Results 15,961-15,980 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Written Answers — Prison Seizures: Prison Seizures (28 Oct 2010)

Dermot Ahern: Section 36 of the Prisons Act, 2007, which was brought into operation on 1 May, 2007, makes it an offence for prisoners to have unauthorised possession of or use of mobile telecommunication devices. Under the Act it is also an offence to supply such a device to a prisoner. The penalties for such an offence, on summary conviction, include a fine not exceeding €5,000 or imprisonment for a...

Written Answers — Sentencing Policy: Sentencing Policy (28 Oct 2010)

Dermot Ahern: In the vast majority of offences, the Oireachtas has provided the courts with a number of options for disposal of such cases including fines, the Probation of Offenders Act, community service orders and imprisonment. It is a matter for the sentencing judge to decide what is the appropriate sanction in individual cases depending on the circumstances of the offender and the particular facts of...

Written Answers — Drugs in Prisons: Drugs in Prisons (28 Oct 2010)

Dermot Ahern: The Irish Prison Service has introduced a range of measures in all closed prisons to prevent the flow of and assist in the capture of contraband such as illicit drugs. These include: The introduction of enhanced security screening for all persons (visitors and staff) entering our prisons; The establishment of a drug detection dog service within the Irish Prison Service involving...

Written Answers — Garda Equipment: Garda Equipment (28 Oct 2010)

Dermot Ahern: The Medical Bureau of Road Safety, which is under the aegis of the Department of Transport, has statutory responsibility for the testing, approval and supply of roadside breath screening devices to An Garda Síochána. I am informed by the Garda authorities that Garda management is satisfied that there are sufficient roadside breath-screening devices available to meet current operational...

Written Answers — Garda Deployment: Garda Deployment (28 Oct 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that the total number of Community Gardaí in the Kildare Division, on the latest date for which figures are readily available, was 17, with 4 stationed in Naas, 10 stationed in Kildare and 3 stationed in Leixlip. Responsibility for the allocation of resources, including community Gardaí, within the Force rests with the Garda Commissioner, in...

Written Answers — Visa Applications: Visa Applications (28 Oct 2010)

Dermot Ahern: As the Deputy may be aware I recently published a 'New Immigration Regime for Full Time non-EEA Students' which contains more than 20 recommendations designed to reform the student immigration regime. These recommendations include the introduction of maximum periods of residence in the State on foot of a student permission. A number of the recommendations, including the maximum periods of...

Written Answers — Child Abduction: Child Abduction (28 Oct 2010)

Dermot Ahern: Ireland is a party to the Hague Convention, a Council of Europe Convention and an EU Regulation on the civil aspects of international child abduction by a parent in defiance of the rights of the other parent. Among the functions of the Central Authority that operates in my Department for the purposes of the Conventions and the Regulation is that of cooperating with the Central Authorities of...

Written Answers — Legislative Programme: Legislative Programme (28 Oct 2010)

Dermot Ahern: The Fines Act 2010 will be commenced on a phased basis and I expect that the capacity to pay provisions in section 14 will be among the first features of the legislation to be commenced from early January, 2011. Section 14 places an obligation on the court to take account of the defendant's financial circumstances before a fine is imposed. While I would like to be in a position to commence...

Written Answers — Data Protection: Data Protection (28 Oct 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I wish to inform the Deputy that the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has worked closely with Google to ensure that privacy concerns were addressed in advance of the launch date of their Street View technology. In order to inform members of the public about the proposed mapping process, details of the movements of the company's camera cars were issued publicly and were available...

Written Answers — Road Traffic Offences: Road Traffic Offences (28 Oct 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 65 and 68 together. The issuing of fixed charge notices for relevant offences is a matter for An Garda Síochána. Payment of a fixed charge is a discretionary option for the recipient of a fixed charge notice. The relevant road traffic legislation provides that, during the initial period of 28 days from the date of the notice, payment is accepted at the...

Requests to move Adjournment of Dáil under Standing Order 32 (2 Nov 2010)

Dermot Ahern: The Deputy is a very mild man. He must be right.

Order of Business (2 Nov 2010)

Dermot Ahern: None of whom supported me when I raised the matter in Brussels. It is ironic.

Order of Business (2 Nov 2010)

Dermot Ahern: Ireland was on its own.

Order of Business (2 Nov 2010)

Dermot Ahern: Very serious.

Order of Business (2 Nov 2010)

Dermot Ahern: They should have supported the issue when I raised it.

Written Answers — Citizenship Applications: Citizenship Applications (2 Nov 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I am informed that the person concerned has recently contacted her local immigration office. The immigration officer explained to her the periods of her residency in the State which are considered reckonable with regard to her child's application for Irish citizenship. I should remind the Deputy that queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made direct to INIS...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (2 Nov 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I can inform the Deputy that the information requested can not be readily disaggregated in the manner sought without applying a disproportionate use of resources. There are in the region of sixty subheads in my Department's Vote, covering the head office area and other areas of my Department together with a range of other bodies and services. The method of payments to these bodies varies,...

Written Answers — Residency Permits: Residency Permits (2 Nov 2010)

Dermot Ahern: The person who is subject of this question was granted permission to remain in the State pursuant to the provisions of the Immigration Act, 2004, following consideration of an application made to the Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service (INIS) under the Irish Born Child Scheme (IBC/05). Such permission is granted subject to condition that the person receiving such permission does not...

Written Answers — Garda Vetting Services: Garda Vetting Services (2 Nov 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 305 and 306 together. The Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) provides employment vetting for a large number of organisations in Ireland registered with the Gardaí for this purpose and which employ persons in a full-time, part-time, voluntary or training capacity to positions where they would have substantial, unsupervised access to children and/or vulnerable...

Written Answers — Croke Park Agreement: Croke Park Agreement (2 Nov 2010)

Dermot Ahern: The Public Service Agreement 2010-2014 provides a sustainable framework to manage the provision and delivery of essential public services despite the reductions in public service numbers and in a period of unprecedented pressure on resources. Reflecting this, my Department's Action Plan is ambitious and contains measures, the implementation of which will bring about efficiencies over the...