Results 2,581-2,600 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Written Answers — Garda Stations: Garda Stations (6 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: The programme of replacement and refurbishment of Garda accommodation around the country is based on agreed priorities established by An Garda Síochána and it is progressed in close co-operation with the Office of Public Works, who have responsibility for the provision and maintenance of Garda accommodation. I am advised by the Garda authorities that work on the refurbishment of Mountjoy...

Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2011: Order for Second Stage (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: I move: "That Second Stage be taken now."

Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2011: Second Stage (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to present this Bill to the House, which is designed to encourage the greater use of community service as an alternative sanction to imprisonment. The first Bill I ever published as a Deputy was the Community Service Bill 1982, the first legislation published in the State to facilitate the courts making community service orders....

North-South Co-operation (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: The Government is committed to maintaining the highest level of co-operation between the Garda and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, PSNI, and between my Department and the Northern Ireland Department of Justice. It is clear that by working together on matters of mutual concern and interest we can improve the lives of all the people on the island of Ireland. Co-operation between the...

North-South Co-operation (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: The second part of the Deputy's question is, of course, an operational matter between the Garda Síochána and the PSNI. As for the first part of the question, there is absolutely no question but that the Garda will be fully supported in its efforts to counter the activities of the criminal terrorists who robbed Constable Kerr of his life. The programme for Government makes clear the...

Garda Deployment (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: I am firmly committed to supporting the Garda Síochána in prioritising operational front-line policing. This commitment is very much reflected in the Government's programme for national recovery which sets the objective of ensuring administrative duties are carried out by civilian staff to free up highly trained gardaí for the prevention and detection of crime. It also calls for a higher...

Garda Deployment (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: Civilianisation enables the direct replacement of sworn members who are engaged in exclusively clerical, administrative or technical duties with civilian staff. In many other cases, however, it allows sworn members who would otherwise need to devote substantial parts of their working days performing administrative duties, such as data entry about crime incidents into the PULSE system, to...

Garda Deployment (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: I do not want at this stage to put a definitive figure on it because it is an issue that the Garda Commissioner is examining. I expect we will have a further conversation about the matter in the not-too-distant future. When the proposals we are considering are finalised, I will be happy to bring the matter before the House again.

Prison Accommodation (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: I am committed to addressing the issue of in-cell sanitation in line with the Government programme for national recovery. The recent report of the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, CPT, acknowledged positive developments in the Irish prison system, such as the modernisation of the prison estate, the provision of...

Prison Accommodation (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: I agree with the Deputy's view that imprisonment should be a last resort, but there are some very bad and violent people in respect of whom, to protect the community, the only option is a sentence of imprisonment when a conviction is obtained. I agree with the Deputy's view regarding in-cell sanitation. It is a view I expressed from her side of the House. Within our prison system, all cells...

Garda Strength (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: I do not want to upset the Deputy on our first Question Time.

Garda Strength (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: I congratulate him and wish him well in his position as my opposite number.

Garda Strength (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: This is a rather odd question and is what would be termed, in the lexicon of the United States and a language with which my father is familiar - Yiddish - as one of the best examples of chutzpah I can find. It is difficult to take the Deputy's question seriously as the previous Government, led by the Deputy's party, in its National Recovery Plan 2011–2014 published late last year, required...

Garda Strength (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy correctly states that the programme for Government commits to a strong and efficient police force and it is our commitment to maintain such a force. With regard to numbers we are considering the implications of the EU and IMF agreement and I have an obligation in my Department to meet the financial estimates and not to over-reach in that regard. The Garda Commissioner must also...

Sentencing Policy (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: The traditional approach to sentencing is for the Oireachtas to lay down the maximum penalty and for a court, having considered all the circumstances of the case, to impose an appropriate penalty up to that maximum. There are a small number of cases, however, where statute has created important exceptions to this approach. Mandatory sentencing requirements apply most notably for murder,...

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...

Sentencing Policy (7 Apr 2011)

Alan Shatter: The traditional approach to sentencing is for the Oireachtas to lay down the maximum penalty and for a court, having considered all the circumstances of the case, to impose an appropriate penalty up to that maximum. There are a small number of situations, however, where statute has created exceptions to this approach. As mentioned, mandatory sentencing requirements apply in a limited number...