Results 9,661-9,680 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Prison Accommodation. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: Deputy Rabbitte is a disgrace.

Prison Accommodation. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the table. It is the case that there has been a consistent increase in the total prisoner population over recent years. This situation is particularly apparent over the past 12 months, during which time the total number in custody has increased by approximately 280. There are a number of reasons for this increase. With the extra...

Prison Accommodation. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I do not claim there is no problem. I told the Deputy that we are at capacity and that we have developed 1,300 new places in the past ten years in order to address the issue. That compares favourably with Fine Gael's record in Government. When Nora Owen was Minister for Justice, she cancelled the prison building programme. We restarted the programme in 1997 and have since then developed...

Prison Accommodation. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The aim for Thornton Hall was to sign the contract in early 2009 but in light the current economic difficulties, the current bidder and I anticipate all the other bidders are experiencing problems with the credit crunch. I understand that negotiations are ongoing and efforts will be resumed in the new year to obtain the finance required at a reasonable rate. We want the project to proceed....

Garda Operations. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: Given the enormous transaction level in the District Court, it is inevitable that at any given time a significant number of bench warrants will be awaiting execution. It should be borne in mind that the vast majority of the outstanding bench warrants relate to unpaid fines for minor infractions of the law rather than convictions arising from violent crime. In addition, the Garda Síochána...

Garda Operations. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: During the August blitz carried out by the Garda in the Dublin metropolitan region, 808 bench warrants, 549 penal warrants and 55 distress warrants were executed. To a certain extent we are the victims of our own success in that the Garda has been more successful in bringing prosecutions and the courts more efficient in dealing with their business. As the Deputy will know from his practice,...

Garda Operations. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: It is not a matter for me personally to execute these warrants. If we were to listen to the Deputy and the Fine Gael promises, there would be fewer gardaí on the street with fewer resources.

Garda Operations. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: As I stated in my original reply, the Garda prioritises bench warrants relating to the arrest of people for serious and general crime. As a result of resource constrictions, they do not tend to concentrate on financial warrants, or distress warrants, as can be seen from the August figures. Some 55 in that case were distress warrants relating to the collection of goods and chattels. The...

Sex Offender Treatment Programme. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: On 15 December 2008, there were 302 persons in custody serving sentences for sexual offences. Three main forms of direct therapeutic intervention for sex offenders currently operate within the Irish prison system. The group programmes are an intensive version, which have been in operation since 1994 and are currently under review. Individual counselling is available from the Irish Prison...

Sex Offender Treatment Programme. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: Yes.

Sex Offender Treatment Programme. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I will put it out for public consultation. The sex offender programme has been there since 1994 and 106 offenders, an average of eight per year, have participated in it.

Sex Offender Treatment Programme. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I give credit to the Irish Prison Service for looking at a different model. It is anticipated that under the new model, which will come into place irrespective of the tagging issue in January 2009, there will be three different types of treatment and approximately 64 prisoners per year will be dealt with. That is a much better outturn for the significant expenditure in this area. It behoves...

Human Trafficking. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: Legislative, administrative and operational measures have been put in place to prevent trafficking in persons for both sexual and labour exploitation purposes. The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008, with penalties of up to life imprisonment, has been operational since 7 June 2008. An anti-human trafficking unit was set up in my Department earlier this year to co-ordinate the level of...

Human Trafficking. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: It is fair to say that our legislation on human trafficking is probably the most advanced and modern, as it was only passed in June this year. As the Deputy will know, when the Immigration Bill was originally published it provided for a 45-day period for recovery and reflection. At the exhortation of the Deputy and others in Opposition, and because of my own feelings on the matter, I agreed...

Human Trafficking. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: There certainly is not a negative attitude as far as the Department is concerned. We sponsored the Bill to put in place the most modern legislative response and we now have to establish the structures. To be fair, there is a separate, dedicated unit in my Department which is fully staffed by very committed people. Information at my disposal from the Garda Síochána indicates that a...

Gaming and Lotteries Legislation. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: As the Deputy will be aware, I have previously set out for the House the terms of reference of the cross-party committee, which I propose setting up in order to reflect on and review the report "Regulating Gaming in Ireland". I have gone on record to say that the informal committee represents the best opportunity for identifying options for consideration by Government on the many complex...

Gaming and Lotteries Legislation. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The Government has not made any decision on FOBTs, nor has it had any discussions on them. The Government noted the report entitled "Regulating Gaming in Ireland". It was previously suggested before my time as Minister that there would be a cross-party committee to deal with this, chaired by a member of Fine Gael. People then decided that they would discuss this matter, while omitting...

Gaming and Lotteries Legislation. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: To the best of my knowledge, there was no nod from the Taoiseach to anyone. I have not been exhorted by anyone in the Government to consider the issue of FOBTs. To the best of my recollection, neither have I met anyone in the industry concerning these issues. While it is fine for Deputy Rabbitte to tell me to get on with it, we have not changed the gaming and lotteries legislation since...

Gaming and Lotteries Legislation. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: Deputy Rabbite was in government. To the best of my recollection, Deputy Quinn, the then Minister for Finance, balked at the opportunity to change the legislation because he could not get all-party agreement. We were trying to achieve a cross-party understanding of how to proceed.

Gaming and Lotteries Legislation. (18 Dec 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The FOBT issue is a tiny aspect of the overall matter. As someone who has hardly placed a bet in my life, I would like to have the knowledge of——