Results 2,381-2,400 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Court Accommodation Provision (28 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will be aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts, including the provision of accommodation for court sittings, is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in exercising its functions. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Irish Prison Service (28 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that the matter referred to by the Deputy relates to the circumstances surrounding the release of a prisoner from Mountjoy Prison on 25 May 2010 and subsequent investigation. At the time of receipt of the report from an external investigator in late 2013, civil proceedings against the State had been initiated by the prisoner concerned arising...

Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I will ask the Minister to liaise with the Deputy directly on where that programme for Government commitment is at.

Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes, the relevant Minister.

Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: We are all concerned to ensure that all premises are secured as much as possible, including this one. I assure the Deputy that the safety and security of locations around the country, including this one, is of prime concern to An Garda Síochána and it has all relevant initiatives under way. The recruitment of 800 gardaí this year is an important part of having a proper...

Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am aware of the work the Deputy has put into this Bill and its importance. It is in the lottery for Private Members' Bills and we will await it emerging from there.

Leaders' Questions (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I will ask the Minister to liaise directly with Deputy Lowry on this issue. It is planned to run further biomass production trials alongside peat briquette production in the next few months, with a view to completing a detailed business case for this product. The business case will consider the location for the commercial scale biomass plant. If or when this product is developed, it will...

Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The heads of a commercial rates Bill are due in April. I will ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, to contact the Deputies specifically on the classification of the equine industry, on which I do not have details. Given the concerns raised by the Deputies, I will ask the Minister to communicate directly with them on the reasons for...

Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can confirm that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Katherine Zappone, will publish the report by the end of this month. The Minister will address all the relevant issues at that time and the Government will consider them at that point.

Leaders' Questions (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I hope the Deputy would, as I would, encourage people to get into negotiation mode because that is in the interest of the workers about whom he speaks.

Leaders' Questions (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Let me repeat what the funding has been. Funding for PSO services, those socially necessary but often financially unviable services, has increased in the past two budgets. This year it increased by 11% and last year it increased by 13%

Leaders' Questions (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: We all know what the country has been through and what decisions were necessary. As soon as the economy had recovered and we were in the position to invest again, this Government showed its goodwill to those services by investing. There was an 11% increase this year and a 13% increase last year and Bus Éireann received a 21% increase in PSO funding in 2016. I do not believe what the...

Leaders' Questions (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy well knows, Bord na Móna is a commercial State company and the management and operation of briquette factories is an operational matter for the company and not one in which the Government has any direct role or function. However, I recognise the points the Deputy has made on the concerns of the employees in both places at present. Bord na Móna is facing significant...

Leaders' Questions (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: No Government has been as committed to job creation as this one. The Deputy can see the fruits of that motivation and work in the numbers of jobs that have been created, which is spreading across the country and different sectors. We will do everything possible to ensure that continues. It has been a driving force behind the work of this and the previous Governments. It is incredibly...

Leaders' Questions (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I reject the Deputy's characterisation of the kind of jobs we want to create and maintain in this country. I am of course aware of the letter issued by Bus Éireann management to staff which highlighted yet again the company's financial difficulties and indicated the measures it believed it must take to ensure the company's future. Trade unions are meeting today to consider their...

Leaders' Questions (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I join with the Deputy in his opening comments as this is the first opportunity we have had in the Dáil to respond to the dreadful events in central London and outside Parliament in Westminster yesterday. I know that every Member of this House will join with me in expressing our outrage at this cowardly and evil act against innocent and defenceless people. We, like all right-thinking...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Disciplinary Proceedings (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy will appreciate that disciplinary matters within An Garda Síochána are governed by the Garda Síochána Act 2005 and the Garda Síochána (Discipline) Regulations 2007. They are a matter in the first instance for the Garda Commissioner. I have been advised by the Garda Commissioner that this case is ongoing and that the matters referred to in the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Deployment (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible the allocation of all resources, including personnel, and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. I have requested the specific information sought, from the Commissioner and when it is to hand I will forward it to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda College (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy will appreciate that the Garda Commissioner is primarily responsible for the effective and efficient use of the resources available to An Garda Síochána, including the College and its facilities, and I as Minister have no role in the matter. The Deputy will be aware that the College is in the ownership of the Office of Public Works which has the responsibility for the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Resources (23 Mar 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and distribution of Garda resources and I, as Minister, have no role in the matter. I have asked the Commissioner for the specific information requested by the Deputy and, when it is to hand, I will inform him accordingly.