Results 5,161-5,180 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service Data (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: The number of applications received for the years from 2009 to end May 2013 are as follows : 15,700, 12,500, 18,300, 19,900 and 7,700 respectively. The number of applications approved for these years is 6,100, 5,000, 14,300, 23,400 and 15,100. Those refused or deemed ineligible amounted to 7800*, 3100, 1800, 1600 and 400 respectively. When I came into office in March 2011 one of my...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legal Matters (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: I can inform the Deputy's that a reply to his question from 26 March, 2013, in relation to costs of judicial reviews in the firearms licensing area, is being finalised currently. It is hoped to reply fully in the near future when the most up to date information is available.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Applications (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that applications were received from the parents of the family referred to by the Deputy in May 2011 and June 2012 respectively. Section 15 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956, as amended, provides that the Minister may, in his absolute discretion, grant a certificate of naturalisation provided certain...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: The person concerned was granted a right of residency in the State in June, 2005, based on her parentage of an Irish born minor citizen child, born in the State before 1 January, 2005. This permission was subsequently renewed and the person concerned, through her legal representative, has applied for a further renewal of that permission. Given that doubts exist as to the true identity and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: The visa application referred to by the Deputy was received in the Visa Office, Abuja on 23 April 2012. A decision has been made in this case and the person concerned will be notified shortly. Queries in relation to general immigration matters may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Recruitment (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: I am in discussion with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, regarding recruitment to An Garda Síochána and I intend to bring proposals to Cabinet in the near future. The allocation of all resources, including personnel, within the Force rests with the Garda Commissioner, in consultation with his senior management team. Resource levels are constantly...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Stations Closures (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Commissioner's Policing Plan for 2013 sets out details for the closure of 100 Garda stations throughout the country. The Deputy will be aware that Camp, Fenit, Abbeydorney, Beaufort, Lauragh, Kilgarvan, Brosna, Valentia Island and Ballinskelligs Garda Stations in the Kerry Division were mentioned in the plan for closure in 2013 and were in fact closed on 31 January 2013. While the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Agreements (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: Ireland supports, in principle, the aims and terms of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. It is a detailed Convention with a very broad scope across a number of policy areas with potential policy and legislative implications. The provisions of the Convention and the legislative and administrative arrangements that would...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Stations Closures (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 124 and 141 together. I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that the total strength of the Force on the 31 December 2005 to 2012, and on the 31 April, 2013, the latest date for which figures are readily available, was as set out below. Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 31/04/2013 Strength 12,264 12,954 13,755 14,412 14,547 14,377 13,894 13,424...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Witness Intimidation (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 126 and 135 together. The intimidation of a witness or juror is an offence pursuant to Section 41 of the Criminal Justice Act 1999, which specifies the offence as harming, threatening or menacing or in any other way intimidating or putting in fear another person who is assisting in the investigation of an offence by the Garda Síochána, with the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: National Flag (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Department of Justice and Equality have personnel in a wide range of office facilities across the State. The policy of the Department is to fly the national flag on key buildings at all times. Apart from these key buildings, Departmental policy is that the national flag will not be flown on days when buildings would normally be closed, including St. Patrick's Day and Easter, in order to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Resources (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the detailed allocation of resources, including personnel, throughout the organisation and I have no direct function in the matter. This allocation of resources is constantly monitored in the context of demographics, crime trends, policing needs and other operational strategies in place on a District, Divisional and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Deportation Orders (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: I refer the Deputy to the Reply given to his Parliamentary Question Number 175 of the 25 April, 2013. The status of the person concerned is as set out in that reply. However, if new information or circumstances have come to light, which have a direct bearing on his case and which has arisen since the original Deportation Order was made, there remains the option of applying to me for...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Prevention (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: I am informed by the Garda authorities that a Text Alert crime prevention initiative is being developed under the auspices of An Garda Síochána, Muintir na Tire, Neighbourhood Watch, the Irish Farmers Association and related stakeholders. I am further informed that the initiative is being piloted in a number of locations so as to inform the development of an overall text alert...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Human Rights Issues (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 131 and 133 together. As the Deputy will be aware, I submitted the General Scheme of the Bill to establish the new Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality and Defence in June 2012 for its consideration and views. I specifically asked for an early response on the proposed selection process for...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Haddington Road Agreement Review (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Haddington Road Agreement provides for a review of all aspects of the operation and administration of the Garda Síochána. All factors relevant to the continued delivery of an effective policing service will be taken into account in this review. The terms of the Review are to "encompass all aspects of the operation and administration of An Garda Síochána including: -...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Missing Persons Data (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: I have requested a report from the Garda authorities on the matters raised by the Deputy. I will contact the Deputy directly when the report is to hand.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: A decision to grant bail in a particular case is a matter for the court, which is, subject only to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of its judicial functions. There is a constitutional presumption in favour of bail, since, in the eyes of the law, a person is innocent until proven guilty. The provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights also restrict the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prisoner Numbers (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: I can advise the Deputy that on 12 June 2013, there were 4,225 prisoners in custody against a bed capacity of 4,419 which represented an occupancy level of 96%. The average number of prisoners in custody in Ireland has risen in the last five years, from 3,321 during 2007 to 4,318 during 2012, an increase of over 30%. Likewise, the total number of committals to prison has also risen sharply...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Transport Numbers (13 Jun 2013)

Alan Shatter: Decisions on the provision and allocation of Garda vehicles are matters for the Garda Commissioner in the context of his identified operational demands and in light of available resources. In that context, the Deputy will be aware that an additional €3 million was made available towards the end of last year which enabled the force to procure a further 171 vehicles. This brought total...