Results 11,881-11,900 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Other Questions: Missing Persons (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy will appreciate that I do not have a direct role in the investigation of the case. I encourage people to give any information that has been brought to their attention to the Garda. I have no doubt that what the Deputy has asked for will happen. While I will bring his comments to the attention of the Garda Commissioner, they should be brought directly to the attention of the...

Other Questions: Missing Persons (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am aware that the Taoiseach has indicated that he would be available to meet with the person, and I will engage with him regarding those arrangements.

Other Questions: Garda Operations (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am happy to confirm that Operation Mizen is not a surveillance programme operated by the Garda Síochána, contrary to recent assertions in commentary on water protests by public representatives and others. I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that Operation Mizen was established by the Garda Síochána as a national co-ordination office to provide appropriate...

Other Questions: Garda Operations (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I do not think the Deputy listened to my reply. I said, "I am happy to confirm for the House that Operation Mizen is not a surveillance programme operated by An Garda Síochána, contrary to assertions that have been made recently in commentary on water protests". I also answered the Deputy's question about whether public representatives are being monitored when I made it absolutely...

Other Questions: Garda Operations (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I do not accept the assertion that the Deputy makes or his description of the work that An Garda Síochána is doing as political policing. I do not accept that assertion. Gardaí are out there, doing their job. The Government and I fully support the right of our citizens to protest, including the right of those who wish to protest peacefully against water charges or Irish...

Other Questions: Criminal Law (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I thank Deputy Wallace for his question. The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015 is currently before the Seanad and will be coming before this House in due course, when I have no doubt that we will have a full opportunity to debate this issue. Clearly, there are different views on the management and handling of these issues and we will have an opportunity to discuss them. I do not...

Other Questions: Criminal Law (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I met and held discussions with representatives of the sex workers association. I also examined all the research on this issue. The Council of Europe and European Parliament, for example, did a large amount of research and the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality examined and made recommendations on the matter. While I accept that there are different views and reports on the...

Other Questions: Garda Investigations (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy makes a big assumption in stating the independent review group has not made any serious recommendations. I do not know how she could possibly make that assumption as she does not have all the facts. It is open to the group to make a recommendation, the seriousness of which will be judged in the first instance by the complainants who submitted the information. As I stated, in...

Other Questions: Garda Investigations (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have commented on the cases that were referred to publicly and pointed out that they were at different stages of the process. As the process is not yet complete, I cannot comment on individual cases in the way Deputy Clare Daly has done. I simply cannot go into the detail of the case she raises.

Other Questions: Garda Investigations (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can state, however, that this is the first Government to have taken these allegations.

Other Questions: Garda Investigations (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: We have had a very wide lens in respect of accepting cases that needed to be in the process, of which there are more than 300. We set up an independent review mechanism to examine those cases.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Data (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised that the number of burglary and related offences recorded in the CSO official crime figures for the Tipperary Garda Division in each of the years in question was 737 in 2011, 693 in 2012, 755 in 2013, 637 in 2014 and 269 in 2015 up to 30 June. While the number of incidents in Tipperary is down over the past year, I recognise that burglary is a persistent and highly damaging...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Measures (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Mediation Bill, which is currently being drafted in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, will introduce an obligation on solicitors and barristers to advise any person wishing to commence legal proceedings to give consideration to mediation as an alternative to legal proceedings. It will also provide that a court may, following the commencement of proceedings, on its own initiative...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Misuse of Drugs (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I fully appreciate the concern the Deputy raises regarding the illegal trade in prescription drugs. Sadly, it is the case that prescription drugs such as the z-drugs and benzodiazepines feature prominently in illicit drug markets in this jurisdiction and are contributing to the problems and harms associated with drug misuse - far from their intended purposes. I am aware of the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Inspector of Prisons Reports (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: In April 2014 the Inspector of Prisons, Judge Michael Reilly, was asked by the then Minister for Justice and Equality to carry out an independent investigation into all the circumstances surrounding the recording of telephone conversations between prisoners and their solicitors. The Inspector was asked to carry out his investigation pursuant to section 31 of the Prisons Act, 2007. The...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Station Closures (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The formulation of proposals in relation to the opening and closing of Garda stations is a matter, in the first instance, for the Garda Commissioner in the context of annual policing plans, as provided for in section 22 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. In this regard, the Deputy will be aware that the Garda Síochána carried out a comprehensive review of its district and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Investigations (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As I have outlined in my earlier response today to a Parliamentary Question on this subject, I am advised by the Garda authorities that a comprehensive review into this case has in fact been ongoing since 2011, under the direction of the Assistant Commissioner for the Northern Region. All aspects of the original investigation and subsequent reviews have been examined by the Garda Review...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Strength (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel, including new Probationer Gardaí, among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of resources. This Government...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Prevention (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: This Government is committed to the ongoing recruitment of trainee Gardaí, and to this end the first intake since 2009 of new recruits commenced training at the Garda College, Templemore, in September of last year. To date there have been four intakes of Garda Trainees to the Garda College, giving a total intake of 400. A further 150 recruits will enter college by year end, bringing...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Resources (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of resources. I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that,...