Results 9,221-9,240 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Tribunals of Inquiry Reports (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will be aware, the report of the Moriarty Tribunal made a number of recommendations which related to the responsibilities of different Government Departments. In this regard I understand that there have been relevant developments in the fields of financial regulation, company law, and electoral law. As Minister for Justice and Equality, I can only respond in relation to the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Asylum Support Services (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Section 9(4)(b) of the Refugee Act 1996 provides that applicants for international protection shall not seek or enter employment or carry on any business, trade or profession during the period before the final determination of their application. The Report of the Working Group on the Protection Process which was published on 30 June, 2015 includes a recommendation on access to the labour...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Certificates (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The fees to be paid by an applicant for a certificate of naturalisation are governed by the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Regulations 2011 (SI 569 of 2011). The standard certification fee is stipulated as €950, while a reduced fee of €200 applies in the case of an application made on behalf of a minor or in certain cases where the application is made by a...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Inspectorate Reports (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Inspectorate Report on Crime Investigation forms an important component in the overall justice reform programme which is currently underway and in respect of which significant progress has already been made. Implementation of this programme, including the reforms recommended by the Inspectorate, is being overseen by the Cabinet Committee on Justice...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Child Abuse (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am informed by the Garda authorities that the Commissioner has appointed a Detective Superintendent to conduct an in-depth review of Garda files and records in order to ascertain the facts surrounding the information referred to by the Deputy. This review is currently ongoing. Insofar as the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry is concerned, the Deputy will appreciate, of course,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Family Reunification Policy (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Paragraph 8:3 of the Family Reunification document states "...it is not proposed that family reunification determinations should become purely financial assessments. Nevertheless the State cannot be regarded as having an obligation to subsidise the family concerned and the sponsor must be seen to fulfil the responsibility to provide for his/her family members if they are to be permitted...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Investigations (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The murder of the person referred to by the Deputy, a Sinn Féin Councillor, was an utterly unjustifiable act of violence and I would like to express my sympathies to the victim's family. The murder was claimed by a loyalist paramilitary group. While it is a matter of regret that no person has been convicted of this murder, the Garda investigation remains open and I can assure the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Misconduct Allegations (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy is referring to a person whose case is being considered by 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, with a view to determining to what extent and in what manner further action may be...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Deployment (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: One of the primary functions of the Garda Commissioner under the Garda Síochána Acts is to direct and control An Garda Síochána and as such, the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. I have no direct role in this function. I can inform the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Constitutional Amendments (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The law setting out the procedures for seeking leave to petition a referendum result is set out in the Referendum Acts. Section 42 of the Referendum Act 1994 provides that the validity of a provisional referendum certificate may only be questioned by a petition to the High Court, that a petition may not be presented unless the High Court has given leave to do so and that a person seeking...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Inspectorate Reports (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Following the publication of the Garda Inspectorate Report on Crime Investigation last November, the Central Statistics Office temporarily suspended its publication of recorded crime statistics, while it carried out a detailed analysis of issues raised by the Garda Inspectorate in relation to the recording, classification and reclassification of crime. The timing and management of this...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Deployment (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy will be aware that the first intake since 2009 of 100 new recruits entered training at the Garda College, Templemore, on 15 September 2014.As part of Budget 2015, a further intake of 200 recruits in two batches was announced.On 15 December 2014, the first 100 of these batches commenced their training. The remaining 100 entered the college in February this year. The September...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Holiday Visa Applications (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I refer the Deputy to my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 150 of 26 May, 2015. The position remains unchanged. The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department is constantly seeking ways in which the visa system may be developed to facilitate legitimate travel to the State for the purpose of tourism and business. In doing so, officials in INIS maintain regular...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Investigations (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The callous and brutal murder of the person to whom the Deputy refers in his question was a terrible tragedy for his family. It was an affront also to this State as the person was killed in the course of his duty as a Garda. As I have previously advised, the Serious Crime Review Team at the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation has undertaken a review of the investigation of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Staff (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The health and safety of Irish Prison Service staff is a matter which is taken very seriously by me and the Director General of the Irish Prison Service. Every assault on a member of staff is treated as serious and appropriate action is taken by the Prison Service, including the reporting of such assaults to an Garda Síochána for the purposes of investigation and criminal...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Proposed Legislation (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will be aware, there is a stay on certification of the referendum result by the Returning Officer pending the hearing of two appeals by individuals to the Court of Appeal in relation to the High Court's refusal of leave to petition the provisional referendum certificate. This means that the Thirty Fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill cannot be signed...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I should at the outset explain that the public office in Burgh Quay services two separate functions – one dealing with non-EEA nationals seeking to register and renew their permission to be in the State, a function which is currently being carried out by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB), and a separate function dealing with applicants for re-entry visas, which is carried...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Data (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will be aware the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, is responsible for the publication of recorded crime statistics. I have requested the CSO to provide the available statistics in relation to recorded instances of threats along the lines referred to by the Deputy directly to him. As the Deputy will appreciate, it would not be appropriate for...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: EU Directives (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As I set out previously in my answer to Question 32 of 2nd April 2015 , the European Commission has expressed a concern to the Government that Ireland's current legal services advertising regime may be in breach of Article 24 of Directive 2006/123/EC ('the Services Directive'). In general terms, while the Directive permits certain restrictions on legal services advertising that are informed...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Investigations (7 Jul 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) was established as a statutorily independent body, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, to investigate complaints made against members of the Garda Síochána. GSOC has a hugely important role in ensuring that public confidence in the Garda Síochána is safeguarded. In order to enable it to carry out its...