Results 10,341-10,360 of 18,755 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Written Answers — Garda Investigations: Garda Investigations (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: The Gardaí supply details of road accidents on Form C(T) 68 to the National Roads Authority complete with map title and grid reference number. This is an NRA form compiled in consultation with the Garda Síochána. The Form C(T) 68 is a comprehensive document with data captured under the following headings: Station; Day and date; Time and place; County, local authority and townland; Vehicle...

Written Answers — Ground Rents: Ground Rents (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: The position is that a statutory scheme for the acquisition of the fee simple in dwelling houses is set out in the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act 1978. Part III of that Act provides a special procedure, operated by the Land Registry, whereby a person may acquire the fee simple in their dwelling house. As regards expired leases on dwelling houses, the position is that the...

Written Answers — Garda Operations: Garda Operations (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: In view of the number of matters raised by the Deputy, the Garda authorities have not yet completed a report. I will contact the Deputy directly when the information is to hand.

Written Answers — Visa Applications: Visa Applications (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: The refugee in question made an application for family reunification in respect of her husband and children under section 18 of the Refugee Act, 1996 in January 2005. The application was forwarded to the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner for investigation as required under section 18 of the Act. A report was forwarded to the Family Reunification Section of my Department on the...

Written Answers — Citizenship Applications: Citizenship Applications (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: In my response to Parliamentary Question No. 697 on 21 March 2006, I informed the Deputy that my officials had written to the person concerned seeking further documents in connection with her application for naturalisation. No reply has been received to that letter to date. Documentation, in addition to that referred to by the Deputy in the details accompanying his Question, was sought in the...

Written Answers — Departmental Publications: Departmental Publications (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: In light of the extensive period of time covered by the question some points of detail are not readily available in the time provided. The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the tabular statement below. As can be seen from the content of this table, a broad range of my Department's activities are captured by the terms of the question. The reports listed vary considerably in...

Written Answers — Visa Applications: Visa Applications (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: The application referred to by the Deputy was received in my Department on 24th January, 2005. The decision of the visa officer to refuse this application was made on 8th February, 2005. An appeal was received on 10th March, 2005 and the decision to refuse was upheld on 7th April, 2005. A new scheme to facilitate family reunification in respect of non-national workers resident in the State...

Written Answers — Road Traffic Offences: Road Traffic Offences (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: I propose to take Questions Nos. 445 and 446 together. I am informed by the Garda authorities that the breakdown of cases where proceedings commenced under sections 49(2), 49(3) and 49(4) of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 in respect of blood, urine and breath samples in each of the years 2000 to 2005 is set out in the following table: Year Section 49(2) Blood Section 49(3) Urine Section...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: The planning process for the development will address in a comprehensive manner the various issues which arise in the context of an Environmental Impact Assessment. These will include, but not be limited to, matters such as archaeology, traffic, flora and fauna etc. Work is underway and well advanced under a number of these headings but cannot be completed until the final design of the...

Written Answers — Garda Stations: Garda Stations (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: The detailed information requested by the Deputy is not readily available and is currently being compiled by the Garda authorities. I will contact the Deputy again when the information is to hand.

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: In common with other EU countries, to date, all the indications are that, in Ireland, trafficking in human beings takes place on a much smaller scale than illegal immigration. In the recently published United Nations report "Trafficking in Persons Global patterns" Ireland ranks at the low end of destination or transit countries in western Europe. Garda operations have uncovered a small number...

Written Answers — Firearms Issues: Firearms Issues (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: I propose to take Questions Nos. 450 and 451 together. I am informed by the Garda authorities that the information requested is not readily available. I will write to the Deputy with the information as soon as I obtain it from the Gardaí.

Written Answers — Firearms Issues: Firearms Issues (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: I am informed by the Garda authorities that the total number of headline offences recorded in the year 2005 which involved the use of a firearm was 536 and the total detected was 214. The figures provided are provisional, operational and liable to change. In relation to firearms in general, I propose bringing forward a range of measures to strengthen the law governing the control of firearms...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: The information requested by the Deputy is as follows: EU Measure Date of Measure Transposition Deadline Current position 1 Council Directive 2004/82/EC of 29 April 2004 on the obligation of carriers to communicate passenger data 29/04/2004 05/09/2006 The position in relation to the Directives listed 1-4 is that the Immigration and Residence bill will, in the main, provide the...

Written Answers — Firearms Licensing: Firearms Licensing (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: The issues raised in the Deputy's correspondence relate to amendments being proposed to the Firearms Acts, 1925 to 2000 in the context of the Criminal Justice Bill, 2004 which is currently before the House. I have already responded to all of the issues raised by the Deputy in the course of the Committee Stage of the Bill on 26 April 2006 and 3 May 2006. With regard to persons charged with...

Written Answers — Garda Equipment: Garda Equipment (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: Following completion of a pilot Digital Radio project, An Garda Síochána submitted a detailed business case for a national system to my Department in January, 2004. The case outlined various implementation options and costings. Following discussions between officials of my Department, An Garda Síochána and the Department of Finance, it was decided to adopt an "outsourced service provision...

Written Answers — Garda Deployment: Garda Deployment (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: I have been informed by the Garda authorities, who are responsible for the detailed allocation of resources, including personnel, that the personnel strength (all ranks) of An Garda Síochána as at 31 March 2006 was 12,439. This compares with a total strength of 10,702 (all ranks) as at 30 June 1997 and represents an increase of 1,737 (or 16.2%) in the personnel strength of the Force during...

Written Answers — Drug Seizures: Drug Seizures (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: The information sought by the Deputy has now been collated by the Garda authorities. The precise extent of illegal drug use is difficult to determine by virtue of its hidden nature but a number of data sources are used to estimate its prevalence within society. These include drug treatment and law enforcement data as well as official survey data at national level. The joint Prevalence Survey...

Written Answers — Garda Operations: Garda Operations (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: I regret that it has not been possible in the time available to obtain the information requested by the Deputy. I will be in touch with the Deputy in relation to this matter when it becomes available.

Written Answers — Ministerial Staff: Ministerial Staff (16 May 2006)

Michael McDowell: I wish to advise the Deputy that the following staff are employed in my office. All of these staff were employed prior to January 2005. Name Grade Cormac Lucey Special Adviser Hugh Hardiman Personal Assistant Mary McCowan Personal Secretary