Results 10,861-10,880 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: On 27 November, I published the General Scheme of a Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill which includes two new offences of purchasing, in the context of prostitution, sexual services. The first is a general offence of purchasing sexual services which carries a penalty of a fine of up to €500 for a first offence and fines of up to €1000 for a second or subsequent offence. The...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Road Traffic Offences (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The court poor box is a non-statutory system used mostly by the District Courts to impose a financial charge on a defendant to be used for a charitable purpose, usually instead of imposing a criminal conviction. Payments made to the court poor box are accounted for by the court office concerned and the accounting procedures are subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Penalty Points System Data (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy will be aware that, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service and I have no role in the matter. Section 4(3) of the 1998 Act provides that the Courts Service is independent in the performance of its functions, which includes the provision of information on the courts system. However, in order to be of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Data (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Garda Síochána Act 2005 makes provision for the compilation and publication of crime statistics by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, and the CSO has established a dedicated unit for this purpose. I have requested the CSO to provide available statistics directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Recruitment (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: An open competition to fill the two vacancies at Deputy Commissioner level was held by the Public Appointments Service. An application for an interlocutory injunction in relation to that competition is currently being considered by the High Court. In those circumstances it would not be appropriate to make any further comment on the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Subsidiary Protection Applications (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the subsidiary protection application made by the person concerned was refused on 8th May, 2015. Following that refusal decision, and in response to a notification pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned has submitted written...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Family Law Cases (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The position is that the Programme for Government contains a commitment to establish a dedicated Family Court in order to improve levels of judicial expertise and training in family law matters and to streamline family law proceeding with a view to making them more user-friendly and less costly. While it was originally anticipated that a referendum to amend Article 34 of the Constitution...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I refer the Deputy to the Reply given to his recent Parliamentary Question No. 104 of Thursday, 28th May 2015. The status of the person concerned is set out in that reply. I am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned is the subject of a Deportation Order and therefore has no entitlement to residency in the State....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Asylum Applications (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that, in response to a notification pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned has submitted written representations. These representations, together with all other information and documentation on file, will be fully considered, under Section 3...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned has applied for a right of residency in the State, accompanied by a right to work, based on their parentage of an Irish citizen child. While the person concerned has submitted some of the required documentation, other items of documentation remained outstanding. Foremost among...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Applications (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that an application for a certificate of naturalisation has been received from the person referred to by the Deputy. The application is at an advanced stage of processing and will be submitted to me for decision in due course. As the Deputy will appreciate, the granting of Irish citizenship through...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that while the Deputy states that person in question has resided in the State for ten years, our records show they were registered for one year as a student from 15 July 2011 to 16 May 2012 and there is no further record of immigration permission in relation to this person. If it is the case that the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person referred to is the subject of a Deportation Order and therefore has no entitlement to residency in the State. The effect of the Deportation Order is that the person concerned must leave the State and remain thereafter outside the State. The enforcement of the Deportation Order is an...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Commissions of Investigation (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 599 to 601, inclusive, together. Five Commissions of Investigation have been established under the aegis of my Department since the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 came into effect. Details of these are set out in the table below. Year Established Name 2006 Commission of Investigation into Child Sex Abuse 2006 Dean Lyons Commission of Investigation...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Second Stage (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Senators will recall that when I assumed my present office I committed to delivering a sea change in the oversight of policing. Since then I have worked with the Cabinet committee on justice reform to deliver a comprehensive programme of reform of the oversight governance and accountability of An Garda Síochána. The overall objective of this programme is to ensure that the...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Second Stage (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I apologise to the Senator. I will arrange for that. Obviously there is a need for the delivery of reforms and efficiencies. For example 125 gardaí are returning to front-line policing as a result of civilianisation of Garda immigration functions at Dublin Airport. In addition, due to reforms in rural policing, the Garda Commissioner estimates that 61,000 more man hours and woman...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Second Stage (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: My apologies. I am unsure why it has not happened.

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Second Stage (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I appreciate that. If we could have a couple of copies circulated, it would be helpful in the first instance.

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Second Stage (9 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: My apologies if copies have not been circulated. I will also arrange for it to be e-mailed to Senators. Part 1 of the Bill contains the Short Title provisions, as well as definitions and repeal provisions. Section 4 contains a definition of security services for the first time. This is required to help to identify the relevant functions of the authority. As it will not have functions in...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Applications (10 Jun 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that an application for a certificate of naturalisation has been received from the person referred to by the Deputy. The application is currently being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation, such as good character and...