Results 5,921-5,940 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that work on the new scheme of access to independent legal and financial advice for those in home mortgage arrears is at a very advanced stage. That work has been progressed by my Department and the Department of Social Protection, working together with MABS (the Money Advice and Budgeting Service), the Insolvency Service, the Legal Aid Board and the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Domestic Violence Policy (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: Last Wednesday I launched the Women’s Aid Impact Report 2015. The 16,000 disclosures reported to Women’s Aid of domestic violence in 2015 and almost 6000 disclosures of child abuse represent 9,300 individuals ringing the phoneline. This serves as a stark reminder that the menace that is domestic violence remains a major problem for this society and that we must do all we can to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Work Permits Eligibility (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: Section 9(4)(b) of the Refugee Act 1996 provides that applicants for international protection shall not seek or enter employment or carry on any business, trade or profession during the period before the final determination of their application. This prohibition is restated in the International Protection Act 2015 which is expected to be commenced later this year. The key concern in this...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Deployment (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review taking into account crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of these resources. I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Asylum Applications (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The ongoing migration crisis is a serious and extremely complex challenge facing the EU with numerous pressure points and it is important that there be a coherent and coordinated response. In that respect I do not see that a unilateral initiative from Ireland would be appropriate in this case, not least given the fact that this is a delicate situation involving the borders between two other...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prisoner Data (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can advise the Deputy that the Irish Prison Service publish the capacity of its prisons and the numbers in custody on a daily basis on their website (). I can further advise that a breakdown of the offence groups for which individuals were incarcerated on 31 May 2016, the latest date for which an offence breakdown is available, is included in a table. Offence Group Description GP01...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Commencement of Legislation (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: As previously conveyed to the House, preparations for the phased commencement of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 are already underway. A necessary first step in preparation for these commencements is the appointment of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority after which the Authority will appoint its own Chief Executive. I can confirm that nominations to the new Legal Services...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Direct Provision System (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: All children living in direct provision accommodation are in the company of their parents or legal guardians - there are no unaccompanied minors in direct provision accommodation as they are the legal responsibility of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. These parents and guardians have the primary responsibility for the care and welfare of their children who reside with them and in that...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Recruitment (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: This Government is committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and deter crime. As the Deputy will be aware, when the financial crisis hit, the Government of the time introduced a moratorium on recruitment and the four year National Recovery Plan, published in 2010,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Refugee Resettlement Programme (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) was established by Government decision on 10 September 2015 as a direct response to the humanitarian crisis that developed in Southern Europe as a consequence of mass migration from areas of conflict in the Middle East and Africa. In announcing the Programme, the Government assigned special priority to the plight of unaccompanied children....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Operations (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The execution of search warrants is entirely a matter for the Garda Commissioner and I have no role in deciding when search warrants are executed. That said, I am aware of the issue to which the Deputy refers in his question and am advised by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) that the particular issue arose from a recommendation made by GSOC to the Garda Commissioner...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Deployment (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review taking into account crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of these resources. I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Deployment (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review taking into account crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of these resources. I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Refugee Resettlement Programme (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: Ireland has always lived up to its international humanitarian obligations and we remain fully committed to playing our part in addressing the migration crisis in the Middle East and elsewhere. In addition to accepting applications for refugee status from persons who are inside or at the frontiers of the State the Government agreed, in September 2015 to establish the Irish Refugee Protection...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Deployment (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review taking into account crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of these resources. I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Committals (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that the number of such persons held in prison for the non-payment of fines at any one time is a tiny fraction of the overall prisoner population. To illustrate this point, on 17 June 2016, 3 people or 0.08 percent out of a prison population of 3,795, in custody fell into this category. On the same date there was no person in prison for the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Investigation (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: I wish to advise the Deputy that a response has issued to the correspondence referred to by him. To the extent that and for so long as the person referred to by the Deputy was present in this jurisdiction, he would, naturally, have been subject to Irish law. In respect of any allegations of criminal wrongdoing that may be made, any person who has any evidence of any criminal activity should...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Deployment (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review taking into account crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of these resources. I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Programme (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: The position is that the Mediation Bill is currently being drafted in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. It will introduce an obligation on solicitors and barristers to advise any person intending to commence legal proceedings to give consideration to using mediation as an alternative means of resolving disputes. This requirement will not, or course, apply in domestic violence cases....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Mandatory Retirement (22 Jun 2016)

Frances Fitzgerald: In my capacity as Minister for Justice and Equality, I have responsibility for equality legislation, which provides for retirement ages in line with the relevant EU Directive provision that differences of treatment on the grounds of age are permissible if, within the context of national law, they are objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate aim including legitimate employment...