Results 7,781-7,800 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Sexual Offences (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The correct answer is that it does, in the context of putting victims in contact with victim support groups, where necessary. In addition, there now is close liaison between the Garda Síochána and the HSE in dealing with crimes of sexual violence. It would be fair to state a far more sophisticated and sensitive approach now has been adopted than may have been the case a number of years...

Garda Deployment (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that seven crime prevention officers retired between 2010 and today's date. To crime prevention officers have been appointed by the Commissioner in the same period. The location of those who have retired and who have been appointed are set out in a table I will circulate with this reply. Where the crime prevention function of the Garda Síochána is...

Garda Deployment (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: We all have a role to play in crime prevention and in making considered decisions in this area. It is not for me to second guess operational decisions made by the Garda Commissioner. The Deputy is correct that no crime prevention officer has been formally appointed in Tipperary following a retirement in December 2010. Deployment of members of the force is ultimately a matter for the Garda...

Garda Stations (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: Under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner must, before November each year, submit a policing plan for the following year to the Minister. The Commissioner must include in that plan any proposal to either open or close a Garda station. It will, therefore, be towards the end of this year before the Policing Plan for 2013 is received, approved and published. Members will be...

Garda Stations (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy is, of course, right in saying the Garda Commissioner presents me with a policing plan and that it is for me to approve it. I rely on the Garda Commissioner's expertise in making operational judgments in these matters. To come back to what I said earlier, we had 703 Garda stations at the beginning of this year. A comparable jurisdiction, Scotland, with a higher population, has...

Garda Stations (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I think everyone forgets that currently we have approximately 2,000 civilians working within the Garda force. We also have 935 members of the Garda Reserve, which did not exist some years ago. As Deputy O'Brien knows, because of current economic circumstances, we are not in a position to expand employment in these areas. However, they are backups which the gardaí would not have had...

Garda Equipment (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: A detailed manual on Garda policy and procedures in respect of the use of incapacitant spray has been developed by the Garda Commissioner and is published on the Garda website. The manual sets out the detailed considerations that must always be taken into account by a member of the Garda Síochána before using incapacitant spray. Any use of such a spray, as with any use of force in...

Garda Equipment (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I agree with the Deputy that such sprays must be used only in appropriate circumstances, as prescribed by the guidelines. I do not see why any increase in, as the Deputy described it, political activity should result in the use of such sprays. I am conscious that some of those who purport to be engaging in political activity resort to violence and abuse and disregard requests from the Garda...

Garda Equipment (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: Of course, the Deputy is ignoring the fact that, for many years, members of the Garda Síochána had the use of batons to protect themselves. Some people would be of the view that the use of pepper spray by a member of the force under attack is better than using a baton, in that the spray does not do any permanent damage or serious injury to a member of the community who is attacking a...

Garda Equipment (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: That is an operational matter and depends on the circumstances that arise.

Prisoner Releases (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy can be assured that the Irish Prison Service is conscious of the harmful, potentially devastating, consequences of crime on victims. The service acknowledges that the impact of crime on victims varies in nature and force and the service seeks to take account of their experiences and needs. Where victims make their views known to the service, they are always taken into...

Prisoner Releases (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy can take it for granted that I will make it a priority. He may be aware that I published the Victims' Rights Bill 2002, which the then Fianna Fáil Government voted down. When I published an updated version of the Bill in 2008 to take account of legal developments in the intervening period, the former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dermot Ahern, went to war with...

Prisoner Releases (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: They would only have been kept informed during the pilot project if they opted in and, I assume, the convicted person was engaged in community service in their local community. I can seek further information for the Deputy in so far as it is available. On the question of opt-in or opt-out, the balance of convenience suggests an opt-in provision for a range of reasons. A substantial amount...

Liquor Licensing Laws (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I presume this question was not tabled from a European perspective. The public consultation process elicited a broad range of views on the display and sale of alcohol in supermarkets, convenience stores and similar mixed trading outlets. Looking to the future, there appear to be three main options. The first option is continuation of the existing voluntary code of practice. The current...

Liquor Licensing Laws (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Minister of State, Deputy Shortall, and I have held discussions on how we should proceed with regard to this area. While I join the Deputy in praising Mr. White for the work he is doing, I am not in favour of retaining the current voluntary code. We need to do better than that. The choice therefore lies between section 9 or some variant of it, as the Deputy is suggesting, or the...

Liquor Licensing Laws (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: Many different sporting events seem to inspire many of us to drink alcohol, but not everyone does it excessively. The sporting event to which the Deputy refers may be the European Football Championship, which is taking place in June. I wish the Irish team and its manager Mr. Trapattoni well. I hope we will be able to open a bottle of something - be it alcoholic or non-alcoholic - to...

Written Answers — Garda Representative Associations: Garda Representative Associations (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I have been informed by the Garda Authorities that the total amount provided from the Garda Vote in 2011 to the Garda Representative Association and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors was as set out in the table which I am circulating with this answer. As the Deputy will see, the total funding provided in 2011 to the GRA was just under €228,000, and to the AGSI was just over...

Written Answers — Prison Service: Prison Service (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 82 and 106 together. I have no plans to introduce legislation to create a position of Prisoner Ombudsman, although as the Deputy will be aware from the situation in Northern Ireland that a statutory basis is not a prerequisite for the operation of such an office. The primary purpose of an ombudsman is to investigate complaints and make non-binding...

Written Answers — Garda Deployment: Garda Deployment (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The new Garda rosters - the first in 40 years- were introduced nationwide on a pilot basis last Monday, 30th April. It is a very significant organisational change in the Garda Síochána, one that will not only enhance the policing service throughout the country, but also have a positive impact on the working lives of members of the Garda Síochána and their families. I would like to place...

Written Answers — Courts Service: Courts Service (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: As the Deputy will be aware, under the Courts Service Act 1998, the management and administration of the courts is a matter for the Courts Service while the allocation of the business of the courts, scheduling of cases and management of lists are matters for the judiciary and in particular the Presidents of the courts. The Deputy will also be aware that judges are, subject to the...