Results 11,381-11,400 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Proposed Legislation (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy is rightly concerned about attacks on the members of the Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and emergency personnel in the course of their work. I share that concern and I want to make it clear that I utterly condemn any such attacks. I will have no hesitation of any nature in taking whatever action, including legislative reform, that might be necessary to protect gardaí,...

Proposed Legislation (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I share the Deputy's concern. It is important that we provide maximum protection to members of the force. Should a member of the force die or be seriously injured in the course of carrying out their duties there should be appropriate legal mechanisms to bring people before the courts and sentence them. On the issue of manslaughter, it is open to the courts to impose a life sentence. As...

Sexual Offences (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy may have in mind the Central Statistics Office, CSO, figures for 2010 which recorded a substantial increase. However, the CSO has cautioned that care should be taken in the interpretation of these statistics as the increase in that year was largely due to a review of all cases involving sexual offences reported to the Garda. The CSO indicates that the number of sexual offences...

Sexual Offences (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: In response to the Deputy, it might be of interest to note the sexual crime management unit, which operates within the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, is the unit with national responsibility for the monitoring of the implementation of Garda policies in respect of sexual crimes. This management unit is responsible for reviewing selected sexual crime investigations to ensure a...

Sexual Offences (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The correct answer is that it does, in the context of putting victims in contact with victim support groups, where necessary. In addition, there now is close liaison between the Garda Síochána and the HSE in dealing with crimes of sexual violence. It would be fair to state a far more sophisticated and sensitive approach now has been adopted than may have been the case a number of years...

Garda Deployment (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that seven crime prevention officers retired between 2010 and today's date. To crime prevention officers have been appointed by the Commissioner in the same period. The location of those who have retired and who have been appointed are set out in a table I will circulate with this reply. Where the crime prevention function of the Garda Síochána is...

Garda Deployment (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: We all have a role to play in crime prevention and in making considered decisions in this area. It is not for me to second guess operational decisions made by the Garda Commissioner. The Deputy is correct that no crime prevention officer has been formally appointed in Tipperary following a retirement in December 2010. Deployment of members of the force is ultimately a matter for the Garda...

Garda Stations (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: Under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner must, before November each year, submit a policing plan for the following year to the Minister. The Commissioner must include in that plan any proposal to either open or close a Garda station. It will, therefore, be towards the end of this year before the Policing Plan for 2013 is received, approved and published. Members will be...

Garda Stations (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy is, of course, right in saying the Garda Commissioner presents me with a policing plan and that it is for me to approve it. I rely on the Garda Commissioner's expertise in making operational judgments in these matters. To come back to what I said earlier, we had 703 Garda stations at the beginning of this year. A comparable jurisdiction, Scotland, with a higher population, has...

Garda Stations (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I think everyone forgets that currently we have approximately 2,000 civilians working within the Garda force. We also have 935 members of the Garda Reserve, which did not exist some years ago. As Deputy O'Brien knows, because of current economic circumstances, we are not in a position to expand employment in these areas. However, they are backups which the gardaí would not have had...

Garda Equipment (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: A detailed manual on Garda policy and procedures in respect of the use of incapacitant spray has been developed by the Garda Commissioner and is published on the Garda website. The manual sets out the detailed considerations that must always be taken into account by a member of the Garda Síochána before using incapacitant spray. Any use of such a spray, as with any use of force in...

Garda Equipment (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I agree with the Deputy that such sprays must be used only in appropriate circumstances, as prescribed by the guidelines. I do not see why any increase in, as the Deputy described it, political activity should result in the use of such sprays. I am conscious that some of those who purport to be engaging in political activity resort to violence and abuse and disregard requests from the Garda...

Garda Equipment (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: Of course, the Deputy is ignoring the fact that, for many years, members of the Garda Síochána had the use of batons to protect themselves. Some people would be of the view that the use of pepper spray by a member of the force under attack is better than using a baton, in that the spray does not do any permanent damage or serious injury to a member of the community who is attacking a...

Garda Equipment (8 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: That is an operational matter and depends on the circumstances that arise.

Written Answers — Asylum Applications: Asylum Applications (3 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The person concerned applied for asylum on 13 May 2008 in accordance with Section 9 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended). His asylum application was refused following consideration of his case by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and, on appeal, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal. Arising from the refusal of the asylum application of the person concerned, he applied to be...

Written Answers — Residency Permits: Residency Permits (3 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The person concerned has been granted Leave to Remain in the State which is valid to 27 May 2012. This decision was conveyed in writing to the person concerned by letter dated 27 May 2009. The person concerned is required to apply in writing for the renewal of this permission one month before the end of its expiry period. Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may...

Written Answers — Deportation Orders: Deportation Orders (3 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The person concerned is the subject of a Deportation Order, signed on 10 July 2009, following a comprehensive and thorough examination of her asylum claim and her application for subsidiary protection, and a detailed examination of the representations she submitted for consideration under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended). An application by this person in respect of the...

Written Answers — Residency Permits: Residency Permits (3 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The person concerned was granted temporary permission to remain in the State in 2000 under the arrangements then in place for the non-EEA parents of Irish born children. This permission was renewed subsequently and the latest permission expired on 30 November, 2010. I am informed that the person concerned applied to the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) to have his permission renewed...

Written Answers — Citizenship Applications: Citizenship Applications (3 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: The person concerned was granted temporary permission to remain in the State in 2002, under the arrangements then in place for the non-EEA parents of Irish born children. This permission was renewed on a regular basis and is currently valid until 30 June, 2012. I would advise the person concerned to contact the Administration Section of the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) to obtain...

Written Answers — Garda Deployment: Garda Deployment (3 May 2012)

Alan Shatter: I am informed by the Garda authorities that the personnel strength of Limerick Garda Division on 31 March 2006 - 31 March 2012 inclusive was as set out in the following table. Year Strength 31/03/06 532 31/03/07 593 31/03/08 635 31/03/09 635 31/03/10 643 31/03/11 637 31/03/12 618