Results 1,981-2,000 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Written Answers — Garda Equipment: Garda Equipment (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I am informed by the Garda authorities that all Divisions within the Dublin Metropolitan, Eastern and Southern Regions have now successfully migrated to the new National Digital Radio Service following commencement of the rollout last year. Rollout of the system in both the Western and South-Eastern Regions is expected to be completed by the end of 2010. Nationwide rollout is on schedule...

Written Answers — Prison Inspectorate: Prison Inspectorate (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I wish to advise the Deputy that I have personally met with the Inspector of Prisons on a number of occasions both formally and informally since his appointment in order to receive his reports and to hear his views on matters pertinent to his office.The current Inspector of Prisons, Judge Michael Reilly, took up his appointment in January 2008. In his Interim Report , following his...

Written Answers — Garda Deployment: Garda Deployment (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 65 together. Increased civilian support for the Garda Síochána does not exclusively take the form of one for one replacement of individual Gardaí with civilians. In some instances, civilianisation does indeed enable the direct replacement of sworn members, who are engaged in exclusively clerical, administrative or technical duties, with civilian...

Written Answers — Prison Accommodation: Prison Accommodation (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: As I have previously indicated to the House, the report on Mountjoy Prison by the Inspector of Prisons has been considered by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service and his Senior Management Team. A number of the Inspector's recommendations have been implemented or are in the course of being implemented, subject to the availability of resources. The newly refurbished Separation...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: Policy on affording protections for whistleblowers generally is not a matter solely for myself as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. As I indicated in the Dáil, on 16 June 2010, in the course of the Committee Stage Debate on the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill 2008, it has been Government policy for some years to provide protection for whistleblowers on a sectoral...

Written Answers — Prisoner Releases: Prisoner Releases (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: The Criminal Justice Act 1960, as amended by the Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Act 2003 provides that the Minister may approve the temporary release of a sentenced prisoner and establishes the criteria to be applied. This discretionary instrument assists in gradually preparing suitable offenders for release, in administering short sentences, in addressing humanitarian...

Written Answers — Garda Equipment: Garda Equipment (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I have requested the information sought by the Deputy from the Garda Commissioner and I will write to the Deputy directly when this information is to hand.

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I can inform the Deputy that work on the development of a White Paper on Crime, due for publication in 2011, is progressing well in my Department. A key part of the process involves the publication of a series of discussion documents, each of which is designed to give structure to the broad range of issues which arise in this field. Submissions are invited from members of the public and...

Written Answers — Court Orders: Court Orders (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 89 together. There are a number of provisions in the law for ensuring that payments continue to be made by spouses in support of their dependent spouses and children. They include enabling powers for the courts to order attachment of the earnings of a debtor spouse, to order the securing of payments to the maintenance creditor, to order the payment of...

Written Answers — Visa Applications: Visa Applications (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I am fully aware of the issue referred to by the Deputy. Re-entry visas are processed by Re-entry Visa Public Office of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS). The Public office processes over 60,000 re-entry visa applications a year. The Public Office normally offers a fast, efficient service and deals with everyone who calls into the office on any given day. However,...

Written Answers — Prison Building Programme: Prison Building Programme (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: The Deputy will be aware of the Government's commitment to developing a new prison campus at Thornton Hall, County Dublin. The new prison facility will provide accommodation for 1,400 cells with operational flexibility to accommodate up to 2,200 in a range of security settings. The development is now proceeding on a phased basis with phase one comprising essential enabling works required for...

Written Answers — Drugs in Prisons: Drugs in Prisons (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: The Irish Prison Service as part of their policy "Keeping Drugs Out of Prison" continue to expand the range of drug treatment services available in prisons. Significant investment has been committed in recent years to respond to addiction issues in the prison system. Drug rehabilitation programmes for prisoners involve a significant multidimensional input by a diverse range of general and...

Written Answers — Garda Operations: Garda Operations (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 62 and 74 together. I am advised by the Garda authorities that prior to the regulation of certain psychotropic substances on 11 May, 2010 there had been 102 Head shops operating in the State. Following on the banning of these substances, supplemented by an intensive Garda operation, on 4 June, 2010 36 headshops were known to be operating nationwide. On 14 June...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: A number of the measures in the Special Group Report (McCarthy) have been implemented at this stage in order to achieve reductions in the Departments Estimates for 2010. These relate to the programmes in a range of subheads which include Gender Mainstreaming, Graffiti Removal Operations, Equality Monitoring Consultative Committees, European Refugee Fund and Refugee Integration. The McCarthy...

Written Answers — Garda Strength: Garda Strength (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 66, 67, 83, 84 and 177 together. The number of applications for retirement received from 2002 to 2009 and to-date in 2010 in An Garda Síochána are set out in the table. While there was a significant increase in retirements in 2009, the rate of retirement has since slowed, with some 61 applications for early retirement received so far this year. The...

Written Answers — Bail Laws: Bail Laws (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: The number of offences being committed by persons on bail is a matter of concern. The operation of the legislation relating to bail is kept under continuing review by my Department, and proposals for amendment of the legislation are brought forward when that is considered necessary. A decision to grant bail in a particular case is a matter for the court, which is, subject only to the...

Written Answers — Joint Policing Committees: Joint Policing Committees (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: Joint Policing Committees are provided for in the Garda Síochána Act 2005. Their purpose is to provide a forum where An Garda Síochána and the local authority - the two organisations which make the most significant contribution to preventing and tackling crime in a specific area - can come together, with the participation of members of the Oireachtas and community and voluntary...

Written Answers — Missing Persons: Missing Persons (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: I have been informed by the Garda authorities that from June 2009 to May 2010 a total of 527 persons of non-Irish nationality and a further 40 persons of unknown nationality were reported missing. I am further informed that of these 567 persons 509 have been recorded as found. I am also informed by the Garda authorities that compiling statistics prior to June 2009 on foreign nationals...

Written Answers — Road Traffic Offences: Road Traffic Offences (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: The Garda Commissioner and I signed the contract for an outsourced safety camera network with the preferred service provider in November, 2009 following a tender and evaluation process. In accordance with the provisions of the contract, rollout of the national safety camera network is scheduled to commence in October, 2010 and will increase to full capacity by the end of January 2011. An...

Written Answers — Deportation Orders: Deportation Orders (30 Jun 2010)

Dermot Ahern: Details of the number of Deportation Orders signed and effected in the period 1st January 2008 to 31st May 2010 are set out in the following table. Deportation Orders Signed and Effected Year Number of Deportation Orders Signed Number of Deportation Orders Effected 2008 757 161 2009 1077 291 2010 353 126 Total 2187 578 Under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999, the Minister for...