Results 9,141-9,160 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Sexual Offences. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: That is something the Garda can look at.

Sexual Offences. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: What was the other issue the Deputy asked about?

Sexual Offences. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Gardaí work closely with their colleagues on the other side of the Border and elsewhere in the UK.

Sexual Offences. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I would not like to fuel the perception that Ireland has a more lax regime, in some way, than the UK.

Sexual Offences. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The Garda works closely with its counterparts across the Border and elsewhere in the UK, in particular. It also works with police forces on the Continent.

Electronic Tagging. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The Deputy will be aware that I published a detailed discussion document on the management of convicted sex offenders last January. The document highlights, inter alia, the possibility of using GPS electronic monitoring technology to monitor higher-risk convicted sex offenders for the first six months after the completion of their prison sentences and their release back into the community....

Electronic Tagging. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: It is my intention and I have not softened in that respect. This is quite a complex area. In France only 20 serious sex offenders are subject to electronic monitoring. If we proceed on this, which I hope we will do in the not too distant future, we will be the first in Europe to use a global positioning service, GPS. Tagging is used extensively in the US but not so extensively in other...

Electronic Tagging. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: That is why I have set up a project board referrable to the probation service in respect of the specific issue raised in this question, the electronic monitoring of sex offenders. We have issued a major discussion document on the overall management of sex offenders while in prison and post-release. We have the provision for post-release orders for supervision and monitoring. The probation...

Garda Equipment. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I have been assured by the Garda authorities that the Garda information system which includes PULSE is functioning very satisfactorily. The PULSE system is more widely available than ever before, with access by both Garda and civilian personnel to over 2,000 personal computers in 347 locations, including all divisional and district headquarters. Significant investment has been made over the...

Garda Equipment. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I do not accept for one minute that the system is outdated. It is not. It is probably one of the most modern available because we have kept it in line with all the best international practice and we can add to it without redesigning the system. Approximately 85% of all incidents originate from the locations in which PULSE is available. More than 13,000 gardaí have direct access to PULSE...

Garda Equipment. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The annual running cost of PULSE is €18.5 million. The original cost of the deployment and development of PULSE was €61 million. It was never envisaged that it would be available at every location. It is better that it be available to gardaí on the beat so they can feed information into the system via Castlebar. As I stated, three quarters of all the information that goes onto the...

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I refer the Deputy to a tabular statement setting out the information sought by him on handguns stolen and licensed for the years 2004 to date when handguns began to be licensed again. The figures show 42 weapons classified as handguns have been stolen in the period in question. The current number of licensed handguns is approximately 1,800. I am advised by the Garda authorities that stolen...

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: As I stated in my reply, I regard these two issues as separate. I do not regard what I am trying to do in respect of licensed handguns as the silver bullet or even part of the bullet to solve the issue of gangland crime and illegally held arms. Forty-two weapons that are regarded as handguns have been stolen since 2004. I do not have figures as to whether they have been used in the...

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: -----more opportunities for it to be used in circumstances that the holder might not envisage, such as a domestic dispute.

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: It is the same for a shotgun but we are where we are in respect of shotguns.

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I am not saying we should take shotguns out of the system. We are where we are-----

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: We should not allow the number of handguns to increase exponentially.

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I am sorry.

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I answered that in my reply. Operation Anvil, since its inception, has taken in thousands of extra handguns. While I have been criticised for budgetary reductions elsewhere this year because of the constrained financial circumstances, I have increased the money available for Operation Anvil. It is particularly earmarked for removing illegal weapons and other weapons from the system. Some...

Prison Building Programme. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I am satisfied the purchase of the site at Thornton Hall in north County Dublin will prove to be have been a prudent investment for the taxpayer over the lifetime of the prison project. The Thornton development is a major capital project for the Irish Prison Service that will meet the service's needs well into the future. It should be considered in that context. The Government was...