Results 4,041-4,060 of 14,127 for speaker:David Stanton

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Youth Justice Strategy (27 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: The so-called “Greentown” project is an important strategic research initiative supported by my Department and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in tackling criminal networks. The research project is led by the REPPP Project (Research Evidence into Policy, Programmes and Practice) at the School of Law in the University of Limerick (UL). Its specific focus is on...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2019: Committee Stage (27 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: I thank the Acting Chairman. I do not have a whole lot to say at this stage regarding opening comments. The Bill is fairly straightforward. Obviously the Programme for Partnership Government includes a commitment to take measures to reduce the gender pay gap and promote wage transparency by requiring companies of 50 or more employees to complete a wage survey. This commitment is being...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2019: Committee Stage (27 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: We are in the hands of the Houses in respect of the commencement of the legislation.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2019: Committee Stage (27 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: We have yet to go through Report Stage and so on here in the Dáil. The requirement is that companies initially with 250 or more employees will carry out a wage survey and publish that, and that will be mandatory. Over time we will learn from larger companies. We have engaged with the unions and employers and everyone is in agreement that this is the way to go. The larger companies...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2019: Committee Stage (27 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: I note all of the points that the Deputy has made and thank him.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2019: Committee Stage (27 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: Section 20A(1) sets out the information that regulations will require to be published. There is one aspect that I may consider further and possibly table a Report Stage amendment, namely, whether differences in bonus pay should be reported on a per hour basis rather than as a difference in the total bonus pay. The argument would be that if staff in a particular category or department in a...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2019: Committee Stage (27 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: In terms of section 3, section 85C enables the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission to apply to the Circuit Court for an order requiring a person to comply with the regulations. A person who fails to comply with a Circuit Court order is in contempt of that court. This represents enforcement by civil means rather than by the creation of an offence. For example, if we were to create a...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2019: Committee Stage (27 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: This is a purely technical section.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Direct Provision System (26 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: Since September 2018, the Reception and Integration Agency, RIA, has arranged for the provision of emergency beds where mainstream accommodation centres are at capacity. As of 16 June 2019, a total of 817 applicants were staying in 25 emergency centres. The locations being used for the provision of emergency accommodation have been selected by means of a call for expressions of interest...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Direct Provision System (26 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: To meet the demand for accommodation by protection applicants, in January 2019 the Department published a call for expressions of interest from short-term accommodation providers, including commercial hotels, guest houses and bed and breakfast accommodation facilities, to obtain such accommodation on the open market. Emergency accommodation is sourced on an ongoing emergency basis, meaning...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Direct Provision System (26 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: I wish to point out that the State has a legal obligation to provide reception conditions to applicants for international protection, including, where requested, bed and board. The use of emergency accommodation is an interim measure while the Reception and Integration Agency seeks to assist those with status - we have over 700 with status - in assessing mainstream housing in partnership...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Refugee Resettlement Programme (26 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: In 2015, as part of Ireland's response to the migration crisis in central and southern Europe, the Government established the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP). Under this programme, the Government committed to accepting up to 4,000 people into the State, primarily through a combination of the EU Relocation Programme and the UNHCR-led Refugee Resettlement Programme, which is currently...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Direct Provision System (26 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 40 and 48 together. The Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) of my Department has been encountering significant upward pressure on its accommodation portfolio. This pressure has increased further in recent months with an increase in the number of persons claiming international protection and a growth in the percentage of protection applicants who require...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Direct Provision System (26 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: I wish to state once again my Department's sincere regret at the circumstances which led to a person being buried without her friends being informed. It is clear that there was a breakdown in communication in this particular case, which the Department very much regrets. Where a person dies while they are being provided with accommodation by the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) of my...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Direct Provision System (26 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: These improvements follow on from the recommendations made by Justice Bryan McMahon in 2014. Some significant improvements to living conditions for applicants for international protection have already been implemented. These include the implementation of self or communal catering arrangements in a number of accommodation centres. As of the end of May 2019 2,395 residents across 11 centres...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Direct Provision System (26 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: Regretfully, due to circumstances outside the control of the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) of my Department, the Hatch Hall accommodation centre will close on 15 July 2019. This was a commercial decision by the operator. RIA is proactively engaging with residents to discuss their options in order to minimise disruption. This includes seeking to re-accommodate those still in the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Direct Provision Data (26 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: The Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) of my Department has no official role in the collation of statistics on deaths of asylum seekers living in RIA provided accommodation. All records of deaths in Ireland are held in the General Register Office, which is the central civil repository for records relating to Births, Marriages and Deaths in Ireland. International protection applicants...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Direct Provision System (26 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: I and my colleague Minister Charles Flanagan T.D. have recently approved new standards for direct provision accommodation centres. They were prepared by a Standards Advisory Group, established in 2017 and comprising officials from my Department, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the HSE National Office for Social Inclusion as well as representatives from AkiDwA, Children's...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (26 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: The Deputy will be aware that as part of Budget 2019, the Government announced the introduction of a new social insurance-based paid parental benefit scheme. This new scheme will support parents during the first year of the child's life by providing two weeks of paid leave to both parents, and will allow parents more flexibility in achieving and managing a work life balance. It is...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Youth Diversion Projects (26 Jun 2019)

David Stanton: There are currently 37 Garda Youth Diversion Projects in Dublin. Projects do not have a defined number of places and the number of young people participating in a project at any one time will depend on a number of factors, primarily on the number of referrals and the individual assessment of potential participants in terms of risk. If a project identifies that they do not have adequate...