Results 1,221-1,240 of 4,787 for speaker:Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Accommodation Provision (23 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: As this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Road Projects Status (23 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, who apologises for not being here as he is at a Cabinet meeting. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has responsibility for overall policy and the funding of the national roads programme. The construction, improvement and maintenance of individual national...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Road Projects Status (23 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I will relay those comments directly back to the Minister. I appreciate the Senator's contribution in regard to the matter.

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (23 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: As the Deputy will be aware, the role of the policing authority will be to oversee the performance by An Garda Síochána of its functions relating to policing services. The Garda Síochána is also the security service for the State and the Garda Commissioner will continue to be accountable to the Government in respect of national security. This is, I understand, generally...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (23 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The purpose of the amendments is to provide for the repeal of existing legislative provisions relating to the Garda Síochána that are now spent. This is a tidying-up exercise that has been undertaken in conjunction with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel.

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (23 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The Senator has already outlined the purpose and scope of his amendments and I do not propose to cover the same ground in detail. The effect of the amendments would be, in particular, to remove from the Government, the Minister for Justice and Equality in particular, any role in the appointment or dismissal of members of the Garda Síochána. Obviously, the main area of attention...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (23 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Under the Bill, the policing authority will oversee the exercise of the Garda Síochána's policing functions. As I have outlined to the House under earlier amendments, the drafting of the Bill has proceeded in conjunction with ongoing legal advice provided by senior counsel to the Office of the Attorney General. This was done to ensure that the functions of the authority will be...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (23 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I cannot comment on why the GRA did not speak before the justice committee. The current arrangements for the issuing of directives to the Garda Commissioner by the Minister are to be found in section 25 of the principal Act. In particular, Government approval is required before any directive can be issued. Where a directive is issued, it must, except in certain cases relating to sensitive...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (23 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Section 38 of the principal Act makes provision for the Garda Commissioner to authorise the installation and operation of closed circuit television schemes in public places for the sole or primary purpose of securing public order and safety in public places, by facilitating the deterrence, prevention, detection and prosecution of offences. In the development of the principal Act, section 38...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (23 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The wording sought to be deleted by the amendment is concerned with the terms and conditions of the members of the Garda audit committee. They are standard provisions found in many statutes. The fixing of such terms and conditions is an administrative rather than a core oversight function. It is the standard practice that the terms and conditions of State appointees, such as the members...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (23 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: A key aim of the Government in establishing the authority is to provide a system of oversight of An Garda Síochána that is effective and fully independent. In this context the Government is of the clear view that the membership of the authority should not include serving politicians, and the Bill provides that they will be ineligible to be members. I recognise that the Senator's...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (23 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: WWW00500 type: 1 --> I am aware that the general scheme of the Bill provided that the authority would monitor and address human rights compliance by An Garda Síochána in policing matters. However, this element was subsequently removed from the Bill prior to publication so as to avoid duplication of the functions of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC. Senators...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (23 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The effect of this amendment is to remove the requirement for the consent of the Minister for Justice and Equality and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform where the authority is seeking to enter into contracts with persons or appoint consultants. The requirement for ministerial consent is a standard requirement in such circumstances and it is an important aspect of good...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (23 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The purpose of these amendments is to make provision for a chief executive designate of the authority and they have been introduced in consultation with the chairperson designate. They are also in line with the statutory procedures that have been adopted for other State agencies. Senators will be aware that I am making arrangements for the authority to operate in shadow format pending the...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (23 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Senators will recall that among the provisions of the Garda Síochána (Amendment) Act 2015 was a provision inserting a new section 102B into the principal Act which brought the Garda Commissioner within the scope of GSOC investigations for the first time. This was a significant development and one to which the Government attaches a high degree of importance. The issue of...

Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) (Amendment) Bill 2014 [Seanad]: Second Stage (24 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to present the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) (Amendment) Bill 2014 on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald. The primary purpose of the Bill is to amend the existing Criminal Justice Mutual Assistance Act 2008. That Act already gives effect to 12 international agreements which...

Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) (Amendment) Bill 2014 [Seanad]: Second Stage (24 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I thank the Deputies for their mostly constructive comments on the Bill. As I indicated in my opening remarks, the primary purpose of the Bill is to amend the existing Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008, which gives effect to 12 international agreements which establish the existing legislative framework for the provision of mutual legal assistance. This Bill is necessary in order...

Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) (Amendment) Bill 2014 [Seanad]: Referral to Select Committee (24 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I move:That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality pursuant to 82A3(a) and 126(1) of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business and paragraph (8) of the Orders of Reference of Select Committees.

Written Answers — Department of Health: HSE Correspondence (24 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: As this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.

One-Parent Family Payment Scheme: Motion [Private Members] (30 Jun 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: As the Tánaiste has done, it is important to put the facts of the matter on the record of the House. The purpose of the phased one family payment scheme age change reforms that were introduced in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2012, is to reduce long-term social welfare dependency by ending the expectation that lone parents will remain outside the workforce indefinitely. Prior to...