Results 13,181-13,200 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 3 together. There are currently just under 13,400 members of the Garda Síochána, along with approximately 2,000 civilian support staff and 1,100 reserve gardaí. While it is difficult to predict with any certainty the number of Garda members who will retire in any year, given that members with 30 years' service may retire on full pension...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy has yet again illustrated that he has a neck as thick as a rhinoceros's behind, talking about dodging and weaving-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: I am sorry if I touched a sensitive zone.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy accused me of dodging and weaving on issues-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: -----and I am entitled to respond. He is classically dodging, weaving and trying to reinvent history.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: The simple reality is that, under the agreement Fianna Fáil entered into with the troika, there would have been - I emphasise this - €90 million per year less available to An Garda Síochána for 2012-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: -----2013 and 2014. That is factual.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: It is a factual matter that the Deputy seeks to avoid dealing with and dodge. Indeed, his leader, Deputy Martin, seeks to do that while pretending a concern for recruitment to An Garda Síochána so as either to con members of the Garda force about the level of Fianna Fáil's commitment or to mislead the general public disingenuously. The reality is, I have said - and I repeat -...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: -----to pay the salaries that must be paid. I remained quiet while the Deputy was asking his questions of me. He is great at asking questions, but the truth is that he has no answers. He does not like my answers, which is why he feels the need to interrupt. The simple reality is that we have provided the funding to An Garda Síochána to preserve numbers at a higher level than was...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Recruitment (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: I entirely agree with the Deputy. The public is entitled to effective policing. The public is getting effective policing because if the Deputy examines the Central Statistics Office figures, the most recent figures published show that crime is effectively down in 11 of the 14 crime categories. In the context of burglary, if one compares the last quarter of 2012 with the last quarter of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Judicial Appointments (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: As I indicated to the Deputy on the previous occasion we discussed the matter, I welcome his contribution to this important issue and will have regard to his Private Members' Bill in the context of my Department's review of the judicial appointments process. I have read his Bill very carefully and I appreciate the contribution he is making to this process. If his party wishes to progress...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Judicial Appointments (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: Again, it is important that we do not raise questions over the independence of any member of the Judiciary, regardless of which Government has made the appointment. I wish to assure the Deputy, despite what I read in the newspapers, that every judicial appointment made by this Government has been made on merit, and I can say that categorically. There was an interesting survey done by a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Judicial Appointments (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: I would be in favour of some additional transparency but I have particular concerns with what the Deputy is suggesting in his measure. Let us assume, for example, there is one person to be appointed to the Judiciary and three names are publicly given and background information about the candidates is also publicly given. It would be fine for the person who was appointed but it could be a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Judiciary Issues (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: It is usual for the Minister for Justice and Equality to have regular contact with the Judiciary regarding Courts Service matters. Since my appointment I have met regularly with the Chief Justice in her capacity as chair of the Courts Service Board on a range of issues and, from time to time, with other members of the Judiciary. Prior to the enactment of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Judiciary Issues (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: The controversy that arose and lasted for some days came as something of a surprise to me and it was as a result of a misunderstanding on the part of the AJI. There had been ongoing contact on the issues they raised that fall within my brief. For example, there was a suggestion that there had been no communication or contact with them regarding the provisions in the Personal Insolvency Act...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Judiciary Issues (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: This forum is being put together to formalise the arrangement whereby the Attorney General, in the past, would substantially communicate with the Chief Justice. Now the group will be representative of the different levels within the court system and it will facilitate members of the Judiciary raising issues of concern. The Attorney General will either address those issues or report to the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Industrial Relations Issues (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: In early autumn I invited the Garda Representative Association, GRA, and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, AGSI, to discuss issues of mutual interest. I met with AGSI representatives on 19 October for nearly two hours in a constructive and businesslike meeting. I also spoke at its recent conference. However, the GRA never responded to my meeting request. I am always...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Industrial Relations Issues (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: It is unfortunate that the GRA approaches a number of issues in the manner in which it does. It is unfortunate that it uses, with some regularity, inflammatory language. I recognise that there are members of the Garda force - as there are others throughout the community - who are suffering some personal financial difficulty. Not all the difficulty being suffered is directly connected to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Industrial Relations Issues (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: I agree with the Deputy that there should be a more constructive relationship between the Garda representative bodies and the Minister of the day. We have a history of this. I can recall when the Garda reserve was being established and the GRA fell out with the then Minister. There are now 1,100 members of the reserve and they are providing an important back-up to the full-time members of...

Other Questions: Visa Agreements (2 May 2013)

Alan Shatter: Ireland has not applied to participate in the Schengen arrangements to the extent that they deal with the abolition of border checks. This decision has been taken to maintain the common travel area with the United Kingdom which remains a priority for Ireland. The reality is that the common travel area could not continue to operate if Ireland were to remove border checks with Schengen states...