Results 17,621-17,640 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Training (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that the Garda Roads Policing Manual was issued in July 2013 and sets out guidance on Roads Policing. The manual includes both planned operations and incidents that require a spontaneous response that are dealt with by An Garda Síochána on a daily basis. The manual also includes policy and procedures in relation to Organisation...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Investigations (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: In my statement to the House on 11 February, 2014, I detailed the background to the investigation GSOC initiated and the outcome of that investigation. I summarised for the House the information furnished to me by GSOCs Chairman at our two hour meeting and that contained in the briefing note I received from GSOC and its public press release. I addressed the central issues of the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Firearms Licences (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: On 1st August 2009, new firearms licensing application processes were introduced with the commencement of the remaining sections relevant to firearms licensing provided for in the Criminal Justice Act 2006 and the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. Each application for a firearm certificate is judged on its own individual merits, having regard to the conditions set out in...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Remuneration (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: Nowhere in the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013 – 2016, ‘The Haddington Road Agreement’ is there a promise to pay an extra 10% to any public servant. I am assuming that the Deputy is referring to Paragraph 2.31 of that Agreement which provides “that in order to address the imbalance between those who entered the Public Service since 2011 and those who...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Military Medals (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: I have been advised by the Military authorities that no medals have ever been struck for personnel who had military service in the period 1921 to 1939, a period that includes service with the then National Army during the Civil War period of 1922-1924. Given the elapse of so many years, and the possible unreliability and incompleteness of contemporary records, the process of assessing...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Military Records (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: The Defence Forces as a matter of routine provide access to individuals seeking their personal military records (personnel files) in the case of both serving and retired members. This access is administered through Administrative Instruction A8 for serving members. For retired members the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 & 2003, the Data Protection Acts 1998 & 2003 and the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Emergency Planning (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: The Framework for Major Emergency Management sets out the structure for enabling the Principal Response Agencies (An Garda Síochána, the Health Service Executive and Local Authorities) to provide a coordinated response to major emergencies including severe weather events. The involvement of the Defence Forces arises from requests for assistance received from such Agencies in its...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Strength (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: The strength of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) as at 31 December in each of the last 20 years is contained in the attached table. I wish to advise the Deputy that the strength figures for the period 1994 - 2012 include personnel who were on secondment to, and being paid by other organisations, or on career breaks. The 31 December 2013 strength figures have been calculated on the basis of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Surveillance Issues: Minister for Justice and Equality (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: Thank you Chairman. In advance, I would like to say that I have the remnant of the flu, so if my voice ebbs and wanes, I hope nobody will attribute it to anything else. I am very happy to be here. I am accompanied by two officials from my Department, Mr. Brian Purcell who is the Secretary General, and Mr. Michael Flahive, who is the assistant secretary general. They are both with me...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Surveillance Issues: Minister for Justice and Equality (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: I am very conscious that the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission received a technical report which, from its perspective and understanding of it, exposed what the commission saw, and what the documentation I received subsequent to my statement to the Dáil referenced, as vulnerabilities. The wording used last week was "potential threats", and in the final report it was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Surveillance Issues: Minister for Justice and Equality (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: I am happy to give this as much time as is necessary. I appreciate in respect of this matter that it is not always possible to give a short and succinct answer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Surveillance Issues: Minister for Justice and Equality (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: It is rather complex and a short answer could be misleading. I have no wish to comment on whether GSOC should have commenced the section 102 investigation at the point when it did. I have merely described the information on which the commission commenced it. That issue can be considered in the context of any matters of relevance to this by the judge who is going to conduct the inquiry. ...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Surveillance Issues: Minister for Justice and Equality (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: I am very happy to answer any questions I am asked but perhaps it may be of some minor help if Deputies could ask three questions to which I can reply and then come back to me because it is a little difficult to follow the entirety without taking extensive notes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Surveillance Issues: Minister for Justice and Equality (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: I do not wish to confine anyone to the number of questions they ask but if I could just deal with them in some sort of order. The Deputy's first question was why did I fail to outline the fact that GSOC had undertaken a public interest investigation. I expressly said in my script that GSOC had commenced an investigation. I then proceeded to detail the outcome of the investigation. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Surveillance Issues: Minister for Justice and Equality (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: Deputy Ó Snodaigh has missed something in all of this. I am advised that what he has stated is not the reason the investigation was initiated, and I am surprised the Deputy is saying that Mr. O'Brien was trying to backtrack last week. Mr. O'Brien was quite clear last week on the matter that ended up in the public domain on Sunday last. He said there was a document that had leaked from...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Surveillance Issues: Minister for Justice and Equality (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: I will be a lot briefer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Surveillance Issues: Minister for Justice and Equality (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: I will take the Deputy's questions in reverse order. This issue arose at an extraordinarily early stage last week when people were demanding that there be some form of inquiry. I met with Mr. O'Brien and received a brief from him in writing and GSOC issued a statement. If one looks at it in the round, what occurred, based on the information I had, was that a security sweep was initiated by...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Surveillance Issues: Minister for Justice and Equality (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy's first question relates to whether what I said in the Dáil on the Tuesday before last true. The answer is that it was. The passage in the brief which he cites is very interesting. It states "The investigation was launched on the basis that the Acting Director of Investigations was of the opinion that, to the extent that these threats could be proven". The threats we were...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Surveillance Issues: Minister for Justice and Equality (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: I am afraid the truth is that the Deputy is a little disappointed that it has not been found that An Garda Síochána-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Surveillance Issues: Minister for Justice and Equality (19 Feb 2014)

Alan Shatter: -----was engaged in surveillance. I was asked about the proportionality. I specifically asked Simon O'Brien about that, as did both of my officials. I was told there was nothing and, indeed, there is nothing revealed in this brief to indicate what the evidence was. One cannot simply say, "There are two peculiar things happening and I am of the opinion that the Garda are responsible".