Results 9,821-9,840 of 14,127 for speaker:David Stanton

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Gambling Legislation (31 Jan 2019)

David Stanton: I am happy to update the Deputy on the work I am undertaking to update our laws on gambling. The Deputy will be aware that an Inter-Departmental Working Group on Gambling was established as a result of the Government Decision of 10 January 2018 to review the 2013 General Scheme of the Gambling Control Bill and all relevant developments since. I chaired this group, comprising all...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Refugee Data (5 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: Persons arriving in Ireland under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme are initially accommodated in Emergency Reception and Accommodation Centres (EROCS). Three EROCs are in operation. These are: - The Abbeyfield Hotel, Ballaghaderreen, Co. Roscommon - The Clonea Strand Hotel, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford - Mosney Accommodation Centre, Co. Meath Information in relation to the numbers...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Employment Rights (5 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: The Minister for Justice and Equality’s role in relation to retirement ages is limited to aspects covered by equality legislation. Equality legislation provides that retirement ages are in line with the relevant EU Directive provision permitting differences of treatment on the grounds of age, if, within the context of national law, they are objectively and reasonably justified by a...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Youth Diversion Projects (5 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: I share the Deputy’s concerns about the very serious issues outlined in the Garda Commissioner’s Interim Report on youth crime cases from 2010 – 2017. In that period almost 160,000 youth crime incidents were referred for consideration under the Garda Diversion Programme. Roughly one third of these incidents were deemed unsuitable for inclusion in the juvenile diversion...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Legislative Reviews (5 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Charlie Flanagan, I thank Senator Bacik for raising this important matter and offer the Minister's apologies for not being able to address it in person.It is hard to believe it is so many years since we addressed this. It was 2012. I remind the House of the provisions of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 that related to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Legislative Reviews (5 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: I thank the Senator for raising this matter and making those points. The Department of Justice and Equality is actively engaged in co-ordinating measures to reduce demand for the purchase of sexual services and in developing support strategies for persons seeking to exit prostitution. I recognise the important role of An Garda Síochána, the HSE, State agencies and the NGO sector...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: I thank colleagues. I have listened carefully to the debate and, as usual in this House, it has been constructive, reflective and positive. I am happy to be here to discuss the Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017. I will be speaking to amendments Nos. 1, 2 and 3, which propose to amend section 6 of the Parental Leave Act 1998. If I brought a Bill before the House, my colleagues would...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: We are ahead of the game here. One of the key points of the proposed directive calls on member states to provide ten days' paternity leave to be paid at a rate determined by member states. We are doing it, we brought it in. Some 55,000 dads have already taken that up. I did not hear anybody talk about that this morning. It is done, we did it. The proposed directive also indicates that...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: Other Senators said the same thing. I chair the committee responsible for the national strategy for women and girls. We had a meeting yesterday. Senator Higgins referred to the number of women who fall out of the labour force, a matter that was highlighted at the committee's meeting. The need to encourage more men to, like Senator Gavan, take on the caring and childcare role was...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: I am very supportive of increasing the flexibility and choices for working parents and giving them the opportunity to spend more time with their children. That is a worthwhile aim that we all share. For the record, the Government never voted against this legislation anywhere. We have been supportive of it. I have tried to engage in a positive way throughout the process. We have been...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: I understand there are premiums in some of the areas. For example, if a nurse is to be replaced we get an agency nurse in, which is more expensive, and then there are administrative costs, among others. When the costs were added up that is the figure we got. I accept that not everybody is going to take the leave but if the take-up is 10% then the cost is approximately €1.2 million,...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: The work-life balance directive refers to a non-transferable right to nine weeks of paid parental leave per parent. What will happen at the end of this year is that parental leave will be treated in the same way as paid paternity leave the Government introduced. I believe the State pays €240 per week to the 55,000 fathers who have availed of it. The same is planned for paid parental...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: Employers could top up the payment if they so wished. The State is paying the benefit for fathers and will do so for both parents at the end of this year. Paid parental leave encourages both parents to take parental leave. As I said earlier, we need to encourage fathers to take more of a sharing role in caring for children. We have to be careful that we do not do anything to push the...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: I thank colleagues for their discussion on the three amendments. Senator Bacik is adamant that there is no significant cost to the State. Senator Noone mentioned maternity leave for Oireachtas Members. They are among the few groups who do not have an entitlement to maternity or paternity leave. When we were introducing the paid paternity leave legislation a little while go, a colleague...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: This amendment is a technical amendment to section 7 of the 1998 Act. It is necessitated by the original intent to increase the entitlement to parental leave from 18 weeks to 26 weeks by the Bill. Paragraph (a) amends section 7 of the Parental Leave Act 1998 to reflect the increase from 18 to 26 weeks. Paragraph (b) replaces every reference to "18 weeks" or "18 times" to a reference to "26...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: Section 27 of the Parental Leave Act 1998 includes provisions relating to an employer's obligations to keep records on the uptake of parental leave and the manner in which it is taken by employees in their organisation. The provisions of the section also apply to force majeureleave taken by their employees. The section currently provides that records must be maintained by the employers in a...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Budgets (7 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: The Justice and Equality Vote Group includes the Department of Justice and Equality, An Garda Síochána, the Prison Service, the Courts Service, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Policing Authority. Vote 25 relates to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC). As the Deputy is aware, IHREC is an independent statutory body, established under the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Garda Deployment (12 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: I acknowledge Deputy McConalogue's interest in and passion for this issue and I thank him for raising it. I apologise for the Minister for Justice and Equality who cannot be here this evening. I wish to reiterate for the House yet again that the deployment of Garda resources, including personnel, to specific areas, as the Deputy will appreciate, is solely the responsibility of the Garda...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Garda Deployment (12 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: As it probably was not heard the first time, I wish to stress again that the deployment of Garda resources, including personnel, to specific areas is solely the responsibility of the Garda Commissioner and his management team. It is very important that colleagues understand this. The Minister has no role whatsoever in interfering with that. As already alluded to, community policing is at...

Criminal Law (Extraterritorial Jurisdiction) Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Second Stage (12 Feb 2019)

David Stanton: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am delighted to introduce the Criminal Law (Extraterritorial Jurisdiction) Bill 2018 to the House today on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, following its passage through the Seanad last month. The Bill is the last legislative action required to enable Ireland to ratify the Istanbul Convention on...