Results 8,061-8,080 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Stations (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: We are now having a debate on the matter. I am sorry if the Deputy is so agitated and excited that he thinks it is cowardly of me to answer his questions-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Stations (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I think the wider community has far greater insight than the Deputy. The wider community understands a number of facts. People understand that we have an agreement with the troika on which we are dependent for public funding.-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Stations (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I do not interrupt the Deputy. Perhaps he would do me the-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Stations (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy seems to believe it adds to the credibility of what he says if he just shouts across the floor. I ask the Deputy to do me the courtesy of allowing me to respond to him. The facts are quite simple. We are dependent on the troika. The agreement was entered into by his party. It envisages a substantial reduction in public expenditure. Like all Departments, my Department is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Stations (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: -----and available to work in crime protection and crime detection. We have recognised a reality which the Deputy has failed to recognise, which is, that a single garda sitting for three or four hours during a morning in a Garda station does not contribute anything of major operational value to crime protection or crime detection. With a reduction in resources and in Garda numbers, we are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Penalty Points System (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: The allegations referred to by the Deputy are not that some people have had penalty points written off, but that in a number of cases members of the Garda Síochána have inappropriately cancelled fixed charge notices, mainly for speeding. The allegations appear to be made on the basis of records of cancellation on the Garda PULSE system. Fixed charge notices are an alternative to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Penalty Points System (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: It is of the utmost importance that the integrity of the fixed charge system is preserved. When the Deputy said this must stop, I presume it is not his view that where there are appropriate circumstances for a fixed charge to be cancelled, that it should not be cancelled. I gave the Deputy instances of the type of circumstances that can arise. The Deputy may be interested to know that in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Stations (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: The policing plan for 2013, which I laid before the House last week, outlines the Garda Commissioner's proposals for the continued reorganisation and consolidation of the Garda station and district network. Until this year, the Garda station network was essentially the same as the RIC network which obtained in 1922. Such a large-scale static deployment of resources is no longer appropriate,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Stations (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy should not try to engage in name-calling or use political bombast in order to cover up the reality that when in government, his party signed up to the agreement with the troika-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Stations (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: -----and to reducing the numbers within the Garda Síochána to 13,000 by the end of 2013. In addition, his party did not have the courage and commitment to reform the Garda station infrastructure and network. Is the Deputy seriously suggesting that it would be in the interests of good policing for us to retain a police station network and a Garda structure based on decisions...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Stations (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: In so far as the Deputy is alleging that there will be any diminution of Garda services, I must inform him that this has not been the case in the context of the closures that have occurred to date. There will instead be an enhanced service on offer as a result of the fact that members of the force will be available to communities. Unlike my predecessor, I have made resources available....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Courts Service (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I am informed by the Courts Service that the primary objective in the current economic climate is to maintain the delivery of front line court sittings and, in this context, over the past few years the Service has radically altered the way in which they manage the resources available to them. Measures introduced to date include the creation of multi-jurisdictional court offices (14 such...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Joint Policing Committees (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: The functions and powers of Joint Policing Committees (JPCs) are set out in the Garda Síochána Act 2005, which provides for a Committee in each local authority area. The Act provides that JPCs operate under guidelines issued by the Minister for Justice and Equality after consultation with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. The current guidelines were...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Proposed Legislation (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 61 and 321 together. The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce a Bill that is in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Bill is at an advanced stage of drafting and work is ongoing to properly align the provisions of the Bill with the principles contained in the UN Convention on supporting people...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Investigations (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I am advised by the Garda authorities that the examination referred to by the Deputy is ongoing. The Commissioner has assured me that each and every line of inquiry is being or will be pursued. Upon receipt of a final report from the Commissioner I will review the situation. I am fully aware of course of the many issues of concern which have been raised in the public domain surrounding the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: European Court of Human Rights Rulings (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: My Department is aware of the decision of 13 November 2012 in the European Court of Human Rights in regard to the case of MM V United Kingdom. The decision relates to a caution issued in Northern Ireland in the year 2000. The Court highlighted the absence of a clear legislative framework for the collection and storage of data, and the lack of clarity as to the scope, extent and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Prevention (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I must presume that the Deputy’s question is about the Diversion Programme which relates to youth crime. The Diversion Programme operates in accordance with Part 4 of the Children Act 2001, as amended, and under the general superintendence and control of the Garda Commissioner. The aim of the Diversion Programme is to deal with juveniles who offend, by way of administering a formal...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Court Accommodation (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: As the Deputy is aware, the Courts Service Act 1998 provides that management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in exercising its functions, which include the provision of accommodation for court sittings. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and have been informed that the Courts Service has been reviewing...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Proposed Legislation (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Programme for Government includes a commitment to amend the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 to address any anomalies or omissions, including those relating to children. In this regard, the Law Reform Commission has made detailed recommendations in its Report on the Legal Aspects of Family Relationships. In particular, the Commission recommends...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Visiting Regulations (11 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Irish Prison Service endeavours to help prisoners, where possible and appropriate, to maintain relationships with their families. Every effort is made to ensure that prisoners are located as close to their home as possible to facilitate visits from family and friends. However, this is not always possible for operational and security reasons. I am aware that maintaining family...