Results 11,001-11,020 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Irish Prison Service (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I urge the Prison Officers' Association to continue to work in a collaborative manner and I hope the Senator will encourage them to do so in the course of his dealings with them. Some of the Senator's language is very strong and is not reflective of the management position. Management is committed to consultation and discussion on the outstanding issues. It is extremely important they...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Domestic Violence (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I thank the Senator for raising the issue of domestic violence in this House. I am conscious of his interest in this issue and of his contribution to the report last October of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality on domestic and sexual violence. The Government is committed to the introduction of consolidated and reformed domestic violence legislation to address...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Domestic Violence (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As I said, the Commissioner has now reorganised the structure of the force's approach to domestic violence with the appointment of the chief superintendent to oversee the new child protection, domestic violence and human exploitation unit under the auspices of the national support service. The operational points the Senator makes are critical and I have no doubt that given the findings on...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Spent Convictions Legislation (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I thank Senator Bacik for raising this issue and giving me an opportunity to update the House on the situation in relation to it. The Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012 has passed Committee Stage in the Dáil, having passed all Stages in the Seanad. However, before the Bill could be taken at Report Stage, a 2013 UK Court of Appeal judgment necessitated a review of the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Spent Convictions Legislation (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I realise the importance of this legislation and its implications for individuals. As the Senator said, offences which often may have been committed much earlier in a person's life become an impediment to taking up a job. I realise the urgency of this legislation and I will be introducing those amendments as soon as they are finalised. I intend to have the Bill enacted before the summer.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Property Registration Authority Administration (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Appeals to the court, under Section 19 of the Registration of Title Act 1964, must be distinguished from court proceedings in which the Property Registration Authority (PRA) is a party or where it assists the court by the production of documents or the provision of expert testimony on registration practices and procedures. When the PRA decides to grant to refuse an application based on...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Judicial Council Legislation (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 305 and 349 together. As the Deputies will be aware, the Programme for Government undertakes to “legislate to establish a Judicial Council, with lay representation, to provide an effective mechanism for dealing with complaints against judges". This commitment is being pursued by way of the proposed Judicial Council Bill which will provide for the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Policing Authority Establishment (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The chairperson-designate of the Policing Authority has been provided with office facilities and a transition team to enable her to do preparatory work ahead of the passing of the legislation which will establish the Authority.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Community Policing (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am informed by the Garda authorities that the residential estate referred to by the Deputy is actively patrolled by both uniform and covert patrols attached to Clontarf Garda Station. I am also informed that there have been two crime incidents reported to Gardai so far in 2015 which relate to this particular estate. Local Garda management is satisfied all available resources are optimised...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Misconduct Allegations (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: A proposal to establish a criminal justice inspectorate is currently under consideration. There will be consultation with appropriate parties as the proposals are developed. In the first instance, I would welcome any written submission that the Justice4All group would like to make on the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Operations (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Claims from property owners for damage caused to their properties arising from searches undertaken by the Garda Síochána are delegated to and managed by the State Claims Agency (SCA) and claims should be submitted in writing to the Agency. Each claim is considered separately depending on the particular facts of the case. The general policy of the State Claims Agency, however,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Officials in the Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) inform me that there is no record of an application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to in the Deputy's question. As the person concerned has no current right of residency in the State, she would not be in a position to meet the lawful residency criteria applicable to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Operations (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am aware of the possibility of demonstrations of the kind to which the Deputy refers in his question. While supporting fully the right of individuals to protest, I am sure the House will agree that any protest must take place within the law and it must respect the rights of others. It is the responsibility of An Garda Síochána to put in place appropriate and proportionate...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Policing Authority Establishment (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will be aware, the drafting of a Bill to provide for the establishment of the new Policing Authority is being progressed on a priority basis. In this context, the functions of the Authority are being addressed.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Deployment (3 Mar 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 no function in the process. The...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Security Escorts (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy will appreciate that for good reason it is not the policy, nor would it be in the public interest, to comment on matters relating to the personal security of Ministers and other Government officials. However, as a matter of course, An Garda Síochána continually keep such matters under review.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Policing Plans (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy is aware I fully support the combined efforts of An Garda Síochána, and other agencies in addressing policing and related issues in Dublin City Centre. I met with Dublin business associations at the end of last year to discuss their concerns, having met shortly beforehand with An Garda Síochána, Dublin City Council, HSE Addiction Services and the Dublin...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prisoner Data (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy may be aware the Irish Prison Service collates and publishes the prisoner population breakdown on a daily basis and this information is available on the Irish Prison Service website www.irishprisons.ie. I can inform the Deputy that on 2nd March, 2015, there were 3,776 prisoners in custody as compared to a bed capacity of 4,126. This represents an occupancy level of 92%. A full...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Temporary Release of Prisoners (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy may be aware the Irish Prison Service collates and publishes the prisoner population breakdown including numbers on temporary release on a daily basis and this information is available on the Irish Prison Service website www.irishprisons.ie. The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the tables. On 2nd March 2015 there were 509 prisoners (11.5%) on temporary release...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Data (3 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Garda Síochána Act 2005 makes provision for the compilation and publication of crime statistics by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, and the CSO has established a dedicated unit for this purpose. I have asked the CSO to forward relevant statistics directly to the Deputy.