Results 1,021-1,040 of 1,981 for speaker:Conor Lenihan

Garda Complaints Procedures. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: I apologise to the Deputy as I cannot furnish him with a detailed reply on what the future holds for the staff of the board.

Garda Complaints Procedures. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: As I have reassured the Deputy on earlier matters, I will ask the Minister, Deputy Brian Lenihan, to get back to him on the matter. I agree that it would be interesting to find out the answers to both questions, the reason an 8% increase has been given to a body which is being superseded and the matter of the staff. I presume the personnel will be reallocated in some fashion within the...

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. I apologise to Members for the absence of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan, whose mother-in-law died and is being buried today. For that reason, I am taking these questions in his stead.

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: I thank the Deputy. I hope this will be the tenor in which the afternoon will proceed.

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: The tragic events in recent weeks have once again demonstrated the dangers associated with drug misuse in a stark and public way. The problem is a complex and difficult one for which there is no quick fix or easy solution. The changing nature of drug use, specifically the emergence of cocaine and polydrug use in recent years, presents significant challenges for everyone involved in trying...

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: The Government is doing everything in its power to increase the level of surveillance along the coastline, one of the largest in terms of this issue. Ireland has invested significantly in the foundation of the maritime surveillance operation in Lisbon, which will be effective. There are well known routes through which drugs are trafficked into this country, particularly from Latin and South...

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: I am sure the Government will respond if there is a request for further facilities to assist in the detection of drug smuggling. There has been a considerable upsurge in the number of seizures and fines. It is not the case that the figures are going in the wrong direction. They are going in the right direction relative to the amount of drugs being smuggled in.

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: The Garda has indicated to the Department that it will be more vigilant concerning the presence of drugs generally, whether in pubs, clubs, nightclubs, night spots or private houses. However, there is an operational dimension to the issue. If the Garda is to begin raiding house parties of one kind or another, there will be a requirement for warrants so that the power is not open to abuse....

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: The Deputy is mischievously trying to bring me into conflict with the Taoiseach. He will find I am a loyal Minister of State in that regard. I emphasise clearly that gardaí already have the power to enter premises that we describe as public houses or night spots of one kind or another.

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: I understand gardaí have the power to inspect premises with regard to potential or actual drug misuse in a public house setting. There is a different issue, legally, in regard to private homes. The Minister is a lawyer but I am not. However, I understand the law on the matter is that if one were to specify a raid on a private home with regard to potential or actual drug misuse, there...

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: Operation Anvil has been up and running for some time and has been very successful. It concentrates Garda resources, including spending on overtime, in order that gardaí can focus their efforts on particular areas and gangs where they may be active. It is essentially the type of operation I hope the Deputy would welcome because it is entirely in tune with what he is calling for. At least...

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: I do not intend to reduce our priorities to a numerical basis. I merely point out that the expansion of cocaine usage is a very serious problem.

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: I said in my initial reply that there was no simple quick-fix solution to this problem. It requires sustained work by the Garda and the Department. I do not believe there is currently a requirement for additional legislation. We need to continue to reinvest in the existing resources deployed through the drug units in every Garda district. We also require leadership from parents, other...

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Government attach the highest importance to tackling the use of illegal firearms and offensive weapons generally. The first of the priorities which the Minister has determined in accordance with the Garda Síochána Acts for the Garda Síochána for 2008 is targeting gun crime and the illegal activities most closely associated with...

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: I do not want to minimise the problem or sound complacent by quoting the figures I quoted in my initial reply, but the bottom line is that year on year — I am not saying one swallow makes a summer or that one year's figures are evidence of a serious regression — there has been a welcome reduction in the number of murders and offences involving weapons. It is also the case that the...

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: ——and extra pressure on the Garda Síochána because of that growing population.

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: That is a detailed question which, perhaps more properly, should be directed to the Garda Commissioner. With regard to weapons becoming available because of the post-conflict situation on the island, it must be remembered that many of the guns that arrived here did so for many different reasons. A significant contributor to firearms becoming available to the criminal classes here is the...

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: That is a serious issue. I do not have figures available to me on the percentage of weapons now available because of the post-conflict situation in the North only to say that is something the Garda monitors regularly.

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: No. I am saying it is one of the contributory factors——

Crime Prevention. (13 Dec 2007)

Conor Lenihan: My apologies.