Results 18,961-18,980 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Certificates (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: I can inform the Deputy that an application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person concerned continues to be processed by my Department and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible. As the Deputy will appreciate, the granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: An application for a certificate of naturalisation in relation to the person concerned is currently being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation and will be submitted to me for decision in due course. As the Deputy will appreciate, the granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Certificates (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: The application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to continues to be processed and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible. As the Deputy will appreciate, the granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: The Deputy will appreciate that prison buildings are intensively used assets that require continuous maintenance and servicing to minimise the risk of loss of cells or other critical elements of the prison infrastructure. I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that the following table sets out the annual payments to the facilities management company referred to by the Deputy across the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Facilities (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: I am informed by the Irish Prison Service that the cost of refurbishment works at the Mountjoy Prison training unit in 2019 was €1.3million (inclusive of VAT). I am further informed that the cost of this work paid to date in 2020 is €615,000 (inclusive of VAT). The Irish Prison Service assure me that these works have completed on time and in line with the overall project...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Deportation Orders (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: I am informed by the Immigration Service of my Department that the persons concerned are the subject of a Deportation Order signed on 19 February 2020. This Order requires that the persons concerned are to remove themselves from the State and remain outside the State. The enforcement of the Deportation Orders is a matter for the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB). Representations...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Probate Applications (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: The Probate Office is an office of the High Court and management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions under the Courts Service Act 1998. Probate functions are also carried out by County Registrars at District Probate Registries in 14 provincial court offices. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Family Reunification Applications (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: I can inform the Deputy that the application referred to was received in the Dublin Visa Office on 6 November 2019. Visa applications are dealt with in chronological order by date of receipt within the particular category. A visa application to join with a family member, where the sponsor is a Non-EEA national, can normally be expected to be processed within 6/12 months of receipt of the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: I can inform the Deputy that an application for a certificate of naturalisation will not be adversely affected if an applicant, who loses their employment as a result of COVID 19 pandemic, is in receipt of the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. As the Deputy will appreciate, the granting of Irish citizenship through...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Certificates (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: An application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person concerned continues to be processed and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible. It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. However, the nature of the naturalisation process is such that, for a broad range of reasons,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legal Services Regulation (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: The Legal Services Regulatory Authority has been making detailed preparations for the establishment and coming into operation of the Advisory Committee on the Grant of Patents of Precedence under the relevant terms of part 12 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015, which I commenced on 7 October 2019. I have nominated Dr. Don Thornhill as the first lay member of the Authority to serve...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Covid-19 Pandemic (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 411 to 413, inclusive, together. As the Deputy will appreciate, an outbreak of Covid-19 in a prison setting would present significant challenges for prison management in terms of controlling the spread of the virus amongst staff and prisoners, the provision of appropriate medical treatment to affected persons and the maintenance of staffing levels....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Covid-19 Pandemic (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: I appreciate the concerns that the public health emergency is causing for many families in relation to court orders for matters such as access, maintenance and guardianship and I issued a statement on these issues on 4 April 2020. I believe it is important to point out first and foremost however that court orders in relation to access remain in place. Everyone should understand that the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Public Sector Pensions (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: The retirement of members of An Garda Síochána is governed by law, which sets the mandatory retirement age for all members at 60 years of age. Members of An Garda Síochána who joined prior to 1 April 2004 may retire on full pension at 50 years of age once they have served at least 30 years and those who joined on or after 1 April 2004 may retire on full pension at 55 years...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service Remit (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 416 and 417 together. MyDepartment is aware of the issues around the securing of appointments for Registration and having identified the problem, introduced a set of software fixes in mid-September 2018 designed to prevent such abuses of the system. I can advise that the new measures have been successful to date in preventing the block booking of appointments...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Measures (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: The Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 prohibits threatening, abusive or insulting conduct that is intended or likely to stir up hatred against a group of persons on account of their sexual orientation, race, colour, nationality, religion, ethnic or national origins, or membership of the travelling community. In addition, a hate motive may be considered by sentencing judges as an...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Staff (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: The Deputy will appreciate that it is the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, rather than my Department, which has overall responsibility for public service pension matters. With regard to the particular question posed, I can inform the Deputy that the retiring age of 60 years for prison officers to whom the Superannuation (Prison Officers) Act, 1919 applies is set out at section...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Protected Disclosures (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: As the Deputy will be aware, the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 came into operation on 15 July 2014 and my Department has since put a Protected Disclosure Policy in place. The Policy was reviewed during 2019 and a revised Policy is due to be published in 2020. The Irish Prison Service, Legal Aid Board, National Disability Authority, the Courts Service, An Garda Síochána and the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: On foot of a request from my Department, the Law Reform Commission is to carry out a comprehensive review of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme; this work had been due to begin this year. This project is very welcome as it will provide for a thorough and independent examination of all aspects of this long-established Scheme. This review will help ensure that the State’s...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Work Permits (13 May 2020)

Charles Flanagan: I can inform the Deputy that there are no plans to introduce such a new scheme at this time. In March 2019, together with my colleague, the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, I announced revised immigration arrangements for spouses and de facto partners of Critical Skills Employment Permit holders and Non EEA Researchers on a hosting agreement. Under those new arrangements,...