Results 1,081-1,100 of 16,537 for speaker:Brian Lenihan Jnr

Prisons Building Programme. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The director general of the Irish Prison Service travelled to Cork recently for discussions with the county manager about the development and I understand those talks were very positive and useful. The Minister appreciates the assistance of the local authorities on this project. I understand the position with regard to the sequencing of the planning applications is that planning procedures...

Prisons Building Programme. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The construction of the bridge, from commencement of detailed design through tendering and commissioning, will take between 18 months and two years to complete. This includes road links on the landing side. The substantive construction works on the island clearly cannot commence until that project is completed.

Prisons Building Programme. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I am not in a position to deal with the bulk of Deputy Costello's questions because they do not arise from the reply I gave which relates to the development of a complex on Spike Island rather than the current arrangements with regard to the Prison Service. The Minister is a member of Government and makes his decisions with its authority.

Crime Prevention. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The legislative package already in place for tackling serious and organised crime, including drug trafficking, is recognised as being one of the toughest available to the forces of law and order on the European continental landmass. As the Deputy will be aware, the Criminal Justice Bill 2004, which is currently at Second Stage in the House, provides for a comprehensive package of anti-crime...

Crime Prevention. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Deputy has asked some interesting questions. It is important to realise that terms like "gangland killing" and "organised crime" are widely used by the media to refer to certain serious crimes, including unlawful killings of the kind to which the Deputy referred. The media also often suggests that the victims of such crimes were "known to the Garda". The Garda Síochána subjects all...

Crime Prevention. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I regret that I am not in a position to assist the Deputy in that regard. The Minister has indicated his intention to stiffen existing firearms legislation. I will draw his attention to the Deputy's suggestion that an amnesty be considered in that context.

Crime Prevention. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I am not in a position to deal with that.

Crime Prevention. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Deputy Jim O'Keeffe is gilding the lily somewhat when he suggests that the establishment of the Criminal Assets Bureau was a major success of the rainbow Government. As I understand it, the Bill that led to the bureau's establishment was initiated by Deputy O'Donoghue when he was in opposition.

Crime Prevention. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The then Government displayed a generous and constructive spirit by agreeing with the recommendation made by Fianna Fáil, which was then in opposition.

Crime Prevention. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The drawing up of the legislation that established the Criminal Assets Bureau involved a detailed compromise of conflicting interests in the constitutional sense. It would not be easy to revise that sensitive legislation. I understand that the Department has just completed an exercise of revision of it.

Crime Prevention. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I refer to the revising legislation that was recently enacted by the House.

Garda Vetting Procedures. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 43 together. I am informed by the Garda authorities that the Garda central vetting unit comprises a Garda inspector, two Garda sergeants, a staff officer, eight clerical officers and three temporarily assigned clerical officers. The unit carries out criminal record vetting in respect of, among other things, prospective full-time employees of the Health...

Garda Vetting Procedures. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Regarding the Deputy's core question, the new vetting unit in Thurles will be made available to everyone who has substantial unsupervised access to children. That includes a great range of persons in the education sector. It also encompasses many of the voluntary bodies. It has been decided in principle in the Department that there will be no charge to volunteer groups for vetting they seek....

Garda Vetting Procedures. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: That arises under the wider legislative issues but clearly the vetting we will do in Thurles, and which is already being done, is based on the Garda information base and not on the databases of other jurisdictions. However, there are arrangements in operation for the exchange of information with the United Kingdom on that database. I do not have the precise details.

Garda Vetting Procedures. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I would prefer if the Deputy tabled a separate question on that issue because I have not got the information at this point.

Garda Traffic Corps. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: As the Deputy is aware, the Minister announced the establishment within the Garda Síochána of the traffic corps on 23 November 2004. The Government subsequently approved the appointment of Eddie Rock as assistant commissioner, with the Commissioner appointing him to take charge of the traffic corps. Never before has the enforcement of road traffic law been given this level of priority...

Garda Traffic Corps. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It follows that the planned reduction in public service numbers does not apply to the Garda Síochána. As each cycle of recruit training is completed, the Garda Commissioner will assign these new members to the areas of greatest need with particular regard to certain priorities, including the traffic corps. All personnel assigned to the new traffic corps will have completed the standard...

Garda Traffic Corps. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The deployment of gardaí is a matter for the Commissioner and his staff, but I assure the Deputy that she is correct in assuming what will happen, and that there will be a benchmarking of accident locations and those prone to have greater numbers of accidents. In the location of the traffic corps personnel that benchmarking exercise will be taken into account.

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I appreciate the spirit in which Deputy Costello has tabled these amendments but the Minister consulted with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in regard to them. The first amendment is already comprehended in the section which is establishing a framework within which the DPP will operate. The section deals with the question of directions by the DPP in any event, and the Office...

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (23 Jun 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Minister is not accepting this amendment, which has nothing to do with this particular legislation. I appreciate why the amendment has been tabled, but it relates to a matter of policy that might arise for consideration in the context of prisons legislation or a criminal justice Bill. This amendment seeks to introduce a rule or legal principle on the treatment of convicted offenders....