Results 7,681-7,700 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Electronic Tagging. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: That is why I have set up a project board referrable to the probation service in respect of the specific issue raised in this question, the electronic monitoring of sex offenders. We have issued a major discussion document on the overall management of sex offenders while in prison and post-release. We have the provision for post-release orders for supervision and monitoring. The probation...

Garda Equipment. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I have been assured by the Garda authorities that the Garda information system which includes PULSE is functioning very satisfactorily. The PULSE system is more widely available than ever before, with access by both Garda and civilian personnel to over 2,000 personal computers in 347 locations, including all divisional and district headquarters. Significant investment has been made over the...

Garda Equipment. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I do not accept for one minute that the system is outdated. It is not. It is probably one of the most modern available because we have kept it in line with all the best international practice and we can add to it without redesigning the system. Approximately 85% of all incidents originate from the locations in which PULSE is available. More than 13,000 gardaí have direct access to PULSE...

Garda Equipment. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The annual running cost of PULSE is €18.5 million. The original cost of the deployment and development of PULSE was €61 million. It was never envisaged that it would be available at every location. It is better that it be available to gardaí on the beat so they can feed information into the system via Castlebar. As I stated, three quarters of all the information that goes onto the...

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I refer the Deputy to a tabular statement setting out the information sought by him on handguns stolen and licensed for the years 2004 to date when handguns began to be licensed again. The figures show 42 weapons classified as handguns have been stolen in the period in question. The current number of licensed handguns is approximately 1,800. I am advised by the Garda authorities that stolen...

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: As I stated in my reply, I regard these two issues as separate. I do not regard what I am trying to do in respect of licensed handguns as the silver bullet or even part of the bullet to solve the issue of gangland crime and illegally held arms. Forty-two weapons that are regarded as handguns have been stolen since 2004. I do not have figures as to whether they have been used in the...

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: -----more opportunities for it to be used in circumstances that the holder might not envisage, such as a domestic dispute.

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: It is the same for a shotgun but we are where we are in respect of shotguns.

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I am not saying we should take shotguns out of the system. We are where we are-----

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: We should not allow the number of handguns to increase exponentially.

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I am sorry.

Crime Levels. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I answered that in my reply. Operation Anvil, since its inception, has taken in thousands of extra handguns. While I have been criticised for budgetary reductions elsewhere this year because of the constrained financial circumstances, I have increased the money available for Operation Anvil. It is particularly earmarked for removing illegal weapons and other weapons from the system. Some...

Prison Building Programme. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I am satisfied the purchase of the site at Thornton Hall in north County Dublin will prove to be have been a prudent investment for the taxpayer over the lifetime of the prison project. The Thornton development is a major capital project for the Irish Prison Service that will meet the service's needs well into the future. It should be considered in that context. The Government was...

Prison Building Programme. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: It is not for me to speculate about the current value. The cost of the site at the time of purchase was €29.9 million, which was largely offset by the sale of prison lands at Shanganagh Castle, County Dublin. Thus, it was legitimate use of the existing prison stock in order to buy new stock. Further sums totalling approximately €11.7 million were expended on the project, including...

Prison Building Programme. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The 150-acre site cost approximately €199,000 per acre. It was more for agricultural land, but if it had been zoned as residential land it would have been valued at much more, perhaps €1 million per acre at that time. There was no other suitable site as close to Dublin city centre. The project team considered 30 different sites and this was regarded as the best value given its...

Prison Building Programme. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: -----in view of the fact that the Government is adamant that it is proceeding with this project.

Prison Building Programme. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I do not accept that for one minute. As I said, this was the best site available with reasonable proximity to Dublin city. People such as the Deputies would complain if this prison were in the middle of nowhere, but it is not. It is contiguous with the confluence of a number of motorways, two miles from the M50 and ten miles from the city centre. It is an extremely good site. I explained...

Prison Building Programme. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Yes, but he suggested, as I remember, that it would have been purchased far more cheaply if it had contacted an auctioneer and allowed him or her to find a site.

Prison Building Programme. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: However, that would not have been transparent and it would have been unfair to the local people-----

Prison Building Programme. (27 May 2009)

Dermot Ahern: -----who would have woken up one morning to find that the State had purchased, out of the blue, a property on which it proposed to build a prison. No matter where the prison is put there will be people who will object.