Results 11,061-11,080 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Written Answers — Garda Deployment: Garda Deployment (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that the personnel strength of the Garda National Drugs Unit (G.N.D.U.), Garda National Immigration Bureau (G.N.I.B.), Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (G.N.B.C.I.), Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation (G.B.F.I.) and the Criminal Assets Bureau (C.A.B.), on the 30 April 2012, the latest date for which figures are readily available,...

Written Answers — Garda Transport: Garda Transport (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Garda Commissioner is the Accounting Officer for the Garda Vote. In that context I am advised by the Garda authorities that the cost of maintaining Garda vehicles, which includes the provision of spare parts, new tyres and towing services, in 2011 and to date in 2012 is outlined in the following table below: Year Cost 2011 €11,496,945 2012 (as at 21/05/12) €3,806,333

Written Answers — Citizenship Applications: Citizenship Applications (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I am advised by the Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that an application for a certificate of naturalisation was received from the person referred to by the Deputy in January 2008 and was deemed ineligible. A valid application for a certificate of naturalisation was subsequently received from the person referred to by the Deputy in June 2008....

Written Answers — Crime Prevention: Crime Prevention (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I am informed by the Garda authorities that the area referred to is within the Store Street Garda District, which is part of the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) North Central Division. I am further informed that dedicated high visibility policing patrols, both foot and mobile, were introduced in the north inner city in order to combat anti-social behaviour in the area. The primary focus of...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Bill dealing with the reform of the legal sector and of legal costs, to which I assume the Deputy is referring, is the Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011. Part 9 of the Bill, which comprises five chapters, makes extensive provision in relation to the charging and adjudication of legal costs supported by the Principles Relating to Legal Costs which are set out, for the first time in...

Written Answers — Citizenship Applications: Citizenship Applications (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I am advised by the Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that a valid application for a certificate of naturalisation was received from the person referred to by the Deputy in June 2009. The application is currently being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation,...

Written Answers — Legal Aid Service: Legal Aid Service (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Legal Aid Board is a statutory, independent body in accordance with the Civil Legal Aid Act, 1995. The issue raised by the Deputy is a matter for the Board. However, in order to be helpful to the Deputy I have had enquiries made with the Board. On the assumption that the Deputy referring to the number of applicants for non-prioritised matters at each law centre, I am advised that as at...

Written Answers — Legal Aid Service: Legal Aid Service (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Legal Aid Board is a statutory, independent body in accordance with the Civil Legal Aid Act, 1995. The issue raised by the Deputy is a matter for the Board. However, in order to be helpful to the Deputy I have had enquiries made with the Board. I am informed that in the vast majority of cases in which a party has sought legal services from the Legal Aid Board and where those legal...

Written Answers — Legal Aid Service: Legal Aid Service (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Legal Aid Board is a statutory, independent body in accordance with the Civil Legal Aid Act, 1995. The issue raised by the Deputy is a matter for the Board. However, in order to be helpful to the Deputy I have had enquiries made with the Board. I am informed that the Legal Aid Board gives priority to certain case types. The consequence of being prioritised is that the applicant should get...

Seanad: Passenger Name Records: Motion (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: Senator David Norris is unnecessarily excitable today. Perhaps he might contain himself. If he had a major interest in this matter, he was free, like every Member of the House, to attend the meeting of the joint committee at which we teased out the agreement in great detail. Every question that could have been asked was asked and every response given. I can only conclude from the Senator's...

Seanad: Passenger Name Records: Motion (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: Senator Norris clearly does not understand the history of the agreement, which was given substantial examination by European justice ministers and within the European Parliament. The form of the agreement that is before the House is the text as agreed by the Parliament and by the European Council in its justice configuration. The report to which the Senator referred was rejected by the...

Seanad: Passenger Name Records: Motion (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: PNR data was also used to good effect in apprehending Najibullah Zazi, an al-Qaeda operative who planned to detonate improvised explosive devices on New York city's subway system. The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI used PNR data to cross-reference the names of Zazi's co-travellers against open counter-terrorism cases inside the United States, resulting in the discovery that the...

Seanad: Passenger Name Records: Motion (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: If the Senator wishes to be blind to that reality, it is his choice. As a member of this Government, however, I cannot be blind to it. It is in the interests of Europe and the United States that this agreement is implemented and in the interests of this State that we be party to it. I apologise to Members to whom I have not had time to respond. I will be happy to accommodate any Senator...

Seanad: Tribunal of Inquiry: Motion (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: This motion proposes to amend the terms of reference of the tribunal of inquiry into suggestions of collusion by members of the Garda Síochána or other employees of the State in the murder by the Provisional IRA of RUC Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and RUC Superintendent Bob Buchanan in March 1989. This tribunal was established in 2005 and is chaired by Judge Peter Smithwick, former...

Seanad: Tribunal of Inquiry: Motion (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I thank the Members for their contributions and for supporting the motion that is before the House. I cannot help but comment on at least two of those who contributed who stated it would be wrong to rush the work of the tribunal. It is important the tribunal completes its work, although rushing is a concept I cannot quite reconcile with a tribunal that has been sitting since 2005. It is...

Seanad: Passenger Name Records: Motion (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: This motion will enable Ireland to participate in the agreement between the European Union and the United States on the use and transfer of passenger name records, PNR, to the United States Department of Homeland Security which has recently been adopted by the Council of Ministers. I propose that Ireland exercise the option provided by Article 4 of Protocol No. 21 to the Treaty on the...

Seanad: Passenger Name Records: Motion (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I thank all the Senators who contributed to the debate, particularly those who support the agreement. This is a simple arrangement to ensure full co-operation between the European Union and the United States in tackling international crime and terrorism. A basic human right of every individual is to be able to fly on an aeroplane that has not been turned into a flying bomb pointed at a...

Seanad: Passenger Name Records: Motion (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I find Senator David Norris's level of hysteria about the agreement extraordinary. There is nothing secretive about it. We had a detailed examination of it and an informed discussion at the justice committee.

Leaders' Questions (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: Finian is more confused now than when he came in.

Tribunal of Inquiry: Motion (23 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: This motion proposes to amend the terms of reference of the tribunal of inquiry into suggestions of collusion by members of the Garda Síochána or other employees of the State in the murder by the Provisional IRA of RUC Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and RUC Superintendent Bob Buchanan in March 1989. The tribunal was established in 2005 and is chaired by Judge Peter Smithwick, former...