Results 7,741-7,760 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: From the Seanad (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I welcome the opportunity to return to the House to report on further amendments made to the Bill in Seanad Éireann. A total of 245 amendments were proposed and approved during Committee and Report Stages of the Bill in the Seanad. These were all Government amendments and were, for the most part, technical changes or text corrections. The Long Title of the Bill was amended to take...

National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: From the Seanad (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: There are two Seanad amendments before the House. The first deals with the chief bureau officer who is to report periodically directly to the Garda Commissioner in respect of the performance and management of the functions of the bureau. Amendment No. 1 inserts a new subsection between lines 40 and 41 on page 24. The purpose of this amendment is to make it clear in the Bill that the chief...

Order of Business (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: To what legislation is the Deputy referring?

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Recruitment (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: The present strength of An Garda Síochána is approximately 13,400 which is a strength similar to that during 2007. While the moratorium continues to apply to the Garda Síochána, the question of when recruitment to the Garda Síochána should resume will be kept under continuing review in the context of retirements and the availability of resources. I will remain...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Applications (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: Officials in the Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) inform me that there is no record of an application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to in the Deputy's question. Section 15 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, provides that the Minister may, in his absolute discretion, grant an...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Stations (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Garda Commissioner is the Accounting Officer for the Garda Vote and I have been informed by the Garda authorities that financial cost statements are maintained at District Headquarters level rather than at Garda station level. In the circumstances the Deputy will appreciate that the specific financial information he has sought is not readily available and I understand that the provision...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Districts (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: Local Garda management in the Division and District referred to by the Deputy have been tasked with developing a comprehensive consultation strategy together with a tailored implementation plan that will meet the particular needs of the new Garda District. To this end, they will shortly commence the process of engaging with staff interests and local communities through partnership processes,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Programme (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I understand the Deputy is referring to exploitation in the form of sex trafficking. The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 criminalises the trafficking of persons for the purposes of sexual exploitation. A person found guilty of this offence is liable to life imprisonment. In June of this year, I published a discussion document on the future direction of legislation on...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Funding (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I wish to advise the Deputy that a sum of €847 was spent on capital works in Waterford during 2011 and to date in 2012.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Funding (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: No capital funding was allocated by my Department to Waterford for the years in question. Capital funding is allocated internally in my Department for Defence related expenditure only.

Topical Issues: Garda Investigations (18 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy must understand that I will not comment on what action the Garda did or did not take with regard to the possibility that it did or did not foil a particular attempt on the life of any individual. I will not comment on any arrests that took place because it is not appropriate to do so. It is unfortunate that the Deputy cannot confine himself to expressing support for the Garda...

Topical Issues: Garda Investigations (18 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I remind the Deputy that the current numbers within the Garda Síochána are 13,450. On average, some 300 to 350 gardaí retire every year. It is always the case that the number of gardaí in a given year who have completed 30 years of service and for whom the option is available to retire is larger than the number who actually retire in that year. The Deputy is hawking...

Topical Issues: Garda Investigations (18 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. He was doing very well until the last three sentences, which were really a contradiction of everything that preceded them. The reality is that the Garda has had an extraordinarily successful year in counteracting organised crime and in dealing with criminal subversion. As the Deputy rightly stated, even one murder is one murder too many, but there...

Seanad: Europol Bill 2012: Committee Stage (18 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I thank the Members of the Seanad for their consideration of the Bill and for the support given to it and its principles. This is a very important Bill and its importance should not be diminished. It was useful to read out the annexe to the Bill, which lists the multiplicity of serious crimes in respect of which Europol can play a role in the mutual exchange of information and in the...

Seanad: Europol Bill 2012: Committee Stage (18 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I cannot accept amendment No. 9. This amendment requires the crimes in which Europol is competent to be listed in guidelines prepared following the enactment of the Bill. I cannot for the life of me understand why the amendment is being proposed. Perhaps Senator Ó Clochartaigh will choose to withdraw the amendment because it makes no sense. Under section 1, a criminal offence is defined...

Seanad: Europol Bill 2012: Committee Stage (18 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I am sure it will come as a great shock to the Senator when I say that I cannot accept the amendment. He is seeking to require the national unit to forward requests for personal data to Europol within 14 days instead of 30 days. I appreciate the argument for reducing the timeframe for the forwarding to Europol of requests for personal data. However, the timeframe of one month is set out in...

Seanad: Europol Bill 2012: Committee Stage (18 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I cannot accept the amendment, the effect of which would be to remove the need for the head of the national unit to be satisfied that information provided will not be further disseminated without the prior consent of the unit and, instead, would require the head of the unit to receive a guarantee that information would not be so disseminated. In theory, the amendment could give rise to a...

Seanad: Europol Bill 2012: Committee Stage (18 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I am refusing the amendment as it is unnecessary. Section 10 already provides for the deletion of data in subsection (1)(a) and (b). This is a drafting matter. The amendment would be superfluous.

Seanad: Europol Bill 2012: Committee Stage (18 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: Amendments Nos. 3 and 6 as outlined by the Senator add to the grounds for refusal of assistance to Europol by seeking to include ?jeopardising the human rights of a person.? Amendment No. 3 is to section 5 and seeks to add the new ground for refusal to those already listed as reasons for refusing to provide information to Europol as set out in subsection (2). That subsection gives effect to...

Seanad: Europol Bill 2012: Committee Stage (18 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I cannot accept the proposed amendment. It is not appropriate or necessary. The Europol national unit a the unit of the Garda Síochána as much as the crime policy and operational support units are units of it. The staffing of any unit within the force is a matter for the Garda Commissioner in accordance with his functions under section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. Assignments...