Results 10,341-10,360 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Priority Questions: Magdalen Laundries Report (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: 4 o’clock There are two issues on which I am keen to reassure the House of progress. The first relates to benefits under the jurisdiction of the HSE in respect of health and medical care, while the second relates to benefits within the remit of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection in respect of pensions. It is important that we ensure such issues will be...

Priority Questions: Rape and Sexual Offences (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: The deeply personal nature of a sexual offence impacts greatly on the victim. The prosecution of such offences must be dealt with in a sensitive manner, with respect for the rights of the accused person and the complainant. Although in a different jurisdiction with a distinct set of court procedures, the recent case in Northern Ireland has, rightly, brought out into the open conversations...

Priority Questions: Rape and Sexual Offences (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: In the first instance, I am very keen to consult. I have arranged meetings in the coming days with many of the stakeholders involved, with particular reference to women's groups which have been advocating change for some time. I also intend to meet representatives of the legal profession who encounter the matter of evidence within the courts on a day-to-day basis. I acknowledge that...

Priority Questions: Rape and Sexual Offences (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: Yes. That Bill is before the House and, like a considerable number of pieces of legislation in the justice area. I am anxious to ensure the full co-operation of the House in order that such important legislative measures can be placed in the Statute Book before we rise for the summer recess. I take on board what the Deputy said about the Women's Aid report. I was not present this...

Priority Questions: Magdalen Laundries Report (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I am fully committed to honouring the commitments of the previous Government, of which I was a member, in respect of the Magdalen redress scheme.  As the House is aware, a total of €25.9 million in lump sums has been paid to 691 applicants under the Magdalen laundries restorative justice scheme.  In addition, qualifying applicants receive additional...

Priority Questions: Magdalen Laundries Report (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I am very keen that this issue be dealt with. The principal recommendation is that my Department should, with a view towards admitting them to the scheme, fully reconsider the applications of women who worked in one of the listed laundries but were officially recorded as having been admitted to a training centre or industrial school located in, attached to or on the grounds of one of the...

Order of Business (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: The Deputy will be aware of the commitment to establishing a new Garda headquarters in Sligo at the earliest opportunity. Discussions are at an advanced stage on the provision of an appropriate site. I expect that a legal contractual situation will develop over the next couple of weeks. I understand the urgency. I visited the station in Sligo before Christmas. I accept the need for a...

Order of Business (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: The Deputy will be aware that the allocation and distribution of gardaí are matters for the Garda Commissioner. The independent Policing Authority also has responsibility in the process. I do not have a personal or ministerial role in the appointment of superintendents to Limerick or any other part of the country. Nevertheless, I will be happy to convey the Deputy's concern to the...

Order of Business (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I was not present at the launch of that report this morning as I was attending Cabinet. I am aware of its content and I am also aware of the seriousness of these issues in the context of a recent court case in particular North of the Border and out of the jurisdiction. I appeal again to this House at the start of this term to facilitate the passage of important legislation in the area of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Data (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I should say at the outset that the distribution of Garda personnel, including the allocation of newly attested Gardaí, is exclusively the statutory responsibility of the Garda Commissioner. Notwithstanding the Commissioner's responsibility, I have provided for the record, in tabular form, the detailed information requested by the Deputy.  I am informed by the Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Marriages of Convenience (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: There is no Irish law as such prohibiting the giving of a gift to or making a settlement in favour of a bride, a groom or a couple who are to be married, whether or not that gift or settlement is termed a 'dowry'. The term 'dowry' is not defined under Irish law and can have different roles in relation to marriage in different cultures. The provision of a dowry on the occasion of marriage is...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Data (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I should say at the outset that the distribution of Garda personnel, including the allocation of newly attested Gardaí, is exclusively the statutory responsibility of the Garda Commissioner. Notwithstanding the Commissioner's responsibility, I have provided for the record, in tabular form, the detailed information requested by the Deputy.  I am informed by the Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Data (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I should say at the outset that the distribution of Garda personnel, including the allocation of newly attested Gardaí, is exclusively the statutory responsibility of the Garda Commissioner. Notwithstanding the Commissioner's responsibility, I have provided for the record, in tabular form, the detailed information requested by the Deputy.  I am informed by the Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Diplomatic Representation (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I can assure the Deputy that the Government affords the highest priority to the State’s security. As he will be aware, An Garda Síochána carries out a range of functions in safeguarding our national security, including actions to counter terrorist threats, to support international security and to protect the State and its vital interests, where necessary, from...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Data (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I should say at the outset that the distribution of Garda personnel, including the allocation of newly attested Gardaí, is exclusively the statutory responsibility of the Garda Commissioner. Notwithstanding the Commissioner's responsibility, I have provided for the record, in tabular form, the detailed information requested by the Deputy.  I am informed by the Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Data (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I should say at the outset that the distribution of Garda personnel, including the allocation of newly attested Gardaí, is exclusively the statutory responsibility of the Garda Commissioner. Notwithstanding the Commissioner's responsibility, I have provided for the record, in tabular form, the detailed information requested by the Deputy.  I am informed by the Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Diplomatic Representation (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: As the Deputy will be aware, the formal relations between states in respect of diplomatic representation are governed by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963, which Ireland ratified in 1967. These two international treaties codify what is perhaps one of the oldest and most accepted fields of international law, namely the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Reviews (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: My Department is currently finalising a review of Part 3 of the Personal Insolvency Acts. Part 3 is the core of the legislation, dealing with the operation in practice of the three personal insolvency mechanisms – Debt Relief Notices, Debt Settlement Arrangements, and Personal Insolvency Arrangements. This review also responds to the commitment in the Programme for a Partnership...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Data (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I should say at the outset that the distribution of Garda personnel, including the allocation of newly attested Gardaí, is exclusively the statutory responsibility of the Garda Commissioner. Notwithstanding the Commissioner's responsibility, I have provided for the record, in tabular form, the detailed information requested by the Deputy.  I am informed by the Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Data (17 Apr 2018)

Charles Flanagan: I should say at the outset that the distribution of Garda personnel, including the allocation of newly attested Gardaí, is exclusively the statutory responsibility of the Garda Commissioner. Notwithstanding the Commissioner's responsibility, I have provided for the record, in tabular form, the detailed information requested by the Deputy.  I am informed by the Garda...