Results 3,381-3,400 of 18,728 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Irish Prison Service. (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: No other Minister is engaging in more radical reform than I am.

Irish Prison Service. (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: I reiterate my point that Deputy Cuffe may be surprised when reads the third report of the Inspector of Prisons and Places of Detention where it refers to private involvement in the running of prisons.

Coroners Service. (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 28 together. The report of the coroners review group, published in December 2000, recommended a comprehensive overhaul and modernisation of the coroner service in Ireland, with regard to the legislation governing the work of coroners, the support services available to coroners and the structural organisation of the coroner service. The proposed new...

Coroners Service. (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: I agree with the thrust of the Deputy's remarks but not with how he expressed some of them. Reform in this area is long overdue. The Coroners Act was introduced in 1962 and even then was unduly restrictive and problematic. Now in 2005 the time is long past for reform of the coroner service. The choice that confronted me was whether to produce what is called a break-out Bill to provide for an...

Coroners Service. (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: The figure of €110,000 is misleading because many coroners' salaries come from Departments other than mine. On the issue of the powers of coroners, in the past we had an overly timid approach to their powers. As the Deputy will recall, when suicide was a crime, it was held by the courts that a coroner could not find that suicide was the cause of death because it was an imputation of...

Coroners Service. (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: There should be a broader power than simply saying, for example, that somebody died of asphyxiation. The analogy for a coroners court is not an adversarial court; it is more like a standing tribunal into unnatural deaths or suspected unnatural deaths. A tribunal can make a finding which is of significance and which the public can understand, but it does not have legal consequence in terms of...

Coroners Service. (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: I share Deputy Costello's concern that on occasions the sufferings of people whose loved ones have died have been aggravated significantly by the fact that pharmacological tests are conducted simply to exclude the possibility of overdose in circumstances where it is only a technical possibility. These people must wait months to receive the results of those tests before a proper post mortem...

Prisoner Escort Services. (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: The Deputy will be aware that the recently published Prisons Bill 2005 contains provisions which will enable the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to enter into an agreement with another party for the provision of prisoner escort services. This legislation will be enacted without delay. Arrangements to invite tenders for the outsourcing of this service will proceed in parallel....

Prisoner Escort Services. (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: I do not want to discuss this matter in public in a way that would do more harm than good.

Prisoner Escort Services. (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: I have been very committed to this process and I have shown great patience. If the Deputies knew exactly what I have done and what I have forborne from doing to bring about an agreed conclusion to this process, they would be surprised.

Prisoner Escort Services. (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: I am not in the business of renegotiating a deal that was reached through the public service arbitrator. If I were to do so, I would be setting a horrific precedent. It was clear during the frank discussion I had with the prison officers' executive, which was friendly on a personal level, that the position is as I have outlined. If the prison officers want me to consider a particular...

Prisoner Escort Services. (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: I do not intend to re-enter negotiations with prison officers. There will be no more discussions. If they wish to make a proposal, they can put it to me in writing and I will decide whether to accept it. I expect any proposal that is made by prison officers to command acceptance among them. I will not negotiate with them for a third time. The measures I am taking are proceeding. I assure...

Leaders' Questions. (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: They are coming.

Written Answers — Tribunals of Inquiry: Tribunals of Inquiry (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: I agreed to meet two members of this family and their legal representatives together with two public representatives to discuss the legal representation of the family at the Morris tribunal. The meeting was arranged for the afternoon of 6 May. However, that morning I learned that the family would not be accompanied by its legal representatives and also that it proposed to have two other...

Written Answers — National Emergency Plan: National Emergency Plan (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 297 together. I am informed by the Garda authorities that a major emergency exercise, involving the south and south-eastern Garda regions, occurred on 22 March 2005 in Youghal on the inter-county boundary of Cork and Waterford. The exercise involved a simulated collision between a large passenger bus and a heavy goods vehicle with a hazardous load. The...

Written Answers — Deportation Orders: Deportation Orders (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: Charter flights are not the only means by which persons who are illegally resident here are removed from the State. For example, in 2004, a total of 599 persons were deported from the State, of whom 277 were removed on chartered aircraft and the remaining 322 on scheduled commercial aircraft. A further 65 persons who had first claimed asylum in another EU State were removed to that State...

Written Answers — Garda Personnel: Garda Personnel (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: I have been informed by the Garda authorities, who are responsible for the detailed allocation of resources, including personnel, that as of the 13 May 2005 there were 86 juvenile liaison officer, JLO, gardaí and eight, JLO sergeants working in the various divisions throughout the country. In addition to this the National Juvenile Office has a staff of one superintendent, two inspectors and...

Written Answers — Child Care Services: Child Care Services (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: The Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, EOCP, 2000-2006, is a central pillar in the Government's child care strategy and is intended to increase the availability and quality of child care supports for parents in employment, education or training. The programme is funded by the Exchequer and the European Union Structural Funds as part of the regional operational programmes of the national...

Written Answers — Asylum Applications: Asylum Applications (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: The information requested is set out as follows in tabular format. Table 1: Number of applications for asylum received and the number of recommendations by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner* to grant refugee status (at first instance) in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005**. 2002 2003 2004 2005* No. of applications received 11,634 7,900 4,766 1,579 No. of...

Written Answers — Homophobic Crime: Homophobic Crime (17 May 2005)

Michael McDowell: I share the concern of the Deputy and this House, and that of the public in general, about attacks on members of the gay community and other minority groups in the community. Article 40.1 of the Constitution states: "All citizens shall, as human persons, be held equal before the law". I am informed by the Garda authorities that they are satisfied that the areas frequented by members of the...