Results 16,501-16,520 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Valuation Office (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am informed by the Commissioner of Valuation that the introduction of a regional structure for the Valuation Office is not in line with the current operational requirements and work programmes of the organisation and is not, at present, under consideration.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigations (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and Units and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. I am assured by the Garda Commissioner that the allocation of Gardaí is continually monitored and reviewed taking into account all relevant factors...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Staff (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 84 and 85 together. I can inform the Deputy that the Irish Prison Service would assess any request by a prison officer to be reassigned to another part of the civil or public service, whether within my Department or not, having regard to the merits and particular circumstances of the request.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: State Investments (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have been informed that the Common Investment Fund (CIF) holds a small proportion of tobacco related stocks as part of a dividend reinvestment scheme which allows unit holders (charities) the choice of receiving dividend income in cash or to reinvest back into the fund. The CIF was established in April, 1985 by the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland under a...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Liquor Licensing Laws (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The position is that the statutory provisions relating to the sale of alcohol on Good Friday, which have historical origins, will be examined in the context of the forthcoming Sale of Alcohol Bill. It will update the law relating to the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol in licensed premises by repealing the Licensing Acts 1833 to 2011, and the Registration of Clubs Acts 1904 to 2008,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Deportation Orders (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned was deported from the State in July, 2016 on foot of a valid Deportation Order which was made on 25th September, 2015. As the Deputy will be aware, the consequence of a Deportation Order is that the person named on the Order must leave the State and remain out of the State....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that decisions regarding the grant or refusal of visas are made in a number of INIS Visa Offices overseas, the INIS Visa Office in Dublin, and at Embassies of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade which process certain visa applications under delegated sanction from my Department. The waiting...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the visa application has been approved. The applicant has been advised that her passport and visa may be collected from the Honorary Consulate's office in Manilla. The Deputy may wish to note that queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I thank all the Deputies who proposed these amendments. It is an issue I have been considering and about which I have been concerned. I have heard the voices of people who believe such a provision should be in the Bill. I agree in principle with what Deputies Coppinger and O'Callaghan and others suggest, that is, that we should provide in statute for a definition of consent and clarify in...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I will do my best.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is an Opposition amendment.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is correct to include a definition. That is the approach that has been taken in most common law countries. Deputy Daly raised the point about the definition not being too restrictive. The intention is to have a list but also to include a subsection with a non-exhaustive list under which other factors could be considered. That is the direction we want to move in on this. If Deputies...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I move amendment No. 2: In page 9, lines 17 and 18, to delete all words from and including “Section” in line 17 down to and including line 18 and substitute the following: “Section 3 of the Act of 1998 is amended-- (a) by the repeal of subsections (2A) and (2B), and (b) in subsection (5), by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I move amendment No. 3: In page 10, line 19, to delete “14 years” and substitute “14 years or both”. This amendment corrects the text to allow for both a fine and a period of investment to be imposed.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: Deputy Daly's amendment, among others, raises a point about language. Lest there be any doubt, our approach uses the language contained in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The convention reads: "States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social, educational and other measures to protect persons with disabilities," etc. That is the...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The use of the term "protected person" in section 21 is to distinguish the fact that the protected person in this instance does not have the capacity to consent by reason of disability. We need to distinguish the two. This is the reason.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I shall address amendment No. 9. It adds a new subsection to section 21, which I assume is an alternative to amendment No. 7, also proposed by Deputy O'Brien. The amendment includes a declaration that a relevant person has capacity unless the contrary is shown. I fully appreciate what the Deputy is trying to achieve here and I received legal advice on the need for such a provision as there...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I accept the Deputy's point about normalisation and the approach should reflect that as much as possible. The Deputy referred to consent for other people and that will be dealt with in the definition of consent that I will bring in. Everybody who has looked at this, from the UN to the Law Reform Commission has said that there are particular protections that are necessary if a person has a...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised that these are particular criminal law provisions necessary to deal with the points that I have outlined. There are also a further 22 provisions in relation to prosecutions to say that no proceedings for an offence under this part shall be brought except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions. This is a sort of protection to the Deputy's point. There is...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I move amendment No. 5: 5. In page 16, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: “Definitions 20.In this Part— “sexual act” means— (a) an act consisting of— (i) sexual intercourse, or (ii) buggery, (b) an act described in section 3(1) or 4(1) of the Act of 1990, or (c) an act which if done without consent would constitute a sexual...