Results 3,541-3,560 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Written Answers — Tribunals of Inquiry: Tribunals of Inquiry (22 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Question Nos. 153 to 155, inclusive, together. The Deputy will be aware that on 1 June 2011 the Dáil passed a Resolution amending the terms of reference of the Smithwick Tribunal of Inquiry to require it to provide an interim report to the Clerk of the Dáil not later than 30 June 2011 and to present its final report to the Clerk of the Dáil not later than 30 November...

Written Answers — Garda Operations: Garda Operations (22 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: Garda expenses are paid from the Garda Vote. I am currently in discussions with my Government colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to the arrangements to be made to meet the costs of the visits mentioned by the Deputy.

Written Answers — Army Barracks: Army Barracks (22 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: Various commissions, reports and studies back to the 1990s identified barrack closure as a fundamental requirement towards improving military effectiveness and efficiency. The dispersal of Defence Forces personnel over an extended number of locations is a major impediment to essential collective training and the consolidation process is designed to facilitate higher training standards, while...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (22 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: My Department does not have a North South Cooperation Unit.

Priority Questions (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: I appreciate we are starting a few minutes early. Somebody might phone Deputy Calleary and we could allow him a few minutes to get here. Everyone anticipated a 5 p.m. start. I do not want to cut him short. Perhaps we could wait a few minutes for him to get here.

Legal Aid Service (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: I can inform the Deputy that the Legal Aid Board is committed to seeking to ensure that applicants for legal services receive a substantive appointment with a solicitor within a maximum period of four months. This is consistent with the view expressed by the High Court in the O'Donoghue case. Certain types of cases are deemed by their nature to merit the provision of an immediate or near...

Legal Aid Service (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: I thank the Deputy for his questions; they are all important issues. The real problem is that at this time when an increasing number of people are using the civil legal aid system there are decreasing resources. For example, the board's grant-in-aid, which accounts for the vast majority of its funding, other than in regard to asylum, has been as follows since 2008 - €26,988,000 in 2008,...

Legal Aid Service (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: The scheme formally starts on 1 July. Applications must be made through the Department of Social Protection. The scheme has substantial possibilities for providing some work experience for young people who are unemployed and have a variety of skills. The Legal Aid Board is one of the areas in which the scheme will be used. In my conversation with the chairperson, she was enthusiastic...

Garda Deployment (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: The approximately 2,100 full-time equivalent civilian support staff in the Garda Síochána provide vital support services in a wide range of areas, such as human resources, training and development, IT and telecommunications, finance and procurement, internal audit, research and analysis, accommodation and fleet management, scene-of-crime support and medical services. However, while the...

Garda Deployment (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy referred to the recent recruitment embargo. The EU-IMF agreement, as concluded at the end of last year, provided for a reduction in Garda numbers from 14,500 to 13,000 by 2014. Indeed, the numbers are supposed to decrease to 13,500 during the course of this year, but the likelihood of achieving that is low, since the previous Government did not prescribe any mechanism that would...

Garda Deployment (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: The Government has stated - I will repeat it - that maintaining front line services is a priority. I cannot give commitments about particular Garda stations, as it is important that we retain open minds to ensure that operational duties are focused where they are needed. It is a matter within the remit of the Garda Commissioner as to how best to use the resources available to him to protect...

Magdalene Laundries (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: The UN Committee against Torture issued its concluding observations on Monday, 6 June, following Ireland's first examination in Geneva last month under Article 19 of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Its concluding observations cover a wide range of areas that impact on the remit of several Departments. In respect of the...

Magdalene Laundries (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: We are giving consideration to the person who should be appointed as chairperson of the group. It will be a person of stature, whose independence will not be open to question. I hope to be in a position to announce the name of the person within the next ten days. As regards the group, it will be required to produce a report within three months on what progress has been made. I do not...

Magdalene Laundries (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: I presume the wall of official indifference to which Professor Manning, as president of the Human Rights Commission, was referring was the indifference shown during the term of office of the previous Government which failed to address this issue or put in place the structures the Government of which I am a member is putting in place which it sees as part of a process. Consultations with the...

Magdalene Laundries (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: The meetings with the groups will be private to give everyone an opportunity to discuss how we should proceed. We want to ensure records will be made available by the congregations and will be accessible. The interdepartmental committee will meet and a report will be produced, following which further conclusions from the interactions will have to be drawn.

Garda Complaints Procedures (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission's annual report for 2010 was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas earlier this month and is available in the Oireachtas Library. The report gives useful details of the commission's work throughout the year. The number of complaints made, at 2,258, was not markedly different from that for the previous year, nor was the number of referrals from...

Garda Complaints Procedures (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: The Garda Commissioner is reviewing the report. The breakdown of the incidents which gave rise to complaints is interesting. We must ensure people are treated courteously by members of the Garda Síochána. Members of the Garda Síochána are also frequently the victims of spurious complaints which can arise in the context, for example, of road traffic incidents involving people who may...

Garda Complaints Procedures (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: That the overwhelming majority of people have great faith and trust in the Garda Síochána and the individual members of the force with whom they come into contact is very well set out in the results of the survey. However, there have of course been individual incidents of misconduct within the Garda, as there are inevitably individual incidents of misconduct within any large group of...

Criminal Investigations (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: One of my top priorities is that allegations of white collar crime are fully investigated and the perpetrators of such crime are made amenable for their crimes. I am informed by the Garda authorities that, following the submission by the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation of two substantial investigation files to the Director of Public Prosecutions last December, a supplementary...

Criminal Investigations (23 Jun 2011)

Alan Shatter: It is interesting that I keep hearing the refrain that this is legislation that the former justice Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern had prepared. To be fair to him, he commenced the process as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform but the Bill was by no means complete or in adequate form when I became Minister. Substantial work had to be undertaken both within the Department of Justice...