Results 8,541-8,560 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Tribunals of Inquiry Reports (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have sought an updated report from the Garda authorities in relation to the matters referred to and I will contact the Deputy again when it is to hand.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Sentencing Policy (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, judges are independent in the matter of sentencing, as in other matters concerning the exercise of judicial functions, subject only to the Constitution and the law. The approach of the Oireachtas has generally been to specify in law a maximum penalty for an offence, so that a court, having considered all the circumstances of a case, may impose an appropriate...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Misconduct Allegations (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: A panel consisting of two senior and five junior counsel was established for the purpose of conducting an independent review of certain allegations of Garda misconduct, or inadequacies in the investigation of certain allegations, which have been made to me as Minister for Justice and Equality, or the Taoiseach. A panel consisting of two Senior and five Junior Counsel was established for the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Resources (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Garda District and Station Rationalisation Programme was implemented in An Garda Síochána during 2012 and 2013. In its review of the Garda Station Network, Garda management concluded in relation to certain stations, many of which were only open part-time and manned by a single Garda, that resources could be better deployed and more effectively used on the front line if those...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Stardust Fire (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Following my meeting with the Stardust Victims Committee last year I appointed an official in my Department to liaise with them in relation to matters about which they have expressed concern. A researcher associated with the Committee submitted material relating to these events to my Department and a meeting was held with that researcher, and another person associated with the Committee,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Prevention (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: While the official CSO Recorded Crime Statistics for the Laois/Offaly Garda Division do not show any strong negative trends I am of course aware of the concerns that exist about particular crime incidents and the impact of crime generally on community morale. As I have outlined in my replies to earlier questions, my response to crime, particularly burglaries, in all areas of the country...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Oireachtas Joint Committee Reports (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department published a report in June 2012 on the criminal justice aspects of the cash for gold trade; this Report is available on my Department's website www.justice.ie. The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality and Defence were asked to consider the content of that report, obtain the views of all relevant interested parties and make such report/recommendations as the Committee...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Northern Ireland Issues (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: On 12 August 2015, Kevin McGuigan was shot dead in Belfast and following the shooting the PSNI launched a murder investigation that is ongoing. Subsequent statements made by the PSNI referring to lines of enquiry in its investigation have attracted widespread commentary on both sides of the border. I am sure the Deputy will agree that there can be no justification for such brutal acts of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Home Repossession (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: This Government has put in place a number of legislative provisions regarding protection of the family home in cases where repossession of the property is being sought. Section 2 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2013provides that in repossession proceedings involving the borrower's principal private residence, a court may, where it considers it appropriate, or on application by a...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Communications Surveillance (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 provides a legislative basis for the lawful interception of communications in this State. The Act provides that only the Minister for Justice and Equality may grant authorisations to intercept and then only for the purposes of the investigation of serious crime or in the interests of the security of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Road Traffic Offences (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 361 and 362 together. As Minister for Justice and Equality, I have no direct role in the payment and cancellation procedures in relation to Fixed Charge Notices, which are an operational matter for An Garda Síochána, and it would not be appropriate for me to comment on individual cases. I am informed by the Garda authorities that any request...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Prevention (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised that figures provided by the Central Statistics Office show that the number of recorded offences involving a knife has decreased each year since 2010. Notwithstanding these statistical trends, the impact of these crimes is of course extremely serious and I can assure the Deputy that I am in ongoing contact with the Garda Commissioner in relation to a wide range of crime and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Property Registration Authority Administration (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can inform the Deputy that under the Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006, the Property Registration Authority (PRA) was established as and from 4 November 2006. The PRA replaces the Registrar of Deeds and Titles as the registering authority in relation to property registration in Ireland and, subject to the above Act, is independent in the performance of its functions. The Deputy...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Complaints Procedures (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As I have previously advised the Deputy on more than one occasion in relation to this particular case, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) is the appropriate body to handle complaints made by members of the public concerning members of the Gardai. I understand from the correspondence submitted that GSOC has deemed the complaint to be inadmissible as it was received...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Legal Cases (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The position is that Mr. Shane Murphy SC's advice has not been published on the basis that it represents legal advice to the Attorney General and to me as Minister. The purpose of Mr. Murphy's examination was not to carry out an inquiry to establish all of the facts of the case at this remove but rather to advise on whether a case had been made which would warrant the granting of a pardon....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Misconduct Allegations (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 367 and 368 together. The particular case to which the Deputy refers is amongst those considered under the mechanism established for the independent review of certain allegations of Garda misconduct, or inadequacies in the investigation of certain allegations, which have been made to me as Minister for Justice and Equality, or the Taoiseach, or other...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Misconduct Allegations (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Panel were operating on the basis of a Government decision to have carried out an independent review of allegations of Garda misconduct. Recommendations by counsel were based on a review of the papers, and did not involve interviews or interaction with complainants or any other form of investigation, although counsel could where necessary recommend that the Minister seek further...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: DNA Database (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Regulations necessary to give effect to various aspects of the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014 are currently being finalised by my officials, in conjunction with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, and I therefore expect to be in a position to launch the DNA Database very shortly. The DNA Database is an important initiative which will assist...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Closed Circuit Television Systems (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Section 38 of the Garda Síochána Act, 2005 lays down the conditions governing the operation of CCTV schemes in public areas. This includes the need for all such CCTV schemes to be authorised in writing by the Garda Commissioner. CCTV systems installed for the purposes of crime prevention, and as aids to policing in areas to which the general public routinely have access such as...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Strength (20 Oct 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that the allocations of Gardaí is continually monitored to ensure optimal use of Garda human resources. This process is periodically reviewed in light of particular incidents of concern or challenges and it is in this context that the Commissioner has directed the allocation of additional Gardaí to the Louth Division. I am advised that an...