Results 9,801-9,820 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Family Reunification (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: The International Protection Act 2015, which was fully commenced on 31 December 2016, brought about significant reforms to our international protection process. The most significant of these was the introduction of a single application procedure. By replacing the old multi-layered and sequential process, the single application procedure will bring certainty at a much earlier stage to those...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Data (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: The Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Act 2016 introduced controls by way of Regulations on a number of new psychoactive substances, certain pharmaceutical drugs and some other substances which are required to be controlled on foot of EC Decision 2005/387/JHA. One of the most significant effects of new Regulations made under the Act which came into force on 4 May 2017, relates...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Child Abuse (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: Reports of child sex-tourism are of great concern in the fight against child sexual exploitation and the Government is strongly committed to combating child sexual abuse in every way possible. There are a number of legislative provisions in place to address sexual offences committed abroad by Irish citizens or persons ordinarily resident in Ireland. The Sexual Offences (Jurisdiction) Act...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Resources (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: As the Deputy will appreciate, decisions in relation to the provision and allocation of Garda equipment and resources, including ICT, are a matter for the Garda Commissioner and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for a Partnership Government recognises that Gardaí must have the modern technology and resources necessary to detect...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Rural Crime (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I want to assure the Deputy that I am very much aware of the impact of crime on rural communities, including the serious damage done by organised gangs who target rural areas to engage in burglary and other property-related crime. Such incidents cannot be tolerated in our society and this Government will continue to support An Garda Síochána in tackling the gangs, including mobile...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Public Procurement Contracts Data (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the contracts in question were put in place by An Garda Síochána. I will respond the Deputy when the information requested is available.  I might add that since the end of 2017, a new regime of EU Residents Permits has replaced the Garda National Immigration Bureau...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Public Procurement Contracts Data (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service of my Department that an open tender procedure has been held for the supply of the Irish Residence Permit cards.  A request for Tenders for the Supply of Polycarbonate Cards for the Irish EU Common Format Residence Permits dated 07 June 2017 was published on etenders.gov.ie and the Official Journal of the European...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Recruitment (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the optimum use is made of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Resources (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of resources among the various Garda Divisions and Districts, and I as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the optimum use is made of these...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Spent Convictions Legislation (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I would refer the Deputy to Section 258 of the Children Act 2001, which makes certain provisions in relation to the subsequent treatment of offences which were committed before a person reaches the age of 18 years. It sets out the circumstances in which a conviction against a person, who at the time was under 18, to be effectively discounted, including in relation to the need for subsequent...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Courts Service Administration (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: The Probate Office is an office of the High Court and management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions under the Courts Service Act 1998. Probate functions are also carried out by County Registrars at District Probate Registries in 14 provincial court offices. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Child Maintenance Payments (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: Under Irish law, issues arising from disagreements about the provision of maintenance for dependent children, or failure by persons with maintenance responsibilities for children to provide proper maintenance, are determined by the courts. Relevant legislation in this area includes section 11 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Status (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that, in response to the request from the person concerned for an amendment to be made to their marital status for the purposes of INIS records, a representative of the INIS will be writing to the person concerned in the coming days with an indication as to how the matter in question can be resolved. ...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Staff Data (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I would like to advise the Deputy that there are no secondees from the companies mentioned working in my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Magdalen Laundries (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: On 15 September 2017, the Ombudsman submitted a draft of his investigative report into the administration of the scheme by my Department. On 13 October 2017, the Department issued its observations on the draft, which raised a number of factual, legal and practical issues in relation to the Ombudsman's analysis of the operation of the scheme. These issues were particularly relevant in...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legal Aid Service (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I refer the Deputy to my answer to his Parliamentary Question No. 522 of 16 January 2018. The position remains the same.  The provision of legal aid under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme applies within this State. The provisions of the Scheme do not apply outside this jurisdiction.   There is no other Scheme within my responsibility as Minister for Justice and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Closed-Circuit Television Systems Provision (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I wish to inform the Deputy that there is already in place a statutory framework set out in section 38 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 to provide the legal footing for the installation and operation of, amongst other things, community and local authority CCTV schemes for the sole or primary purpose of securing public order and safety in public places.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Gangland Crime (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 270 and 271 together. I am advised by the Garda authorities that some 130 killings in the last ten years are considered to be related to organised crime. In terms of introducing emergency legislation, the Deputy will appreciate that a comprehensive body of legislation exists to provide for the prosecution for offences relating to organised crime. I...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Gangland Crime (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 272 and 274 together. I can assure the Deputy that tackling organised crime activity is a key ongoing priority for both the Government and An Garda Síochána. An Garda Síochána's Policing Plan sets out the priorities of An Garda Síochána in tackling organised crime activity including its continued commitment to pro-actively target...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Bail Law (6 Feb 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I can assure the Deputy that tackling organised crime activity is a key ongoing priority for both the Government and An Garda Síochána. Recent changes to the bail laws, including the Criminal Justice Act 2017, have made the bail system far stronger and have made the law as effective as possible in protecting the public against crimes committed by persons on bail. The court has...