Results 5,501-5,520 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Direct Provision System (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: Every effort is made to ensure proper and adequate standards are in place in the centres. In this regard, I acknowledge the work in particular of retired judge, Bryan McMahon, and a small group of people who regularly engage in ensuring adequate and proper standards are met on all occasions at these centres and, similarly, in respect of the Reception and Integration Agency. I understand...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Garda Deployment (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: In common with all Departments and State agencies, An Garda Síochána has been preparing for Brexit. There is ongoing engagement between senior Garda management and my Department in this regard. Preparation has had a wide-ranging focus on operational requirements, including personnel, infrastructure and technology. The Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, is...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Garda Deployment (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: While I acknowledge the close level of co-operation between the Garda in the South and the PSNI in the North, the establishment of the joint agency investigation teams is important. However, it does not allow for the type of hot pursuit that Deputy Tóibín envisages. Garda armed support units provide a rapid armed response capacity and capability on a regional basis. Members of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: Irrespective of the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union on 29 March or at some time thereafter, this is an issue that needs to be addressed. We all acknowledge the importance of the Good Friday Agreement in all of its parts. However, some of those parts need to be strengthened and that will involve legislation, in particular legislation in the United Kingdom. I refer specifically...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: A number of points have been raised by Deputy Ó Laoghaire. In response to his point about children, in the first instance it is important to draw a distinction between the rights of the child and the rights and expectations of the parents with regard to citizenship. Birth on the island of Ireland may result in Irish citizenship when the child was born without entitlement to citizenship...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Direct Provision System (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: The accommodation and ancillary needs of persons seeking international protection, who request such services, are currently provided through 39 accommodation centres located throughout the State. Since the introduction of this system, all of the centres have been operated by commercial bodies regardless of whether the sites are in State ownership or private...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Crime Prevention (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: I assure the Deputy that the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, and I consult on an ongoing basis to ensure that every effort is made to assist people with disabilities. I mentioned earlier a number of practices in order to ensure that victims who have disabilities are treated in a more sensitive manner. For example, I am informed that improvements were made to the Garda PULSE system...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Crime Prevention (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: I assure the Deputy that my Department and I are currently reviewing the law on this issue. We are relying on the 1989 prohibition on incitement to hatred legislation. It is appropriate and timely that it be subject to review. In addition, it is important that we carry out appropriate research and examine legislation and best practice in other countries. We should examine the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: Under any scenario for the UK's exit from the European Union, the obligations and commitments of the Irish and UK Governments under the Good Friday Agreement remain. The Government will continue to work with the UK Government as co-guarantor to secure the full implementation of the agreement. Eligibility for Irish citizenship is based on the nationality of either of a person's...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Taxi Licences (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, of my Department that on 5 March 2019 the Garda National Immigration Bureau conducted searches of ten residential properties in the Lucan and north inner city areas as part of an ongoing investigation into immigration fraud related to taxi licensing. Officials from the Garda carriage office, the National Transport...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Taxi Licences (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: The investigation is ongoing. As I stated, 134 cases have been identified to date and, of these, 64 investigations have been finalised and forwarded to INIS for consideration. In some cases, licences or immigration permission have been revoked. I do not currently have information for the Deputy as to the extent of the investigation and whether it is specific to the capital city. However,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Taxi Licences (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: It is reasonable to assume that the investigation will continue. If there is a requirement for the Garda to further extend or develop it, that undoubtedly will be done. Of the 64 cases, 55 have been examined by INIS and, to date, 25 deportation proceedings have commenced from these cases. Having regard to the number of cases identified to date, it can reasonably be expected that there will...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Crime Prevention (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: I thank the Deputy for raising this question. I was very pleased to see her actively engaged on justice issues in her constituency at a recent meeting in County Cork. I was pleased with the progress initiated on the issue raised by her and I assure her my efforts are ongoing in that regard. On the issue of crimes against persons with a disability, I assure the Deputy that the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Domestic Homicide (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: I ask the Deputy to accept that this is obviously complex and, therefore, time-consuming. What An Garda Síochána is doing in terms of its review of homicides involves experts on the force and in the Central Statistics Office, CSO, ensuring that the information and data acquired is accurate and robust. I acknowledge that there is evidence of improvement in the recording process and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: The question is based on consideration on the part of Deputy Niall Collins of a no-deal Brexit. The Government remains firmly of the view that the best and only way to ensure an orderly UK withdrawal from the EU is for the withdrawal agreement to be ratified. Debates in this regard are under way in other jurisdictions as we speak. Nonetheless, in view of the ongoing uncertainty in the UK,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: I assure the Deputy that, at official and ministerial level, these issues have been the subject matter of discussion. I met the Secretary of State for Justice, David Gauke, on a number of occasions and we have discussed how best to deal with these issues. However, I need to make clear that the general enforcement of UK judgments in Ireland will be governed by the rules that apply to third...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: It is absolutely essential that we continue the work being done by a number of agencies and business organisations under the banner of ensuring that people are Brexit ready. In the area of rules of jurisdiction and, as specifically mentioned by the Deputy, civil and commercial issues, there are a number of challenges. It will be necessary, for example, to seek leave of the High Court or...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Proposed Legislation (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: I assure the Deputy, bearing in mind those 27 cases he refers to, that this is an issue which will be the subject matter of research and I hope to appoint a chair and committee of experts shortly. Many of the issues that were raised in the course of a meeting with the Coll family in my office centred around changes to the legislation. I have already assured the House that I am acting on...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Domestic Homicide (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: I thank the Deputy for his question and I assure him that I am giving careful consideration to the issue. I have been advised by the Garda Commissioner that the Garda National Protective Services Bureau is currently developing new policies and procedures to inform its approach to domestic homicide reviews in An Garda Síochána.  It is envisaged that these reviews will...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Domestic Homicide (12 Mar 2019)

Charles Flanagan: As I said in reply to Deputy Collins, I was very pleased to have the opportunity to engage face to face with members of the Coll family and listen to them outline their experience and their suggestions arising therefrom. I am anxious to broaden that and involve research that includes other families and their experiences over the past number of years. It could well be that legislative...