Results 7,061-7,080 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Written Answers — Deportation Orders: Deportation Orders (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: My policy, and that of my predecessors, is to ensure that any foreign national who finds himself, or herself, illegally present in the State and who has been convicted of an offence in the State, should serve the sentence handed down by the Courts. In certain circumstances, however, where prisoners are approaching the end of their periods of detention and there has been consultation between...

Written Answers — Asylum Applications: Asylum Applications (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The information requested by the Deputy in relation to asylum applications received in the last 14 months (May 2008 to June 2009) is set out in the table below. Asylum Applications received May 2008 to June 2009 May 08 301 June 08 329 July 08 339 August 08 333 September 08 360 October 08 357 November 08 324 December 08 300 January 09 254 February 09 270 March 09 270 April 09 241...

Written Answers — Deportation Orders: Deportation Orders (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I wish to advise the Deputy that the information sought is at present being compiled and will be conveyed to him shortly.

Written Answers — Prison Building Programmes: Prison Building Programmes (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I have no further information available to me to add to my replies of the 24th June, 2008 and the 2nd July, 2009.

Written Answers — Prison Building Programmes: Prison Building Programmes (7 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: As the Deputy will be aware the Government recently reconfirmed its commitment to developing a new prison campus at Thornton Hall. The revised plans for the new prison complex aim to protect the taxpayers' interests and provide good quality, regime focussed accommodation. The detailed design for the new revised prison complex will now be finalised. I am not in a position, at this point in...

Order of Business (2 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: That is a matter for the Deputy's party now.

Order of Business (2 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Did the Deputy read that fully?

Order of Business (2 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Over to the Deputy.

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I move amendment No. 1: In page 5, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following: "(2) The Firearms Acts 1925 to 2007 and Part 4 may be cited together as the Firearms Acts 1925 to 2009 and shall be construed together as one.". This is a standard provision clarifying the Firearms Acts, including the provisions in Part 4 of the Bill. I commend it to the House.

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I move amendment No. 3: In page 8, to delete line 10 and substitute the following: "(b) by the deletion of subsections (4), (5) and (6), (c) by the substitution for subsection (7) of the following: "(7) For the purposes of this Act, a document shall be deemed to be a true copy of an original document if it has been certified as a true copy of the original document by— (a) the issuing...

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I cannot accept the amendment because it would remove a provision required to give statutory effect to a Council decision. There is not much difference between the texts of this one and the existing section 14 except that in the new text a person may be remanded for a period not exceeding 14 days pending production of the warrant to the court as opposed to seven days. Already under the...

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I fully accept that such a person in custody should be detained for the least amount of time possible. Section 12 of the 2003 Act requires that warrants that are not in English or Irish should be accompanied by a translation into either of those languages. Obviously there is a difficulty over a period and that is one of the reasons for extending the time to 14 days. The courts have also...

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Deputy Rabbitte referred to the role of the Attorney General in terms of certification. That provision was deleted from the Bill on Committee Stage. The point was made on Committee Stage that if the Attorney General sat at the Cabinet table it might be viewed that he had some role in this area and as such that provision was removed on Committee Stage. The effect of the amendments would be...

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: We are trying to streamline the process as much as possible. Under the 2003 Act the court has an obligation to vindicate the rights of anyone before it based on the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. It must take those into account. The High Court can decide under section 12(g)(13) to remand a person in custody or on bail pending the appeal. If he is remanded in...

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I move amendment No. 6: In page 13, to delete lines 23 to 27 and substitute the following: "(1B) For the purposes of subsection (1), where a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of Sergeant states that he or she believes that a person may not be in the State, the statement is admissible as evidence that the person may not be in the State.".". This is a technical amendment....

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The difficulty from the point of view of the Garda is that under the existing section gardaí are required, in effect, to prove a negative, which is causing extreme difficulty for them. The current text of section 33 requires the court to be satisfied that the person is not in the State. We want to amend this to allow the court to issue a European arrest warrant once it is satisfied that a...

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The wording is "may not be in the State." This is because it is difficult for the Garda, following on from a domestic warrant, to prove somebody is not in the State.

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: We are all agreed that this is an extremely complex area of legislation. As such, the minutiae of which gun qualifies under one category or another for certification and licensing are best left to statutory instruments. Deputy Ó Snodaigh is proposing in these amendments that all such statutory instruments must be discussed in committee prior to their implementation. There would be great...

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The Garda Commissioner will shortly publish a 35-page document setting out guidelines on firearms licensing. Only certain issues can be addressed in the legislation and detailed background guidelines are required to ensure people fully understand its implications on a case by case basis. The guidelines were compiled by the firearms policy unit of the Garda Síochána in conjunction with the...

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I concur with the Deputy and will ensure, in consultation with the Garda Commissioner, that a comprehensive review will carried out and a comprehensive report made available to the Oireachtas. Clearly, such a report will include a significant amount of statistical information, given the number of firearms in circulation. I take on board the Deputy's suggestion and will make his views known...