Results 7,201-7,220 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Judicial Appointments (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: I am not saying the status quo is not acceptable because all members of the Judiciary who have been appointment have acted independently. The one good point is that no matter what is said about anyone having political involvement or not, the Judiciary in its decisions is independent. On occasions, members of the Judiciary cause angst by some of the decisions they make. There should not...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Road Traffic Legislation (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: Fixed charge notices are provided for under the Road Traffic Act 2002 and are an alternative to prosecution. They give a motorist the opportunity to acknowledge the offence, pay the fixed charge and, where the offence is a penalty point offence, incur the appropriate penalty points. While the issuing of such notice does not constitute commencement of legal proceedings, it normally leads to...

Seanad: Defence Forces (Second World War Amnesty and Immunity) Bill 2012: Second Stage (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: I am very pleased to present this Bill to Seanad Éireann. At its peak during the Second World War, the Defence Forces had approximately 42,000 serving personnel. Over the course of the war, it is estimated that over 7,000 members of the Defence Forces deserted, many to join with the Allied forces. Of these, some 2,500 personnel returned to their units or were apprehended and were tried by...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Cross-Border Co-operation (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: I meet regularly with and am briefed on an ongoing basis by the Garda Commissioner on all aspects of policing, including cross-Border crime. There is close and ongoing co-operation between the Garda Síochána and the PSNI on all aspects of policing. Notably, the two police forces operate a joint cross-Border policing strategy which aims to improve public safety throughout...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Cross-Border Co-operation (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: I assure the Deputy that on the occasions when I meet with the Minister for Justice in the North, Mr. David Ford, we have addressed that as one of the important issues - dealing with subversive, organised and cross-Border crime. There is an overlap between them in a number of areas. There is a real determination to ensure everything necessary can be done and is done. We have had joint...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Judicial Appointments (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy will be aware that the Constitution provides that judges are appointed by the President on the advice of the Government. Applications are dealt with by the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board which submits to me, as Minister for Justice and Equality, the names of those deemed suitable for appointment. This procedure has been in place since 1995 and, at my request, my Department...

Leaders' Questions (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: Has Deputy McGrath read the report?

Leaders' Questions (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: Why does Deputy McGrath not read the report? He should try reading the report.

Leaders' Questions (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: Deputy McDonald was jumping up and down in here yesterday before she had even read a single page of the report.

Leaders' Questions (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: Deputy McDonald is not talking about the women. She is playing politics.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Investigations (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: I am advised by the Garda authorities that the examination surrounding the circumstances of the death of Father Niall Molloy is almost complete and that a report of this examination will be submitted to the Commissioner in the coming weeks. Upon receipt of a report from the Commissioner I will review the situation. I understand that the officers carrying out the examination are continuing to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Transport (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 28, 40 and 50 together. Decisions in relation to the provision and deployment of Garda vehicles are a matter, in the first instance, for the Garda Commissioner in the context of his identified operational requirements and in the light of available resources. The Garda transport fleet consisted of 2,414 vehicles in December 2012. The comparative figure...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Proposed Legislation (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: I have no immediate plans to introduce such legislation though, as I have indicated in the past, serious consideration is being given to this issue. I am aware of the long standing wish of many Travellers that such status be granted but there are also some divergent views. I am also aware that the previous Government was of the view that Travellers are not an ethnic minority. Dialogue...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Budgets (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: Among the many headaches I inherited when I was appointed Minister for Justice and Equality in March 2011 was the need to unravel the expenditure for the Justice Sector contained in the Fianna Fáil-led Government's National Recovery Plan 2011-2014, which, if applied, would have resulted in devastating cuts in Garda services which I would not, and could not, stand over. The budgetary...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: EU Directives (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: The European Commission has indicated that it will during the course of 2013 publish some guidelines on the interpretation of Council Directive 2003/86/EC on the Right to Family Reunification. Since Ireland, like the UK, does not participate in the Directive it would not be in a position to contribute formally to the development of the guidelines. Nevertheless Ireland did participate in the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Operations (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: Operation Fiacla is the subject of regular monitoring and review by senior Garda management and is focused on identifying and targeting gangs involved in burglaries around the country so as to disrupt their activities and bring them before the Courts. The operation is intelligence driven, and specific burglary initiatives have been implemented in each Garda Region to target suspect...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Industrial Relations Issues (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: Working conditions for members of the Garda Síochána are the subject of discussions under the Garda Conciliation and Arbitration Scheme. The scheme, which is similar to schemes operating elsewhere in the public service, provides for a Conciliation Council, an Arbitration Board and an Adjudicator, all of which are designed to deal with conditions of service of members of all ranks of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Station Closures (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: At the end of 2013 there will be 564 Garda stations in the State. By comparison with other similar jurisdictions this is still a high number. By way of comparison, there are 83 police stations in Northern Ireland for its population of 1.4 million and 340 stations in Scotland for its population of 5.2 million. In the London Metropolitan area, 66 police stations are due to close, leaving 73...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Visiting Committees Remit (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: I announced plans some time ago to strengthen the independent oversight of our prisons. To this end, the Government has approved the drafting of a General Scheme of an Inspection of Places of Detention Bill which will include provisions to make Visiting Committees more effective while they continue their role of visiting prisons, meeting with prisoners, and liaising on their behalf with...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Retirements (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Shatter: Members of An Garda Síochána may retire on a voluntary basis once they have reached 50 years of age and have accrued 30 years service. Members must retire on compulsory age grounds on reaching the age of 60. In actual fact, most Gardaí take voluntary retirement ahead of their compulsory retirement age and it is not possible to predict with any certainty the number of...