Results 9,001-9,020 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Public Sector Staff (6 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: Two bodies under the aegis of my Department - an Garda Síochána and the Irish Prison Service (IPS) - operate rostering systems. Prisons must function on a 24/7 and therefore it is necessary to operate a rostering system. The IPS uses rostering to schedule an officer’s basic working week over the periods outside normal working hours and is developing and implementing more...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Deployment (6 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: The implementation of the reorganisation of the Defence Forces is currently underway and an accurate picture of the extent to which it will be necessary for personnel to move from their current geographic locations is not yet fully apparent. At this juncture there may be a requirement for a significant number of personnel based in Collins Barracks, Cork to be relocated rather than reassigned....

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Expenditure (6 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: Professional fees paid by my Department since March 2011 amount to €1,303,739. Details of the companies or persons providing a professional service to my Department since March 2011, and the amount invoiced by each, are set out in the tabular statement attached. These include professional services such as ICT, engineering, architecture, accounting and legal services. In addition to...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Staff (6 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: Since March 2011, my Department has engaged two retired public servants to act as civilian drivers to the Minister of State, Mr. Paul Kehoe T.D. These appointments are temporary, unestablished positions in the Civil Service on a fixed-term contract basis. The post of Civilian Driver attracts an annual salary of €32,965. My Department has also employed three retired public servants as...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Operations (6 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: Pursuant to their role in rendering aid to the civil power, the Defence Forces have a number of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams on call, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to requests received from An Garda Síochána for assistance in dealing with a suspect device or for the removal of old ordnance. The number of times that EOD teams from the Defence Forces were...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Pardons (6 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: The position is that the legislation to give effect to the Government decision in this matter is currently at an advanced stage of drafting. I expect that it will be published by the end of November.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Value for Money Reviews (6 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Value for Money Review of the Reserve Defence Force was completed and submitted to myself and the Secretary General of my Department last month. In advance of its publication, and in line with the guidelines and normal procedure for Value for Money Reviews, the responses to the recommendations are currently being developed. When this process is completed, the Review will be published on...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Allowances (6 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Reserve Defence Force Cadre daily allowance was introduced many years ago to compensate members of the Permanent Defence Force who were attached to the Reserve Defence Force for expenses incurred in training reservists and ancillary administrative duties. Historically, due to the nature of the allowance, it was not regarded as being subject to tax or income levy. During the course of a...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Air Accident Investigations (6 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Air Accident Investigation Unit of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is carrying out an investigation following the heavy landing incident involving the Emergency Aeromedical Support (EAS) service helicopter which occurred on 19 June 2012. This investigation is ongoing.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Northern Ireland Issues (6 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: My Department is not involved in North/South engagement and therefore does not have a North/South Cooperation Unit.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Allowances (6 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: As the Deputy is aware the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform undertook a review of allowances and premium payments across the public sector and proposals were brought to Government for decision. Further to this, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform published the results of this review of allowances and the outcome of the Government decision on its website at...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Budgets (6 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Gross Provision for the Defence Vote (36) has reduced from €756m in 2010 to €727m in 2011 and €688m in 2012, representing a reduction of €68m over the two year period. These reductions followed on the significant reductions achieved over previous years on this Vote. Arising from the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure, the Government’s decision to...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Operations (6 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: My priority as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the operational capacity of the Defence Forces is maintained to the greatest extent possible. Whilst the Defence Forces are not a Principal Response Agency, as defined in the Framework for Major Emergency Management, they provide the fullest possible assistance to the appropriate Lead Department in the event of a natural disaster or...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Public Sector Staff (6 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: As the Permanent Defence Force operates on a 24/7/365 basis, it is necessary to have a rostering system in place. In addition, a small number of civilian employees of my Department currently work on a roster basis to ensure that essential services can be provided outside of normal working hours. There are currently no plans in place to change the rostering system.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Public Sector Staff (6 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Defence organisation comprises the Department of Defence, the Defence Forces and the agencies under the aegis of my Department; i.e. the Army Pensions Board and the Civil Defence Board. Records of past employment and related pension arrangements of staff recruited have not been captured in such a way as to provide a dedicated basis for compiling the information requested by the Deputy....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Vetting of Personnel (25 Oct 2012)

Alan Shatter: As the Deputy is aware, Garda vetting certificates for employment purposes are only provided for those seeking employment in Ireland with registered organisations where the employment involves substantial unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults. In that regard, the Garda Central Vetting Unit currently provides vetting services to approximately 20,000 of these organisations with...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Drug Seizures (25 Oct 2012)

Alan Shatter: I can advise the Deputy that it is not possible to provide data of the detail being sought in the time available for reply. I have requested the Garda authorities to provide data as requested as soon as it becomes available and I will arrange for all available information to be forwarded to the Deputy upon receipt.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Sentencing Policy (25 Oct 2012)

Alan Shatter: As the judiciary are independent and subject only to the Constitution and the law, it would be inappropriate for a member of the Executive to make any comments connected to a judgment in an individual case, particularly where the sentence is or could become the subject of an appeal. More generally, legislation relating to sexual offences usually provides for the maximum sentence to be...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Proposed Legislation (25 Oct 2012)

Alan Shatter: Difficulties experienced by property owners arising from trees and high hedges on neighbouring land were raised in both the Dáil and Seanad during passage of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009. My Department consulted on the matter with the Law Reform Commission, which had been involved in drafting the 2009 Act, and it took the view that unreasonable interference caused by...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Criminal Legal Aid (25 Oct 2012)

Alan Shatter: I take it the Deputy is referring to fees under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme. Under the relevant regulations, fees paid to counsel acting in the Circuit and higher courts for defendants who have been granted free legal aid are paid on a parity basis with the fees payable to prosecution counsel as set by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The fees paid to solicitors for the defendant are...