Results 6,981-7,000 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: To what section is the Deputy referring?

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The 2006 Act had a convoluted requirement from an evidential point of view to prove participation. What we have decided to do, as a result of the fact that few or no charges had been proffered under section 70, is to look again at the proofs that would be required with regard to participation. It must also be remembered that we have added an additional offence of directing a criminal...

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Yes, but it is a combination of everything. We are also including the issue of expert evidence of the existence of a gang, witness evidence and, now with the passing of the surveillance legislation, if it is used properly, the ability to use that evidence in court. This will make the proof of participation and the proof of directing a criminal organisation a lot easier.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I will do my level best not to stray off the point. I realise the Deputy went all over the shop on this section.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The section seeks to prosecute those who control and organise the activities of criminal organisations but who are not necessarily directly involved in the commission of a particular offence. It does not address a whole new area of law. Similar provisions have worked very well in combating illegal organisations under the Offences against the State Act. The definition of directing such...

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: That document formed part of the Cabinet discussions and considerations; it was part of the brief and I referred to the conclusion of that document. The strong and hard evidence from the Garda is that in Limerick and other areas there has been intimidation of jurors. This has been confirmed by such people as the Limerick State solicitor who has indicated in recent years there is hard...

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The Deputy is all right.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: On the issue of mobile phones, I have answered parliamentary questions about the use of mobile phones in prisons. It would be wrong to say that many offences are organised from within prisons but this is not to say it has not happened. I can assure the Deputy that the prison service has installed the most sophisticated X-ray equipment in every prison and it has had an effect. Many of the...

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The difficulty is with regard to Portlaoise and also to Mountjoy and the proximity of hospitals. They have been endeavouring to get around that problem and have had some success. Mountjoy is a particular problem; Portlaoise is not. The inhibition system is being extended into the new C block at Portlaoise and also to the nearby segregation unit. A contract to provide an inhibition system...

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: It is not for me to decide what legislation is used. The Oireachtas provides the legislation and it is up to the Director of Public Prosecutions, based on the evidence in each individual case, to decide on how to direct charges against people and under which legislative provisions. On the question about the intimidation of prison staff, our prison staff are very professional and to the...

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I move amendment No. 2: In page 8, to delete lines 16 to 50 and in page 9, to delete lines 1 to 17 and substitute the following: "(a) involved either— (i) the possession by the defendant, whilst in the presence of one or more other persons, of any article or item referred to in the Table to this section, or (ii) there being present in (or, in the case of a false registration plate referred...

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Yes, it will be in the form of a table.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: It confirms my view.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I do not have anything further to say. The amendment is providing a list of items in order to provide for a presumption that a person had the relevant state of mind and a mens rea regarding the intention to commit an offence. I can put it no further.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I move amendment No. 2a: In page 9, lines 21 to 23, to delete all words from and including "of" in line 21 down to and including "expertise" in line 23 and substitute the following: "of— (a) any member of the Garda Síochána, or (b) any former member of the Garda Síochána, who appears to the Court to possess the appropriate expertise (in this section referred to as the "appropriate...

Written Answers — Immigration System: Immigration System (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The report, referred to by the Deputy, relates to the experiences of clients of the Crosscare service when interacting with the Irish immigration system. It is a lengthy report with many comments and over 90 recommendations. As a result it is not possible for me to comment in detail on the issues raised but rather to give a general response. There is no doubt as to the sincerity of the...

Written Answers — Road Traffic Offences: Road Traffic Offences (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The Garda Síochána Act 2005 makes provision for the compilation and publication of crime statistics by the Central Statistics Office, as the national statistical agency, and the CSO has established a dedicated unit for this purpose. I have requested the CSO to provide the statistics sought by the Deputy directly to him.

Written Answers — Drug Abuse: Drug Abuse (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: While it is not possible to estimate the overall extent to which heroin use is a factor in crime, what is clear from available studies and research is that the provision of drug treatment in general substantially reduces drug use and related involvement in crime. The recently published Rosie Study by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs (available at www.nacd.ie) which measured drug...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I can inform the Deputy that since I was appointed as Minister in May 2008, the cost of my official mobile telephone to date amounts to around €234 a month. I understand that, when annualised, approximately 3% of the costs relate to data charges and around 59% to roaming charges.

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: As the Deputy will be aware from my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 121 of 25 June 2009, Government policy in this matter is expressed in the National Children's Strategy. One of the objectives of the Strategy, which was launched in 2000 and has a ten year life span, states "...As part of a policy of ending physical punishment, parenting courses will focus on alternative approaches to...