Results 4,701-4,720 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Deployment (20 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel and resources in An Garda Síochána and I, as Minister, have no direct role in these matters. 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 these...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Leave to Remain (20 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is assumed that the Deputy is enquiring about applicants who have come through the international protection system (asylum and subsidiary protection) and whose applications have been rejected at these stages of the process. I am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that a breakdown of the number of rejected protection applicants who were...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prisoner Releases (20 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that a total of 5,629 prisoners were granted temporary release in the six month period April to September 2016. A significant number of these refer to persons imprisoned for very short periods for non-payment of fines, who were granted early release shortly thereafter. For the same period 1,056 prisoners were refused temporary release. The Irish Prison...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Equipment (20 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy will appreciate that the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the provision of equipment for An Garda Síochána and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. I have been informed by the Garda authorities that an internal working group has been established to examine the issue of body cameras and, if appropriate, to develop a relevant business case which will...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Public Relations Contracts Data (20 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can inform the Deputy that my Department has not applied for permission to engage outside public relations companies for the purposes of disseminating government policy.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Investigations (19 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The incident involving the person to whom the Deputy refers took place in 1989 and has been the subject of correspondence with successive Ministers for Justice going back over a considerable period of time, including legal correspondence. I am informed by the Garda Authorities that the incident in question was the subject of a thorough investigation at the time. The Deputy will...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Ombudsman for Children Remit (19 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The revised House Rules published by the Reception and Integration Agency in May of last year set out the procedures in relation to the investigation of complaints made by Direct Provision residents and include a provision for an independent appeals officer. I am committed to extending the remits of both the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman for Children to residents in Direct Provision. There are...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Resources (19 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is the accounting officer for an Garda Síochána with responsibility for the allocation of Garda resources and I, as Minister, have no direct role in these matters. I have requested the Garda authorities to provide information referred to by the Deputy and will revert to him when it is to hand.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legal Services Regulation (19 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The procedures in place for the appointment of members of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority are laid out in Part 2 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 to which I would draw the Deputy's attention. This Part, comprising sections 7 to 36, deals with the establishment of the new Legal Services Regulatory Authority, its membership, appointment, functions, staffing and other matters...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Work Permits Applications Data (19 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 39 and 40 together. Following the establishment of a task force of Departmental, State agency, Industry and Workers representatives, a scheme was put in place to address the overall situation of non-EEA workers engaged in certain sectors of the fishing industry. The issue of an immigration status constitutes a part of the overall scheme which includes new...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Divorce Process (19 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I understand that the reference to "clean break divorce" in the Deputy's question refers to a situation in which financial and other orders made by a court when granting a divorce cannot be revisited or varied after the divorce has been finalised. The institution of marriage is afforded constitutional protection under Article 41.3.1 of the Constitution. Article 41.3.2 (iii) of the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Student Visas Administration (18 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the visa application referred to was granted on 11 October, 2016. The Deputy may wish to note that the visa application was first made on 26 July 2016, and initially refused on 24 August 2016. An appeal against the initial refusal was not received until 4 October, 2016, and a decision to approve...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Mortgage Resolution Processes (18 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: As regards the appointment of receivers to property, the position is that such an appointment may be made under company law or land and conveyancing law. Relevant provisions in the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 apply in the case of for mortgages created after 1 December 2009, while broadly similar provisions in the Conveyancing Act 1881 apply to mortgages created prior to that...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Policy (18 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is important to state at the outset that a particular focus of my Department in the coming period will be to support the Government's ongoing engagement with UK and EU partners in relation to 'Brexit' with a view to ensuring a beneficial outcome for Ireland. Immigration and borders policy, including the preservation of the Common Travel Area, is of course of central importance to this...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Vetting Applications Data (18 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 147 and 162 together. I am informed by the Garda authorities that at present 80% of vetting applications are processed by the Garda National Vetting Bureau in under five working days. This represents a dramatic improvement in turnaround times for the processing of vetting applications in recent years, falling from an average of 14 weeks in mid-2013. This...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Programme (18 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015 was introduced in September 2015 and completed all stages in Seanad Éireann in January of this year. The Bill commenced Second Stage in Dáil Éireann on 5 October 2016. I am committed to the passage and enactment of this Bill as a matter of priority.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Reports (18 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 149 and 150 together. In accordance with the provisions of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is the Accounting Officer for the Garda Vote. My Department received a draft interim Audit Report of the Garda College from An Garda Síochána's Head of Internal Audit on 16 September. I understand that the draft Report was...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (18 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the visa applications referred to were received by the Visa Office in New Delhi on 25 January, 2016. The applicant was informed in May, 2016 that the application could be expected to be processed in six months. While INIS has set a business target of 12 months for long term 'join family'...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (18 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the visa application referred to was received by the Visa Office in New Delhi on 2 February, 2016. Further documentation was requested from the sponsor, and received on 13 October, 2016. While INIS has set a business target of six months for long term 'join family' applications where the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Closed-Circuit Television Systems (18 Oct 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 153 and 154 together. I am very conscious of the value that communities, especially rural communities, place on CCTV as a means of deterring crime and assisting in the detection of offenders. With this in mind, I instigated a review last year of the effectiveness of the Community CCTV Scheme in conjunction with the Garda authorities. The Garda...