Results 4,261-4,280 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Appointments to State Boards (18 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Programme for Government 2011-2016 includes a commitment to take steps to ensure that all State Boards have at least 40 per cent of each gender. My Department reviews the gender balance of State boards under its auspices and returns are made annually to the Department of Justice and Equality which has a coordinating role in this regard. Prior to the Government taking office, the return...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: We are talking about the exchange of information between the police forces across the EU. However, we should not forget that An Garda Síochána deals with what I describe as State intelligence issues. There is a crossover. If our gardaí are dealing with subversives in this country, they would have intelligence on subversives. People who engage in international terrorism are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Dublin-Monaghan bombings is a specific issue that I will not divert into discussing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: If one is talking about today's policing on this island, there is very substantial and important co-operation between the Garda and the PSNI on a daily basis. That is outside and does not need to be within the Europol format. Is there co-operation between the PSNI and An Garda Síochána on this island? There is very substantial co-operation and lives have been saved on different...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: Essentially, the instrument strengthens the obligations of member states to provide information to Europol. This is done by setting clear legal rules and focusing the member states' supply of information on areas which I would describe as constituting EU priorities in the fight against crime. There is minor crime where one will not be exchanging data. The regulation also gives incentives...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: Europol's main function would to provide information that the police force in an EU member state would use. However, Europol can also jointly investigate with a member state's force. Europol would not land in a state on its own and start an investigation. There would be certain sovereignty issues in respect of that. This instrument envisages a joint investigation by Europol and a member...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: It means that one has information and wants to find out whether there is a match for this. There is a computerised programme that allows one to find out whether information is held in Europol and if one gets the match, one then apply for the additional information. One cannot simply access the data and do some sort of trawl which involves accessing information about a range of individuals...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: The negotiations will go ahead without our participation and, ultimately, an instrument would be adopted by the member states. We might be allowed some tangential engagement even when we have not opted in but, effectively, we would not be officially negotiating the instrument. If we did not like it, nobody would care greatly. When it came out in final form, we could decide to opt in but we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: There is an issue about CEPOL. I cannot remember whether its current headquarters must change in 2014.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Chairman will be interested to learn that not only did I offer it headquarters, I suggested they be located in Templemore. It would be very welcome.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: No, we have to opt in by 30 July. This is a unique procedure to Ireland and the UK. No other EU member state has this. An instrument like this would normally be negotiated at Council level and at official level for agreement to be reached between Ministers on the form of the proposal as agreed by member states at government level. The democratic check on that is twofold. If a Minister...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: Sinn Féin usually says “No” to the European Union.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: The officer will be under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: We have spent much time on this with European Ministers, as well as my officials at working group level. It is all very straightforward. The provisions regarding CEPOL, the European Police College, can be separately and discreetly removed from this and it does not create any subsequent problems with the other provisions. The majority of member states were opposed to the proposed merger of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: Let me explain to Deputy Mac Lochlainn what we are doing, because I think there is some confusion between us. I am not asking the committee to support this regulation in its present form. I deliberately went through what it contains and I have already sign-posted some of the matters contained in it that will not be accepted. One of the focuses of the Irish EU Presidency was whether or not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: No. It will go to the European Parliament. What we must decide here is whether to opt in. It should not be forgotten, however, that ultimately, it is not simply a question of what member states agree to, or agree with the European Commission - it is what the relevant committee of the European Parliament agrees to. Depending on different instruments, it is either the JURE committee or the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: In fact the exact opposite is happening. First, the data protection issue will be subject to the jurisdiction of the European Data Protection Supervisor' In practical terms, that would be - in the context of our own data - the equivalent of our domestic Data Protection Commissioner. That would be a normal way of ensuring data protection, to have the main body which deals with that ensuring...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: One of the issues for some of the member states is that VAT is a matter for their internal laws and that prosecutions should take place according to those laws. The states in question were concerned that the European Commission and the EU in general should not interfere in this regard, particularly as such interference is not necessary. That is one of the issues which had to be moderated...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: The directive relates to the fraudulent misappropriation or misuse of funding provided by the European Union. The Union is unlikely to provide money for projects outside its territory. In certain circumstances, however, it could provide for aid to be given to some country or region elsewhere in the world in which difficulties are being experienced. If there was a fraudulent...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (17 Jul 2013)

Alan Shatter: What is envisioned here is not dependent on an offence being committed by a European citizen. Such an offence could be committed in the European Union by one of its citizens or by a non-citizen. In the context of jurisdiction, Article 11 states: 1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to establish their jurisdiction over the criminal offences referred to in Title ll where: (a)...