Results 3,721-3,740 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: No, action.

Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The first point I would make in response to the Deputy is that next year will see the highest health budget that has ever been allocated and, thankfully, we have an economy that can deliver that increase. That should be acknowledged because without that increase, we would not be maintaining current services. With that increased budget we can maintain current services and deliver new...

Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have acknowledged that given the increasing population, the increased numbers of elderly people and the increased demands on our acute hospitals, the HSE will have to manage the pressures on the system in the most efficient and best possible way. The point I am making is that the highest health budget ever will be allocated next year and so improvements will be made. There are particular...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Cyberbullying Issues (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is not feasible to regulate or monitor the internet in anticipation of possible incidents such as cyberbullying. However, if a member of the public becomes aware of activity on the internet which they suspect may be illegal, they can report it confidentially to Hotline.ie. which is operated by the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland with oversight by the Office for Internet...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Stations (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy will appreciate that the programme of replacement and refurbishment of Garda accommodation is progressed by the Garda authorities working in close cooperation with the Office of Public Works, which has responsibility for the provision and maintenance of Garda accommodation. This includes identifying and progressing any necessary remedial or refurbishment works required at...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: There are mechanisms in place to deal with hate speech and hate motivated crime. With respect to incitement to hatred, the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 makes it an offence to use words, publish or distribute written material or broadcast any visual images or sounds which are threatening, abusive or insulting and are intended or, having regard to all the circumstances, are...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Expenditure (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy will appreciate that the Garda Commissioner, as accounting officer for An Garda Síochána, has responsibility for the allocation of Garda resources and I, as Minister, have no direct role in this matter. I am advised by the Garda authorities that the cost of deploying adequate resources over the course of the two-day event to prevent and detect crime, including public...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Mortgage Resolution Processes (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy is aware, Abhaile, the national mortgage arrears resolution service, was launched in early October and it includes a new Scheme of independent financial and legal advice and assistance to insolvent homeowners who are at risk of losing their homes due to mortgage arrears. The Scheme is coordinated by the Department of Justice and Equality and the Department of Social...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Expenditure (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: In Budget 2016 I secured a 21% increase in funding for services to victims of crime. This funding, which is administered by the Victims of Crime office in my Department, is allocated to organisation working with victims of domestic, sexual and general crime. These organisations provide vital and valuable information and support to victims of crime, including emotional support, court...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Funding (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I will shortly publish the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill to transpose the EU victims directive into Irish law. Funding for domestic and sexual violence services is primarily a matter for the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and Tusla, the Child and Family Agency operating under the aegis of that Department. The Victims of Crime Office in my Department provides...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Funding (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: Funding from my Department related to sexual and domestic violence is set out in the tabular statement below and relates to support for victims of crime and funding for awareness-raising activities as well as intervention programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence to reduce harm to women and children. The awareness raising funding in 2015 was provided to domestic and sexual violence...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Refugee Resettlement Programme (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 76 and 79 together. Before the migrant crisis escalated, my predecessor introduced a Syrian Humanitarian Admissions Programme (SHAP) subject to certain conditions being met. This was replaced later with the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) which allows for Syrians and other nationalities to benefit from resettlement and relocation schemes, and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Measures (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The legal provisions for family reunification are set out in sections 56 and 57 of the International Protection Act 2015, which was signed into law by the President at the end of 2015 after its consideration by the Council of State and following its passage to through both Houses of the Oireachtas. The Act provides for a greatly simplified and shorter duration route to family reunification,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Family Reunification Policy (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the position on family reunification for non-refugees, by which I presume the Deputy means persons with permission to reside in the State for example as a worker, is set out in the Policy Document on Non-EEA Family Reunification published by my predecessor on 31 December 2013. The Policy Document,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Data (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy is aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in exercising its functions, which include the provision of information on the courts system. 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: Immigration Status (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that on the 12/02/2016 an application for a change of status from a Stamp 4 permission, based on being the parent of an Irish Born Child, to a Stamp 5 permission was received from the person concerned. On the 26/10/2016 the application was refused as the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service was...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Status (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned is the subject of a Deportation Order signed on 29 July 2016. The reasons for, and the factors taken into account in making the Deportation Order, were furnished to the person. This Order requires the person concerned to remove themselves from the State and remain outside the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Data (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that a deportation order requires a person to remove themselves from the State and it is only where they fail to do so that the State is forced to remove them and enforce the rule of law. The process leading to deportation is extensive with many avenues of appeal, including judicial review in the High...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Deportation Orders Re-examination (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I refer the Deputy to his earlier Parliamentary Question, No. 121 of Thursday, 1 December, 2016 and the written reply to that Question. I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the position is unchanged since then. Regardless of their status in the context of immigration law, any person fearing unlawful violence or intimidation should...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Deployment (14 Dec 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the optimum use is made of...