Results 3,061-3,080 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Data Protection (14 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I wish to advise the Deputy that the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner was established under Section 9 of the Data Protection Act 1988. Its statutory functions include the monitoring of implementation of data protection law, the investigation of complaints and, where appropriate, the taking of legal proceedings in the event of breaches of data protection rules. The Office is...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Training (14 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for carrying on and managing and controlling generally the administration and business of An Garda Síochána, including by arranging for the training of its members and civilian staff and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that all Gardaí...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (14 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I presume the Deputy is referring to applications currently on hand and where the process has not been completed. 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 Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Data (14 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 116 and 117 together. The Deputy is already aware that I consider the deliberate ramming of Garda vehicles to be an extremely serious matter insofar as road safety is concerned. The safety of the members of An Garda Síochána and the general public on our roads is of critical importance. It is essential that Gardaí are protected in carrying out...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (14 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the persons concerned were refused a residence card, under the provisions of the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2015, on 30 January 2017. The persons' current permission to remain in this State are due to expire on 19 February, 2017. I am further informed that the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Family Reunification Applications (14 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the time taken to complete "join family" visa applications in the Dublin Visa office is currently 8 months where the sponsor is a non-EEA national and all necessary information is available to the Visa Officer. This is within the INIS business target time of 6 to 12 months for this type of visa...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Court Accommodation Refurbishment (14 Feb 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 the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Data (14 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have requested a report from the Garda authorities in relation to this matter and I will contact the Deputy directly when the report is to hand.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Data (14 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, is responsible for the compilation and publication of the official recorded crime statistics, and the CSO has established a dedicated unit for this purpose. To be of assistance I have asked the CSO to forward the available statistics in relation to the matters referred to directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Data (14 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, is responsible for the compilation and publication of the official recorded crime statistics. The CSO publishes details of recorded crime incidents, detected crimes, relevant proceedings and convictions, and I have asked the CSO to forward the available information in relation to the matters referred to directly to the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments (14 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I wish to advise the Deputy that there are currently 3 judicial vacancies in the Courts, as follows: Court Number of vacancies Supreme Court 1 Court of Appeal 0 High Court 0 Circuit Court 0 District Court 2**A Judge has been nominated by Government to fill one of these vacancies and it is expected that her appointment will take place by the end of this month. Judicial appointments are...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Court Accommodation Refurbishment (14 Feb 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: Probation and Welfare Service Staff (14 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy may be aware, the Probation Service is structured into 7 operational regions, 5 geographical regions and 2 national regions. The Prisoner, Risk and Resettlement Region is the operational region that covers probation work in all prisons nationwide. In 2010, there were 37 staff (Probation Officers and Senior Probation Officers) in the Prisoner, Risk and Resettlement Region. The...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (14 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person mentioned by the Deputy made an application to INIS at the beginning of February 2017. All applications are dealt with in strict chronological order: the current expected processing time is approx 12 months. Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Stations (14 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy will be aware that the Office of Public Works has primary responsibility for the provision and maintenance of Garda accommodation and, as Minister, I have no direct role in relation to these matters. The position remains as outlined in my response to Parliamentary Question No. 194 of 17 January 2017, wherein I indicated that a site has been identified for the proposed new Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Ground Rents (14 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: As I indicated in my response to Parliamentary Question No. 45 of 2 February, while I have no immediate plans to implement further measures in relation to ground rents, either by way of constitutional amendment or amendment of the current statutory framework, operation of existing ground rents legislation is kept under review by my Department.

Commission of Investigation relating to disclosures by members of An Garda Síochána: Statements (9 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: That will be entirely up to the commission to decide. I see no reason, if there is a relevant agency such as the one the Deputy mentioned, that it would not be included in the work of the commission.

Commission of Investigation relating to disclosures by members of An Garda Síochána: Statements (9 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The only problem is people have been told the divisions are at 4 p.m. To change it would be difficult.

Commission of Investigation relating to disclosures by members of An Garda Síochána: Statements (9 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I thank Deputies who have contributed to the debate. I am grateful for the acknowledgement from some Deputies that the approach I am taking is the right way to consider this matter, namely, to take some time to reflect on what has been said here today and the suggestions that various Deputies have made. We all recognise the seriousness of the situation. I have made it clear that we need to...

Commission of Investigation relating to disclosures by members of An Garda Síochána: Statements (9 Feb 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: We do.