Results 1,341-1,360 of 6,728 for speaker:John Curran

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (23 Jun 2009)

John Curran: The Department of Health and Children has the main responsibility in this area. Under the Misuse of Drugs Acts, the importation, exportation, production, supply and possession of a range of named narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances are regulated and controlled. The list of scheduled substances is kept under review on an ongoing basis. In particular, the Department of Health &...

Written Answers — Departmental Programmes: Departmental Programmes (23 Jun 2009)

John Curran: As with many Government Programmes and initiatives, the economic realities reflected in the recent supplementary budget allocations inevitably mean that the amount of funding available for my Department's Local Development Social Inclusion Programme (LDSIP) will be considerably less in 2009 than in recent years. In the context of a reduced budget allocation, companies have been advised that...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (23 Jun 2009)

John Curran: The Government approved the new National Drugs Strategy 2009-2016 on Tuesday 16th June 2009. Arrangements are now being made for publication and I expect to launch it in July. Arising from the earlier Government decision of 31 March 2009 to include alcohol and drugs in a combined National Substance Misuse Policy, the new National Drugs Strategy will be an "interim" policy pending the...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (23 Jun 2009)

John Curran: The new National Drugs Strategy 2009-2016, which was approved by Government last week, includes a commitment to develop an overall performance management framework to assess and monitor progress. In this context, and with the imminent establishment of the Office of the Minister for Drugs, it is intended that there will be a greater focus on the effectiveness of projects being funded under...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill 2009: Second Stage (30 Jun 2009)

John Curran: I am pleased to have the opportunity to open this Second Stage debate on the Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill 2009. This is an important Bill and one which will provide further support to the Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and the Revenue Commissioners in their continuing drive against serious and organised crime. The objectives of the Bill are clear-cut - to allow material gained...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill 2009: Second Stage (30 Jun 2009)

John Curran: I thank the many Senators who contributed to the debate on the Bill. Many important points were made and I will deal with many of them, if not all. I am sure several of these points will be raised again and debated in detail on Committee Stage and Report Stage. I thank Senators for generally supporting the Bill. It is important legislation which will be very useful to the Garda Síochána,...

Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (1 Jul 2009)

John Curran: The Local Development Social Inclusion Programme (LDSIP) is a series of measures that are designed to counter disadvantage and to promote equality and social and economic inclusion. The programme is implemented locally by 37 Integrated Local Development Companies and 17 Urban Partnerships. These are not-for-profit companies that target the areas of greatest need in the country, to provide...

Written Answers — Asylum Support Services: Asylum Support Services (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: I have received the report published by the Refugee Information Service in June. It provides a useful contribution to the debate on the post-second level education provided to adult refugees, persons with leave to remain and persons granted subsidiary protection. It does not, I believe, acknowledge the amount of initiatives that are already in place. Vocational Education Committees provide...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: As the Deputy is aware, the Dial to Stop Drug Dealing Campaign was launched on September 30th of last year. To date, almost 4,000 calls have been made to the phone line, and over 1,000 information reports have been made to the Gardaí as a result. The Gardaí have confirmed that there have been 9 reports received to date in relation to Westmeath and 7 of these calls relate to Athlone. All of...

Written Answers — Security of the Elderly: Security of the Elderly (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: The Deputy will be aware that the decision to suspend the Scheme of Community Support for Older People was taken in the interests of stabilising the public finances and in the context of significant increases in demand under the Scheme in recent years. Applications to the value of €3.6m were approved under the Scheme in 2007 and this figure increased to €4.2m in 2008. On suspension of...

Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: The groups referred to by the Deputy would, in the normal course of events, be eligible to apply for funding under The Programme of Training Grants for Community and Voluntary Organisations operated by my Department. However, this Programme was suspended on the 27th February 2009 due to the current financial situation.

Written Answers — Security of the Elderly: Security of the Elderly (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: The Scheme of Community Support for Older People was suspended on 7 April. This was done with a view to affording my Department the opportunity to review the Scheme's operation and to consult with interested parties over the next few months to address a number of concerns. My Department is in the course of processing applications received on or before this date in line with a commitment...

Written Answers — Security of the Elderly: Security of the Elderly (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: The Scheme of Community Support for Older People was suspended on 7th April. This was done with a view to affording my Department the opportunity to review the Scheme's operation and to consult with interested parties over the next few months to address a number of concerns. The review is currently underway with a view to making a revised scheme available in the autumn.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: I thank Senator Regan for his comments today and on Second Stage, and for broadly supporting this legislation. The definition of superior officer in context, as currently drafted, provides for the person to be a member of the rank of at least superintendent in the case of the Garda Síochána. To clarify this for the Senator, it is not merely a "member" of the Garda Síochána. The...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: The Bill governs the use of surveillance, not only by the Garda Síochána but also by members of the Defence Forces and officers of the Revenue Commissioners. It is intended in the Bill that members of an equivalent level of authority in each of these State agencies would apply to the court for authorisations to carry out surveillance and to grant approvals both in cases of urgency and for...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: I thank Senator Bacik for her support for this legislation. I considered the matter but was conscious of the balance to be struck in what is practical and achievable. On the advice available, I believe the rank of superintendent has sufficient capacity and authority and, therefore, I will not accept the amendment.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: I am advised that, from an operational and practical point of view, the rank of Garda superintendent is appropriate and would have sufficient authority. We should not consider the matter in isolation. Apart from the person making the application, a number of other checks and balances exist throughout. The superior officer making the application must have reasonable grounds and so forth in...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: Section 4 provides the circumstances under which an authorisation may be sought. Subsection 1 deals with applications made by members of An Garda Síochána. The applicant must have reasonable grounds for believing that the surveillance is necessary for obtaining information about the commission of an arrestable offence, for the prevention of arrestable offences or for maintaining the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: While the use of the term "privilege" generally refers to legal professional privilege, there are other types recognised by law, for example, discussions at Cabinet and sacerdotal privilege. The current wording incorporates all forms of privilege recognised by law. While I appreciate the Senator's motives, I do not believe his amendment is necessary and I do not propose to accept it.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: Section 5(7) already provides that an authorisation or approval may authorise a member of the Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces or the Revenue Commissioners to enter any place if necessary by use of reasonable force for the purpose of initiating or carrying out surveillance and withdrawing a surveillance device without the consent of a person who owns it or is in charge of the place. The...