Results 9,841-9,860 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Transport Provision (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Decisions in relation to the provision and allocation of Garda vehicles are a matter for the Garda Commissioner in the light of her identified operational demands and the availability of resources. Responsibility for the efficient deployment of Garda vehicles in each Division is assigned to the Divisional Officer, who may allocate vehicles between stations, as required by operational...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Recruitment (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Public Appointments Service (PAS) is managing the recruitment process for the Garda Commissioner and I have no direct involvement in the matter. I understand, however, that candidates who fail any stage of the process are eliminated from the competition. The position in relation to the current competition is as follows: Following receipt of 24,000 applications, PAS invited...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Data (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I understand that the review in question, which is being undertaken by the Central Statistics Office as the independent national statistics agency, involves a detailed analysis of certain issues raised by the Inspectorate in relation to the recording, classification and reclassification of crime, to see whether and to what extent they may have implications for the crime statistics which the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Station Closures (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The formulation of proposals in relation to the opening and closing of Garda stations is a matter, in the first instance, for the Garda Commissioner in the context of annual policing plans, as provided for in section 22 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. An Garda Síochána completed a comprehensive review of its district and station network in 2012 and 2013. The objective was...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Strength (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of these resources. I have received the information from the Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Court Orders (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy will be aware that, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service and I have no role in the matter. Section 4(3) of the 1998 Act provides that the Courts Service is independent in the performance of its functions, which includes the provision of information on the courts system. I am informed that...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Marriage Equality Referendum (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department was involved in the preparation of the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015, which contains the wording of the proposed constitutional amendment which is to be put to the people in a referendum on 22nd May. My Department also provided €1.5 million funding to the Referendum Commission, which is responsible for providing independent and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Policy (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy may be aware Ireland has previously accepted two former detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility for resettlement here in 2009. Since their arrival the two individuals have received support and assistance to help them to adjust to their new circumstances. In the context of continuing efforts by the US to close the facility at Guantanamo, the US authorities have...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Policy (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I cannot speculate as to the positions different Member States will ultimately take in respect of the various proposals put forward in response to the migration crisis in the Mediterranean. However, the consensus both from the emergency joint meeting of EU Foreign and Interior Affairs Ministers in Luxembourg on Monday, 20 April 2015, attended by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Reserve (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I wish to put on record my appreciation for the contribution that those who volunteer for service as Garda Reserve members make on a daily basis to the work of An Garda Síochána. Together with full time members, they provide vital assistance to communities and neighbourhoods right across the country. The Garda Síochána (Admissions and Appointments) Regulations 2013 provide...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Commissions of Investigation (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy is aware, the former Minister for Justice and Equality, Alan Shatter TD, and Minister of State, Kathleen Lynch TD, published the Report of the Commission of Investigation into the death of Gary Douch on 1 May, 2014. The Commission’s Final Report contained several conclusions relating to the management, medical treatment and psychiatric care of Stephen Egan prior to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that, in response to a notification pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned has submitted written representations. The position in the State of the person concerned will now be decided by reference to the provisions of Section 3 (6) of the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Medical Service (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service that there are adequate levels of trained medical staff in all our prisons, notwithstanding the fact that the recruitment of medical staff to permanent positions continues to be very challenging in the current climate. Each prison has a number of nurses, and each prison is attended by a prison doctor. Doctors ordinarily attend...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Asylum Support Services (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am aware of the proposal by the Irish Refugee Council and Doras Luimní for a one-off scheme to clear all cases in the protection process. At the outset I should say that I have no plans to introduce such a scheme. The Deputy may be aware that there is a political commitment among EU Member States against any form of process that would grant residence status to persons present in...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Drugs in Prisons (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that for the period 01 February 2015 to 14 May 2015, 117 searches were carried out in Mountjoy Prison. 42 seizures of drugs were made over the course of these searches. The Irish Prison Service, while loosely classifying materials seized as drugs (i.e. tablets, powder, etc.), is not in a position to state if any of these items are illegal drugs...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Security (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that the prisoner in question (details supplied) was transferred to the Challenging Behaviour Unit (CBU) in Mountjoy Prison on 31 March 2015 for operational reasons. As the Deputy is aware on 23 April 2015, the prisoner carried out an unprovoked assault with a weapon on prison staff in which they received serious head and other injuries. This assault...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Vetting Applications (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) provides employment vetting to organisations registered with the Gardaí for this purpose and which employ persons in a full-time, part-time, voluntary or training capacity to positions where they would have substantial, unsupervised access to children and/or vulnerable adults. The process in respect of Garda vetting applications is standard for...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Commencement of Legislation (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 255 and 256 together. Before the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 could be commenced, a 2013 UK Court of Appeal judgment necessitated a review of the disclosure provisions in both the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 and the Spent Convictions Bill. That review has been completed and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Funding (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Under the Victims of Crime Office Funding Scheme for 2015 Laois Domestic Abuse Service was granted €12,500 in funding towards the provision of a court accompaniment service for victims of domestic abuse. Since 2005 this organisation has received similar amounts in funding on an annual basis to provide court accompaniment services. Core funding for domestic violence services is...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Road Traffic Accidents Data (19 May 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am informed by the Garda authorities that the section of the N22 referred to by the Deputy is within the Macroom District and there have been 41 fatalities on that stretch of road from 1990 to 15 May, 2015. I am also advised that data in relation to the number of serious injuries which occurred at this location is available from 2000 and 61 such injuries have been recorded since then to 15...