Results 16,521-16,540 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Written Answers — Ministerial Appointments: Ministerial Appointments (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: I can inform the Deputy that during the period in question a total of 9 Special Advisers (6 male and 3 female) were appointed to 4 Ministers who held office in my Department. Not all of the Special Advisers in question would have served the full term of the Minister. Special Advisers are normally remunerated at Principal Officer level (Standard Scale currently €80,051 - €98,422, Higher...

Written Answers — European Council Meetings: European Council Meetings (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: In the year to 9 March 2011 there were eight Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council meetings. These were held on 22/23 April 2010, 3/4 June 2010, 15/16 July 2010, 7/8 October 2010, 8/9 November 2010, 2/3 December 2010, 20/21 January 2011 and 24/25 February 2011. My immediate predecessor, Mr. Brendan Smith T.D., was Minister at the time of the JHA Council meeting in February 2011, at which he...

Written Answers — Sexual Offences: Sexual Offences (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: Under the existing law the sale or purchase of sexual services is not an offence. However associated activities which cause a public nuisance such as soliciting by either party to a transaction or the exploitation of prostitution such as pimping or running a brothel are criminal offences. I am aware of the "turnofftheredlight" campaign for legislation here, based on the law in Sweden, to...

Written Answers — Garda Operations: Garda Operations (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: I am informed by the Garda authorities that the area referred to is within Clontarf Garda sub-district. Local Garda management is aware of difficulties being experienced by residents as a result of anti-social behaviour. A Community Garda has been specifically allocated to the area. The area is the subject of regular patrols by uniform and plain-clothes personnel, including the Community...

Written Answers — Citizenship Applications: Citizenship Applications (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: I have been informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that a person resident in the State as a minister of religion is given permission to remain on the basis, amongst other criteria, that they will be maintained by their religious institution. Permission of this nature is granted one year at a time. The first person referred to by the Deputy has permission to be...

Written Answers — Garda Vetting Service: Garda Vetting Service (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: I refer the Deputy to my reply below to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 283, 293, 297 and 310 of 5 April 2011 in which the position in this matter is set out fully. The position is unchanged since then. Let me say at the outset that I am concerned at the length of time currently being taken to process vetting applications. I recognise that it is important to process these applications within a...

Written Answers — Asylum Applications: Asylum Applications (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: Arising from the refusal of his asylum application, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned was notified, by letter dated 6 March, 2009, that the Minister proposed to make a Deportation Order in respect of him. He was given the options, to be exercised within 15 working days, of leaving the State voluntarily, of...

Written Answers — Asylum Applications: Asylum Applications (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: Arising from the refusal of her asylum application, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned was notified, by letter dated 26th April, 2010, that the Minister proposed to make a Deportation Order in respect of her. She was given the options, to be exercised within 15 working days, of leaving the State voluntarily, of...

Written Answers — Asylum Applications: Asylum Applications (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: The person concerned applied for asylum on 10th March, 2003. His asylum application was refused following the consideration of his case by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and, on appeal, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal. The person concerned was notified of the formal refusal of his asylum application by letter dated 30th May, 2008. The person concerned had also applied to...

Written Answers — Ministerial Appointments: Ministerial Appointments (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: I can inform the Deputy that I have made the following appointments since becoming Minister for Justice and Law Reform: 1. Judge Michael Reilly, Inspector of Prisons was appointed on 28 March 2011 to investigate an issue of concern and produce a report on the matter. 2. The Thornton Hall Prison Review Committee was appointed on 5 April 2011 to examine the need for new prison accommodation and...

Written Answers — Citizenship Applications: Citizenship Applications (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: A valid application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to in the Deputy's Question was received in the Citizenship Division of my Department in April 2010. The application is currently being processed in the normal way with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation and will be submitted to me for...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: Retired public servants are engaged by my Department and its agencies as necessary to provide their expertise in connection with particular areas such as the Conciliation and Arbitration Scheme, Value for Money Reviews and Interview Boards. A total of six retired public servants were employed under short-term contracts in the period 1 January 2010 to 31December 2010 at a cost of €81,875.86.

Written Answers — Official Languages Act: Official Languages Act (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 304 and 305 together. Signage in all buildings under the remit of the Department of Defence, including all agencies and bodies, is currently being assessed to ensure full compliance with the Official Languages Act. The full associated costs have not yet been calculated.

Written Answers — Overseas Missions: Overseas Missions (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: The Defence Forces are primarily deployed on overseas missions in support of international peace and security under UN mandates. On 20 December 2001, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1386 under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, authorising the establishment of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Ireland has participated in the NATO–led UN...

Written Answers — Ministerial Appointments: Ministerial Appointments (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: The number, cost and gender ratio of the special advisers appointed between June 1997 and February 2011 are set out below. Period of Appointment Number of Advisers Gender RatioMale:Female Total Cost 26/06/1997 - 08/10/1997 1 1:0 €14,922.65 25/11/1997 - 17/12/2001 1 1:0 €254,852.43 29/07/2002 - 12/10/2004 1 1:0 €170,156.49 19/10/2004 – 18/02/2010 2 1:1 €1,178,969.53...

Written Answers — European Council Meetings: European Council Meetings (12 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: There is no separate Defence Ministers' Council. However, twice a year – once during each Presidency – Defence Ministers attend the Foreign Affairs Council, which comprises of Foreign Affairs Ministers of Member States. In 2010, there were two meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council with Defence Ministers. The then Minister, Tony Killeen attended the meeting in Luxembourg on 26 April...

Sentencing Policy (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: It is important that there is consistency in sentencing policy. In my experience, court reports of what occurred in court and the sentences imposed are often incomplete. In many cases, where sentences appear to be inconsistent they are different because of the background circumstances in a particular case. I discovered that when one goes into this in more detail, frequently there is less...

Programmes for Government (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: The programme for a national Government, covering 2011 to 2016, contains a commitment to improve the quality of information available on the housing market by requiring that the selling price of all dwellings be recorded in a publicly available national housing price database. I intend to give effect to this commitment by assigning statutory responsibility for publishing details of...

Programmes for Government (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: I understand the Bill has been restored to the Dáil Order Paper although I am open to correction on this. Unfortunately, we cannot start Committee Stage until the committees are formed. As a select committee of the House will derive, ultimately, from a joint Oireachtas committee, we are somewhat stymied in establishing joint committees until we know the outcome of the Seanad elections. I...

Legal Profession (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: The programme for Government 2011-2016 undertakes to "establish independent regulation of the legal profession to improve access and competition, make legal costs more transparent and ensure adequate procedures for addressing consumer complaints". These undertakings complement those structural reforms in the EU-IMF programme of financial support for Ireland aimed at removing restrictions to...