Results 15,341-15,360 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Prevention (27 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can advise the Deputy that the Joint Agency Response to Crime (J-ARC), which forms part of the Joint Strategy on the Management of Offenders, is an inter-agency response to the management and rehabilitation of offenders involving the Probation Service, the Prison Service and An Garda Síochána, working in collaboration to target certain prolific offenders so as to address their...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Courts Service (27 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: As outlined in my response to Parliamentary Questions 38 and 97 of 16 September 2016, the rezoning of a part of the Hammond Lane site as a park had been proposed in an amendment which had been tabled by some members of Dublin City Council to the draft Dublin City Development Plan 2016 - 2022. As the Deputy may be aware, the Courts Service had expressed serious concerns at the potential effect...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Discipline (27 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that there is no provision for solitary confinement in the Irish Prison Service. However, the Deputy will appreciate that, on occasion, it is necessary for vulnerable prisoners and others to be separated from the general prison population. The restriction of a prisoner's regime can occur due to a number of factors including the protection of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Staff Remuneration (27 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can inform the Deputy that based on current staffing figures, the additional annual salary cost to my Department of implementing the various minimum wages referred to in the Deputy's question and the numbers of staff affected are contained in the following table: Minimum wage rate Number of staff under rate Total cost of introducing the minimum wage rate concerned Minimum wage of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Staff Remuneration (27 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can inform the Deputy that based on current staffing figures, the additional annual salary cost to my Department of implementing the various minimum wages referred to in the Deputy's question and the numbers of staff affected are contained in the following table: Minimum wage rate Number of staff under rate Total cost of introducing the minimum wage rate concerned Minimum wage of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Investigations (28 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The background to the two cases referred to in the Deputy's question are truly tragic and both are deserving of our sympathy and understanding. It is worth pointing out that both cases were considered under the independent review mechanism established recently to review certain allegations of Garda misconduct or inadequacies, if any, in the investigation of certain allegations. A panel...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Investigations (28 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The annual report from the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission for last year demonstrates very clearly that 96% of all requests made to the Garda for information from GSOC were given to it within the 30-day period. There was a small percentage where there was a longer timeframe but we have established protocols and there has been an improved relationship between GSOC and the Garda...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Investigations (28 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: With regard to the timeframe, the Department received an update from GSOC in July 2016. In that latest update, GSOC stated that the investigation was at an advanced stage and arrangements were being put in place to meet with some gardaí who have yet to be interviewed. I very much hope, as Deputy O'Callaghan does, that this work can be concluded very soon. I have met the family, who...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Sentencing Policy (28 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: There are very severe penalties in place for firearm offences under the Firearms Acts 1925 to 2009. A person possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life is liable to a minimum of ten years imprisonment and up to a maximum of life imprisonment and a fine at the discretion of the court. The court has some discretion in applying these minimum sentences in the case of a first offence,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Sentencing Policy (28 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The House might be interested to know that a High Court judgment of 9 May 2016, with which I am sure the Deputy is familiar, upheld the constitutionality of the mandatory minimum sentence provisions for repeat firearm offences. Mr. Justice Twomey adjudicated it is within the rights of the Oireachtas to make such provisions, having regard to public safety and the protection of citizens. He...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Reports (28 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: We have not had a second SAVI report but the overall cost of a second report has been investigated. I held meetings with the researchers who were involved in the original SAVI report. The cost would be approximately €1 million, although that would be subject to tender. The previous SAVI report cost more than €600,000. It is a question of whether we can find the funding of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Reports (28 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The only piece of research on murder-suicide cases shows there have been 19 such incidents in the period from 2000 to 2013. According to CSO figures, during that period there were 6,033 deaths recorded as suicide. In response to the point Deputy Coppinger made about communicating with the wider public, we have just launched a €6 million investment programme over six years, the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Reports (28 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: Following the launch of the Women's Aid report, I attended a meeting between the Courts Service and Women's Aid, which I organised in order to discuss the range of issues raised in the report about the state of the family court services and the need to improve them but, equally, there were other issues. Some of the issues Deputy Coppinger raised will be addressed in the sexual offences Bill,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (28 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I do not agree with the Deputy's analysis of GSOC. The GSOC report from 2015 indicated that it had received full responses to 93.6% of requests within the time limit of 30 days, with only 6.4% unfulfilled at 30 days. That represents a significant improvement in compliance with the protocols over 2013 and 2014. The average time taken to receive a compliant response was 22 days in 2015....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (28 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: As I have said in the House previously, robust procedures are increasingly being put in place within An Garda Síochána to make sure that the concerns raised by Garda whistleblowers are dealt with appropriately, and the Deputy has heard the Garda Commissioner herself talk about them. We have passed the Protected Disclosures Act, which is a very robust statutory framework within...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (28 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: What this Government and the last Government have done is put in place a new Policing Authority with an important role in this country to hold the police to account in a public way. It has started that work, as the country knows, and it is getting on with it. It is examining a whole range of issues regarding the management of the Garda Síochána and having ongoing private and...

Other Questions: Garda Reserve (28 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: Has the Leas-Cheann Comhairle skipped Question No. 15?

Other Questions: Garda Reserve (28 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The programme for a partnership Government includes a commitment to double the Garda Reserve to act in a supportive role, undertaking local patrols and crime reduction measures. The Reserve members have undergone training in many of the skills required to be effective full-time members of An Garda Síochána. Indeed, many have now applied to be members of the Garda. Quite a number...

Other Questions: Garda Reserve (28 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: Following the inspectorate reports we have seen this new approach by An Garda Síochána to extend the powers of the reserve. A superintendent has been appointed and I have met him to discuss the audit that is being carried out. I agree with the Deputy that it is extremely important to double the numbers of the reserves, as we intend to do. We have more reserves now than we had,...

Other Questions: Garda Reserve (28 Sep 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The audit is expected to be completed early in the new year. It is expected that the recruitment of the 300 extra reserves will begin in the middle of the year and that will be accelerated in the following years to ensure we double the number. It is an important role. Some people want to do it as a role in itself, but others see it as a route into An Garda Síochána. Now that we...