Results 8,041-8,060 of 18,729 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Criminal Prosecutions. (26 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: I thank the Deputies for the opportunity to clarify some of the questions raised in this House and elsewhere on this subject in recent days. Brian Murphy's death on 31 August 2000, which date must be remembered, was a tragic loss of a young man. I know we all sympathise with his family, not only in their obvious grief on his death but also in their perception that the criminal justice system...

Criminal Prosecutions. (26 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: My spokesperson never stated that no further cases will be affected by the illness of Professor Harbison.

Criminal Prosecutions. (26 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: No such statement was made by or on behalf of my Department or the Government. It was inferred by some media that, given the length of time since Professor Harbison's retirement, it was unlikely that many cases remained unresolved. It was never stated by me, my Department, the Taoiseach or anybody in Government that there was no such case.

Criminal Prosecutions. (26 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: It may be interesting to the Deputy to realise that he cannot believe everything printed in the newspapers.

Criminal Prosecutions. (26 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: No spokesperson in the Department could possibly say there are no other cases since no spokesperson in the Department would possibly have that knowledge in his or her mind or be in a position to hand on such misinformation to the public.

Criminal Prosecutions. (26 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: Given the amount of time since Professor Harbison's retirement and given that a great number of the cases in which he was involved have been dealt with, I believe it is very unlikely that many cases remain unresolved. I do not believe it is likely that many other cases would be affected. However, the suggestion that the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform stated that this is not a...

Criminal Prosecutions. (26 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: I am not blaming anybody. I am making a very simple point. As the Deputy knows very well, given his remarks on wealth tax, one needs to be careful about what is made of one's remarks in the newspapers.

Criminal Prosecutions. (26 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: The Taoiseach has limited knowledge on this matter, as do I. He was not evasive in any sense and he did not attempt to muddy the waters at any time. He attempted to the best of his ability to answer the questions put by Deputy Rabbitte who, having sat at the Cabinet table, knows full well that the Taoiseach of the day is not and can never be acquainted with the intimate detail of any...

Criminal Prosecutions. (26 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: They are not lessons which should be learned on the basis of destroying the reputation of any individual.

Written Answers — Domestic Partnerships: Domestic Partnerships (26 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: I propose to take Questions Nos. 226 and 227 together. I refer the Deputy to my reply to Questions Nos. 619 and 620 of 25 April 2006. I have nothing further to add to that reply other than to state that the Working Group on Domestic Partnership advertised its terms of reference and sought submissions in the following newspapers: on 2 April 2006 in The Sunday Business Post, Ireland on Sunday,...

Written Answers — Prisoner Transfers: Prisoner Transfers (26 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: I wish to advise the Deputy that information and statistics relating to applications under the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Acts 1995 and 1997 are contained in the annual reports by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to the Houses of the Oireachtas on the operation of the Acts. I expect to lay the annual report for 2005 before the Houses of the Oireachtas in the coming days....

Written Answers — Prisoner Transfers: Prisoner Transfers (26 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: I can confirm that my Department received the formal application for transfer of the person concerned from the United Kingdom authorities in September 2005. Various reports were then sought and received by my Department from bodies in this jurisdiction. The application was reviewed by the State's legal officers in order to ensure that the requirements of the Council of Europe Convention on...

Written Answers — Garda Equipment: Garda Equipment (26 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: I am advised by the Garda authorities that there are 228 interview rooms in 131 Garda stations that have video interview recording facilities. The number of interview rooms per station varies between one and four units. Apart from a very small number of rooms that were fitted out prior to June 2000, the equipment has been drawn down from a contract put in place in April 2001. With regard to...

Written Answers — Telecommunications Services: Telecommunications Services (26 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: Measures to combat illegal materials and activities on the Internet are hampered by a multiplicity of jurisdictions, differing legal systems, and differing societal norms. Combatting illegal, harmful and predatory use of the Internet, therefore, requires a combination of responses at national, EU and international levels. Ireland is fully committed to continuing to play its part, at home and...

Crime Prevention. (27 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2, together. Since I took the decision to publish crime statistics on a quarterly basis at the beginning of 2003, I have consistently emphasised that care must be taken in interpreting the statistics, especially when considering short term fluctuations or extrapolating trends over short periods. I have emphasised this both when the level of crime has...

Crime Prevention. (27 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: No. One of the problems is that homicide offences had risen but this term includes verbal threats to kill. While no level of murder is acceptable, I would advise the Deputies that Ireland has one of the lowest murder rates in the western world. For example, the homicide rate in Glasgow, a city of comparable size to Dublin, is 5.5 per 100,000 of the population. The comparable figure for Dublin...

Crime Prevention. (27 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: It is obvious the Deputy has not listened to a word I said. The situation is that the level of headline crime in Ireland is now less than it was when he and his partners were in Government in 1995 and 1996.

Crime Prevention. (27 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: The number of headline crimes per head of population has reduced from 29 to 24.

Crime Prevention. (27 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: If we are to compare performances — there is an unwillingness to accept there was a problem — the problem was significantly worse when some members of the Deputies' parties opposite were at the Cabinet table. The Deputy asked me about resources. The resources that have been devoted to the Garda Síochána have never been higher——

Crime Prevention. (27 Apr 2006)

Michael McDowell: ——both in financial terms and in numbers.