in custody. This represented an occupancy level of 99%. The table circulated with this reply provides a breakdown of the population of each prison and place of detention. There has been a consistent increase in the total...

Prison Accommodation. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: There is no massaging of figures and I get a daily update of numbers, which I ask for, from officials. As of 22 September, the occupancy rate is 99% and the figure for those on temporary release is 545. That is in the region of 12% or 13%. There is a difficulty in our prisons and that is one of the reasons I have moved very rapidly to ensure we get as many prison spaces as possible. I...

Prison Accommodation. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I want our prison spaces to be used purely and simply for those who deserve to be imprisoned.

Prison Accommodation. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Temporary release has always been part of sentence management in the Prison Service.

Prison Accommodation. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: It is ironic that in the past I was berated for trying to promote the building of a prison at Thornton Hall. I am glad, however, that the Deputy now appears to accept the need to replace Mountjoy with a prison at that location. I had been under the impression that he and Fine Gael were opposed to the building of a prison at Thornton Hall. I deserve at least some credit for the fact that...

Prison Accommodation. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: -----and court hearings, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of prisoners.

Prison Accommodation. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: This is due to the success of our law enforcement agencies. Ultimately, we must respond to this development. I accept that the practice of imprisoning people for the non-payment of fines should end. In effect, many of those individuals are brought to Mountjoy or elsewhere, a great deal of paperwork is done and they are released within 24 hours.

Prison Accommodation. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: This is not acceptable and I have informed my officials of that fact. I want us to reach a situation where-----

Prison Accommodation. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: They are and a number of them would be included in the overall figures. It is important that the House should send out a strong signal that it does not want people to be imprisoned for the non-payment of fines. We must consider other ways of collecting fines.

Criminal Prosecutions. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: All sections of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 are in operation. The Garda Commissioner has informed me that compiling statistics in respect of Part 4 of the Act, which deals with detentions and arrest, would require an examination of manual records and thus require a disproportionate expenditure of Garda time and resources. The House will be aware that, prior to a renewal of the...

Criminal Prosecutions. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I am of the view that the Deputy may, perhaps, suffer from a misapprehension with regard to how legislation is enacted. The legislation in question was only brought into force on 23 July. The Deputy and others said that we should not pass this legislation and that there should be further analysis and discussion in respect of it. He stated that the courts would not be sitting in July and...

Criminal Prosecutions. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Deputy Rabbitte is doing the House a disservice because he is well aware of the answer to his question, namely, that there have been no prosecutions to date under the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act, which only came into force on 23 July.

Criminal Prosecutions. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I am astounded. For someone who is a spokesperson on justice and who should have some experience on how court cases are managed and Garda files are put together, the Deputy shows total ignorance as to how a court action is prepared. The Deputy must be doing so tongue in cheek because he is well aware that within a month or two of the passage of legislation, particularly of this magnitude...

Criminal Prosecutions. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: It is the case that in respect of-----

Criminal Prosecutions. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I was not briefing the newspapers.

Criminal Prosecutions. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I can assure Members on my word of honour in this House that I was not briefing the newspapers.

Criminal Prosecutions. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I am not privy to who was briefing in that fashion and no one was so doing on my behalf either.

Criminal Prosecutions. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The Deputy is well aware of where it was coming from.

Criminal Prosecutions. (22 Sep 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Deputy Rabbitte was caught out in respect of this important and vital legislation. At no stage did I state that it would solve entirely the issue of gangs and crime in Ireland.