Results 5,661-5,680 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Departmental Agencies. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I have a list here of all the so-called quangos that Fine Gael wanted me and others to set up. The Deputy speaks out of both sides of his mouth.

Refugee Status. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The Somalian woman referred to by the Deputy was granted refugee status in August 2004, and applied for family reunification in November 2004 in respect of her immediate and extended family members. Her application was processed in accordance with the provisions of the Refugee Act 1996, and a decision was made in the family reunification unit in August 2005 to grant family reunification to...

Refugee Status. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I do not accept the Deputy's allegation that nobody is in charge of it. He is being very unfair to the civil servants and gardaí who are working night and day on this issue, often in difficult circumstances. This was a case which slipped through due to human error. I believe that it was an isolated incident. Once it was brought to my attention, I asked for a review to be carried out....

Refugee Status. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: An early warning system and a feedback system are in place to confirm the visa has been granted.

Refugee Status. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I do not wish to speak about the circumstances of the family involved in this case. It was an unfortunate incident. I am unable to confirm there will not be other cases because I must accept there will be human error and this is the nature of life——

Refugee Status. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The House is passing significant legislation which will allow for a single procedure in this system so that the very complex and piecemeal way in which the legislation has been dealt with in the past will be replaced with the new legislation and there will be a single procedure for application and decision. One of the significant problems is the multiplicity of judicial review applications...

Anti-Social Behaviour. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The Deputy will appreciate that allocation of funding to local authorities falls primarily within the remit of my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. On 24 September, with my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, I launched the roll-out of the joint policing committees established by the Garda Síochána Act 2005 to...

Anti-Social Behaviour. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: There is a very small budget for the operation of the joint policing committees, which is the main subject of the Deputy's question. Significant resources of approximately €12 million are allocated to the Garda youth diversion projects. This funding is allocated to specific projects rather than to the local authorities. The local authorities have significant powers under various Acts on...

Anti-Social Behaviour. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: There are plenty of resources available but it is not just a matter of resources; in the case of the joint policing committees it is a matter of using those resources in a co-ordinated way. I would welcome any decision by the Garda Síochána to involve local authorities in the running of youth diversion projects or in the work of juvenile liaison officers. It is not just a matter of extra...

Anti-Social Behaviour. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I would be surprised if there was still the same number of gardaí in the Deputy's area as a couple of years ago.

Garda Equipment. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I have been advised by the Garda authorities there is a property store in each Garda district for the purpose of storing both property coming into the possession of the Garda Síochána and court exhibits. I am further advised that a new property and exhibits management system is being introduced in the Garda Síochána. The purpose of the system is to establish a property store in each...

Garda Equipment. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I already stated there is a property store in each Garda district for the purpose of storing property required for court exhibits or property that comes into the possession of the Garda. It has been decided to roll out a property-exhibit management system in order to, if necessary at times, centralise the holding in the division rather than the district. There is no sense as to why items...

Garda Equipment. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I cannot guarantee that items are not in some way damaged or lost. It comes back to human nature. We must, however, give the Garda credit for the measures it has taken. It is not satisfied with the existing system and is trying to make it better by putting in a fully automated and computerised system. It will allow the Garda to have a database to track from a divisional point of view...

Garda Equipment. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The aim of the property management system is to establish a property store in every Garda division which will manage all property coming into the possession of the Garda Síochána in that division. With the exception of a small number of specific items, property coming into Garda possession will be retained at the appropriate divisional property store. This is in order to centralise it and...

Internet Gambling. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I published the report, Regulating Gaming in Ireland, on 10 July last. The report makes some 32 recommendations that have significant public policy implications regarding the future architecture of many aspects of gaming and betting in Ireland, including the subject matter of the Deputy's question. Among the issues dealt with in this report is the issue of remote gaming. The report notes...

Internet Gambling. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I do not believe I can completely ban Internet gambling because it is an international phenomenon across the Internet. We have not been able to ban pornographic material across the Internet. Try as we might at national, EU and international level, it simply has not been possible. While the Deputy claims the UK and US have taken action, Internet gambling is still going on in those...

Internet Gambling. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: Honestly, I do not know to what the Deputy is referring. I agreed with the approach taken by my predecessor and I published the report shortly after I came into office. In recent days, I wrote to the Chief Whip, Deputy Kenny, the leader of the Labour Party and others to invite them to participate in this committee which I hope in a relatively short space of time will come forward with an...

Internet Gambling. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: To answer Deputy Flanagan, I am not hiding behind a cross-party committee and in fact some members of Deputy Flanagan's party are exhorting me to get on with establishing the committee. The delay with this committee is due to Labour Party objections on the inclusion of FOBTs which formed part of Deputy Rabbitte's question. However, some of Deputy Flanagan's party colleagues, no later than...

Internet Gambling. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: It has been the position of Governments of every hue for the past number of decades to shy away from this issue. If my memory serves me correctly, when Deputy Flanagan's party was in government, it tabled proposals in the area and ultimately shied away from it. I may be wrong.

Internet Gambling. (2 Oct 2008)

Dermot Ahern: With regard to FOBTs, I will bow to the superior knowledge of people such as Deputy Rabbitte on these issues. I see Deputy Rabbitte is participating in a major conference on this issue.