Results 12,841-12,860 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prisoner Data (8 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Irish Prison Service calculates the average annual cost of an available staffed prison space for inclusion in the Annual Report. For 2014, the latest year for which a figure is available, the cost was €68,959.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prisoner Data (8 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table. Figures are taken from the Annual Reports for the Irish Prison Service. Year Daily average number of persons in custody 2015 (Up to and including 30th November 2015) 3,726 2014 3,916 2013 4,158 2012 4,318 2011 4,390 2010 4,290As outlined in the Irish Prison Service Three Year Strategic Plan 2012 - 2015, it is...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Accommodation Provision (8 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that figures in relation to the prisoner population and capacity levels are published on their website on a daily basis. The Deputy should be aware that the overall bed capacity of the Irish Prison System is 4,116. On 4 December, 2015 there were 3,770 prisoners in custody. This represents a occupancy rate of 92 per cent. On 4 December, 2011 the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Equipment (8 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 the Garda Commissioner is responsible for controlling the general management and administration of the Service within the context of agreed annual policing plans. This includes the procurement and maintenance of various technologies utilised to manage the Service, and support front-line Gardaí and intelligence-led operations against organised...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Legal Costs (8 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I wish to inform the Deputy that the total cost to my Department, and bodies under my aegis, for legal services in the State from 2011 to 2015, is contained in the following table: - 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (end Nov) Total Costs €71.2m €61.4m €59.9m €60.4m €57.4m

Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: From the Seanad (9 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I would be obliged if, in accordance with Standing Oder 140, the Ceann Comhairle directed the Clerk to make the following minor drafting corrections to the text of the Bill: on page 83, line 36, the words "a partner of or an employee in" should be replaced with the words "a partner in or an employee of". It is a tiny textual change. On page 99, line 32, the word "section" should be replaced...

Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: From the Seanad (9 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Part 8 of the Bill deals with new business models provided for under the Bill. These are legal partnerships, which will come into effect in the second six months of next year, multidisciplinary practices, limited liability partnerships, LLPs, which are allowed for and dealt with in the Bill, and employment opportunities for barristers. The Bill as already amended in the Dáil provides...

Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: From the Seanad (Resumed) (9 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I will make a couple of points in response to the various issues that have emerged today. I would say firstly that there is a public interest in having an independent regulator. This Bill provides for better control of costs. It provides for public complaints to be dealt with in an independent fashion. It provides a roadmap for the opening up of our legal services market. All of that is...

Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: From the Seanad (Resumed) (9 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I thank Deputy Collins for his support in the passing of this Bill. In answer to his question, the kind of case he describes can be referred if it involves fraud, as can excessive costs, and complaints may be made by a client against a practitioner. Legal adjudication is there to assess costs and, arising from the Bill, far more transparency about costs is intended. A retrospective...

Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: From the Seanad (Resumed) (9 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: This group of amendments deals with the transition from the old regulatory system to the new regulatory system provided by the Bill. A decision made by my predecessor, post publication of the Bill, that the society would retain the financial and accounting oversight of solicitors and the associated solicitors' compensation fund has led to a great many amendments to date. The key policy...

Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: From the Seanad (Resumed) (9 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I move amendment No. 1 to Seanad amendment No. 257:To delete the section 177 proposed to be inserted by Seanad amendment number 257 and substitute the following: “Amendment of section 38 of Act of 1994 177. Section 38 of the Act of 1994 is amended—(a) in subsection (1)—(i) by the substitution of “the Solicitors Acts 1954 to 2015 or the Legal Services Regulation...

Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: From the Seanad (Resumed) (9 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: These amendments delete the existing sections 155 and 156 along with the existing Schedule 2 relating to whistleblowers and protected disclosures. This follows advices received and detailed consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which has policy responsibility for this area. The reason for proceeding in this way is that these matters were dealt with centrally...

Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: From the Seanad (Resumed) (9 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Amendments Nos. 271 and 273 insert an important new Part 15. They deal with pre-action protocols in medical negligence cases. I am pleased that it has been possible to include this part in the Bill. It provides the statutory basis for the introduction of what is termed "pre-action protocol", which will take the form of ministerial regulations. The pre-action protocol will set out the...

Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: From the Seanad (Resumed) (9 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The amendments are mostly technical amendments and one full section is repeated, but in fact a particular sentence needs to be inserted into the amendments.

Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: From the Seanad (Resumed) (9 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I thank the Acting Chairman for taking us through all of the amendments and my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Murphy, for supporting me in the passage of the Bill today. I take this opportunity to express my thanks to Members of the House, the Seanad and the joint committee, which did a lot of work on the Bill. They have all helped to bring it to its final stage. I want to pay...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Overtime (9 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Garda Commissioner is the Accounting Officer for the Garda Vote and in that context I am informed by the Garda authorities that the Overtime Budget Allocations, including supplementary estimate provisions, for An Garda Síochána in 2013 and 2014 and the actual amounts incurred in these years are as follows: Year - €m Budget - €m Expenditure - €m 2013...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Controls (9 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: In relation to persons seeking to obtain re-entry visas, I would inform the Deputy that a new on-line appointments service for re-entry visas was introduced on 11 November, 2016 allowing applicants to make appointments prior to attending the Public Office. Applicants wishing to apply in person for a re-entry visa now make an appointment on-line, and are seen at the confirmed date and time....

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

Frances Fitzgerald: Recruitment competitions to An Garda Síochána are open to all who meet the eligibility criteria which are set out in the Garda Síochána (Admissions and Appointments) Regulations 2013. The recruitment campaign for 2016 for full-time members of An Garda Síochána, which I announced recently, includes a special stream for eligible members of the Garda Reserve. As...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Reserve (9 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, the recruitment and training of the Garda Reserve is a matter for the Garda Commissioner, and I as Minister have no direct role in the matter. Applications to become a members of the Garda Reserve can currently be made through the Public Appointments Service (PAS) website. PAS process applications on behalf of An Garda Síochána, and admission to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Deployment (9 Dec 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...