Results 17,281-17,300 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Court Procedures (5 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: As the Deputy may be aware, in 2013 the Law Reform Commission published a report on jury service which includes an examination of the selection of individuals for jury service, including persons with hearing disabilities. The Report contains 56 recommendations covering a broad range of issues which are currently being considered in my Department. While the Law Reform Commission report...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Coroners Service (5 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: As the Deputy will be aware, the Coroners Bill 2007 which is before the Seanad, having been restored to the Order Paper, provides for a comprehensive reform of the law, practice and structures in regard to the coroner service. This includes the manner in which a jury would be selected for an inquest. The Bill is in the course of being reviewed in my Department and in that context all...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Civil Legal Aid Issues (5 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: I wish to advise the Deputy that the Regulations recently introduced are intended, inter alia, to raise additional funding to be retained by the Board to better fund the provision of services to those in need of them and reduce waiting times for those services. At a time when the State is facing significant demands on its resources, an increase in contributions allows the Board to achieve its...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Reports (5 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: I have been advised by the Ombudsman Commission that the information requested by the Deputy is not readily available and the generation and collation of that information would place an inordinate burden on the organisation in terms of time and resources. The information sought was in respect of complaints received by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission from family members of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Road Traffic Offences (5 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: As I indicated in my previous response, I sought a report from the Garda authorities in relation to the Deputy's request to provide, in tabular form, the number of fixed penalty notices issued by members of An Garda Síochána to motorists in the years 2011, 2013 and to 11 June, 2013 in County Donegal including a breakdown of the various road traffic offences for which these notices...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Issues (5 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: Section 98 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 provides that designated officers of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) have all the powers, immunities and privileges conferred and all the duties imposed on any member of the Garda Síochána by or under any enactment or the common law. This means that the exemptions under the Road Traffic Acts apply to GSOC...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Charities Regulation (5 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: The information sought by the Deputy is not available in the Department of Justice and Equality. As already confirmed in Parliamentary Question No. 154 of 29 January 2014, a breakdown of net profit by lottery product type was not supplied for those years by Rehab.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Protection of Whistleblowers (5 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: The Garda Síochána (Confidential Reporting of Corruption or Malpractice) Regulations 2007 provide for an independent Confidential Recipient to whom members of the Force can report, in confidence, instances where they believe there may be corruption or malpractice within the Force. The Confidential Recipient is required to transmit each report to the Garda Commissioner for...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Courts Service (5 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: As the Deputy will be aware the courts are, subject only to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions, and the conduct of any case is a matter entirely for the presiding judge. All Court records, including recordings of court proceedings, are under the control of the presiding Judge, as provided for in section 65(3) of the Court Officers Act, 1926....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Deportation Orders (5 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the persons referred to by the Deputy were given temporary residency in the State on Stamp 3 conditions from July 2010 to December 2012. Stamp 3 is granted to persons who have demonstrated to the immigration officer that they have sufficient funds to support themselves, will not work or operate a...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Magdalen Laundries (5 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: To date, 680 applications have been received under the ex gratia scheme which was established by Government for the benefit of those women who were admitted to and worked in the Magdalen Laundries, St Mary's Training Centre, Stanhope Street and House of Mercy Training School, Summerhill, Wexford. The applications are being processed as quickly as possible and over 280 letters of formal offer...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Small Claims and Payment Procedures: Motion (5 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: I thank the Chairman. At the outset I thank the committee members for their willingness to deal with this matter today, at short notice. It is important that Ireland is seen to be in a position to play a full part in the negotiations which have begun in regard to this instrument, and a positive response to the motion which has been tabled will facilitate our achieving that objective. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Small Claims and Payment Procedures: Motion (5 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: The low take-up across the EU is principally because the availability of this facility is not known in many member states. There is also an issue where oral hearings are required. Individuals may not want to travel and incur the expense of such hearings for small claims. The cost of travel and accommodation may offset any benefit to be accrued by engaging in this procedure, which is why...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Small Claims and Payment Procedures: Motion (5 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: I will take the last question first. Yes, once these facilities are available to help people resolve small claims disputes, it is important to have the maximum public knowledge of them. Some of the consumer bodies publicise this from time to time. It is not an issue that generates major media excitement. The problem in publicising anything nowadays is that unless something arises that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Small Claims and Payment Procedures: Motion (5 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: In respect of the legal profession, the design of the Small Claims Court is such that people are not represented. There is an informal procedure to facilitate a resolution or adjudication on matters. One argument is that if one is dealing with claims at that level, to protect people’s rights they should have legal representation, or the facility for that, but the moment legal...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Air Accident Investigations (6 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: Yet again I extend my sympathy to the families of the deceased. There have been three separate official investigations into this tragic accident, the first of which was conducted by the air accident investigation unit of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. Its final report setting out its findings was published on 24 January 2012. It found that the probable cause of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Air Accident Investigations (6 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: As I believe the Deputy knows, there is no question of pulling down the shutters or circling the wagons. I have gone through the series of events and there is no interest of any description in not knowing the truth. The tragic reality and truth is that there was serious pilot error by the instructor and that Cadet Jevens bears no responsibility of any description. No change in systems or...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Air Accident Investigations (6 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: I refer again to something that is central and key to this. In so far as issues could arise with regard to systems within the Air Corps, the following of protocols and so on, this accident was the tragic consequence of one thing only. There was no aircraft failure. It was the tragic consequence of an unfortunate judgment made by the instructor. According to the report, Cadet Jevens...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Investigations (6 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: The case to which the Deputy refers dates back to 1981 and relates to an attack on two members of the Irish battalion serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, at that time. On 27 April 1981, an observation post in south Lebanon manned by Private Hugh Doherty and Private Kevin Joyce came under attack. Private Doherty was later found dead from gunshot wounds and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Investigations (6 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: With regard to tragic events such as this, the Deputy well knows in the context of this island the difficulty in locating remains where the likelihood is that individuals are still on the island who were the perpetrators of the murder of innocent individuals. It is a great deal more difficult in the context of an unidentified attack on two members of an Irish UN battalion where one...