Results 3,361-3,380 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Deployment (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 735 and 736 together. As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel among the Garda Regions, Divisions and Districts, the various Garda national units and of course Garda Headquarters. Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review in the context of crime trends and policing...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Recruitment (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy will be aware that recruitment to An Garda Síochána is governed by statutory regulations. The current regulations expressly provides that the Public Appointments Service will take into account any satisfactory service by a person as a reserve member of the Garda Síochána when they are applying to join the full time force. These regulations are currently being...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Transport Provision (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: Decisions in relation to the provision and allocation of Garda vehicles are a matter for the Garda Commissioner in the light of his identified operational demands and available resources. I am conscious of the continuing pressures on the Garda fleet and, in that regard, I am very pleased to have secured a further €9m for investment in the fleet, made up of €5m between now and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Vetting Applications (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: I am informed by the Garda authorities that no vetting application has been received in respect of the person to whom the Deputy refers. In the circumstances, I can only suggest that the person contacts the registered organisation involved.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Vetting Applications (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: I am informed by the Garda authorities that no vetting application has been received in respect of the person to whom the Deputy refers. In the circumstances, I can only suggest that the person contacts the registered organisation involved.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Vetting Applications (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: I am informed by the Garda authorities that a vetting application on behalf of the individual referred to by the Deputy was received by the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) on 2 October, 2013. The application is currently being processed and once completed will be returned to the registered organisation concerned. The Deputy may wish to note that the number of vetting applications...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Deportation Orders Data (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: Deportation Orders are made under the provisions of Section 3(6) of the Immigration Act, 1999, as amended, and under Section 5 of the Refugee Act, 1996 on the prohibition of refoulement. I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service of my Department that there is no record of any Deportation Order being made against persons of Latvian and Estonian origin, who were...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: This Government has consistently taken the line that repossession of a home should only be considered as a last resort when all other sustainable options have been fully considered but are not considered viable having regard to all the circumstances of the case. To that end, the Government has introduced a comprehensive framework to tackle the mortgage arrears problem. - Lending...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Same-sex Marriage (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: As the Deputy will be aware, the procedure is that the Government responds to the Constitutional Convention's recommendations within a four-month period. The response to the recommendations of the Convention on equal access to civil marriage will be available very shortly and will be provided via a statement which I will make in this House.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Northern Ireland Issues (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: Last year the Omagh Support and Self-Help Group presented a report which it had compiled to the Irish and British Governments setting out matters relating to the atrocity at Omagh which it considered of concern and calling for a public inquiry. The Deputy will be aware that on 12 September the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers MP, announced her decision that the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Agreements (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Irish short-stay Visa Waiver Programme for holders of certain categories of UK visa, which commenced in July 2011, is a demonstration of the Government's determination to maximise, to the greatest possible extent, the economic potential of the Common Travel Area (CTA). The Visa Waiver Programme allows persons from seventeen designated countries to travel to Ireland on the basis of a UK...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: EU Issues (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: Advancing the Irish role in EU Judicial and Home Affairs cooperation has been one of my uppermost priorities since my appointment as Minister for Justice and Equality. To this end, I have strived to attend and actively participate in as many meetings of the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council as possible. I have partaken in 13 of the 14 formal meetings and all five informal meetings of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Road Traffic Offences (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Policing Priorities I have set for 2013 include an emphasis on continuing to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads and An Garda Síochána has my full support in this regard. Insofar as collisions involving cyclists are concerned, I am informed by the Garda authorities that the Roads Policing Operations Plan 2013 includes targeted national and regional...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Cross-Border Co-operation (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: I am happy to inform the House that I have developed and maintain a close and positive working relationship with the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice, David Ford. We meet very regularly and maintain contact by telephone to address matters of mutual concern with regard to policing and criminal justice on this island. Under the Intergovernmental Agreement on Co-operation on Criminal...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Insolvency Service of Ireland Issues (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: As of 1 November 2013, there are a total of 72 Personal Insolvency Practitioners (PIPs) currently authorised by the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI). In addition, on the same date there are 18 MABS companies representing 47 individuals authorised to act as Approved Intermediaries (AIs). The location and contact details of AIs and PIPs are publicly available on the relevant Registers on the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Proposed Legislation (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 751 and 783 together. As I have previously indicated, I am engaged in the preparation of the General Scheme of a Family Relationships and Children Bill and work on the General Scheme is at an advanced stage in my Department. In this context, I am considering the issue of extending guardianship rights to more fathers as well as seeking to ensure that...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Civilian Staff Numbers (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that the number of full-time equivalent civilian staff employed in An Garda Síochána has increased from 1,166 at 31 December 2005 to 2,037 on 25 October 2013. This represents an increase of 871 staff (or just over 74%) in this period. The current ratio of civilians to members of An Garda Síochána stands at approximately 1:6....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Human Trafficking (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of my Department publishes annual reports setting out in detail the nature and extent of human trafficking in Ireland. To date, annual reports for 2009, 2010 and 2011 have been published and are available from Ireland's dedicated anti-human trafficking website www.blueblindfold.gov.ie and on my Department's website. As the report for 2012 is to be published...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Ministerial Appointments (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: In my capacity as Minister for Justice and Equality I have made the following appointments: My original appointments as Special Advisers were Ms. Jane Lehane and Mr. Thomas Cooney. I recently appointed Ms. Jennifer Carroll MacNeill as my Special Adviser following the retirement of Mr Cooney. The salary in all cases was the Principal Officer standard scale (€75,647 - €92,550...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Control of Fireworks (5 Nov 2013)

Alan Shatter: I would like to assure the Deputy that Ireland’s laws governing fireworks are already particularly robust. My Department has always been conscious of the dangers which fireworks can present, and following full consultation with various interested parties, a number of amendments to the legislation were included in the Criminal Justice Act 2006. These amendments provided for new...