Results 11,581-11,600 of 18,729 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Written Answers — Deportation Orders: Deportation Orders (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: I refer the Deputy to my response to Question No. 246 of 15 February 2006. The position has not changed. A decision regarding the making of a deportation order in this case has not yet been made. Submissions on behalf of this individual have been received and are under consideration.

Written Answers — Deportation Orders: Deportation Orders (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: I refer the Deputy to the reply I gave to Questions Nos. 459 and 469 on Tuesday, 7 February 2006 in which I outlined the position. The enforcement of the deportation order is now an operational matter for the Garda national immigration bureau.

Written Answers — Crime Levels: Crime Levels (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: I have made inquiries with the Garda authorities and the information requested by the Deputy is as outlined in the following table. The East Wall area is part of the Store Street Garda district. Dwellings include houses, apartments, hostels, mobile homes and flats. The figures for 2006 are up to 19 February 2006. Burglary offences at dwellings recorded, detected and proceedings commenced in...

Written Answers — Garda Stations: Garda Stations (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: I have been informed by the Garda authorities that it is proposed to replace this station with a basic unit type facility. The existing station is considered to be non-viable for repair and it is proposed to include it in the equity exchange programme. Following an earlier pilot scheme when the level of interest expressed was not adequate to meet the requirements of the programme, I...

Written Answers — Garda Deployment: Garda Deployment (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: There are 50 civilian staff members working in the Garda Information Service Centre, GISC, Castlebar, comprising one principal officer, two assistant principal officers, 12 higher executive officers, 12 executive officers, six staff officers and 17 clerical officers. The majority of these staff have transferred from the Department of Agriculture and Food in Castlebar. The remainder have...

Written Answers — Asylum Applications: Asylum Applications (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: I refer the Deputy to my answer to her question of Tuesday, 14 February 2006 on this case. The position is as outlined therein.

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: Under my Department's decentralisation programme, 22 officers have moved directly with their jobs. We have recruited eight new members of staff and, to date, nine officers have been promoted to decentralising posts. We have already made 159 assignments to decentralising posts and I anticipate that in the coming year, additional progress will be made as the programme gathers momentum. The...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: If there is half an hour for questions, I am happy with that.

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: I have total confidence in the leadership of the Garda Síochána. They made decisions on the basis of their professional experience. They have reported to me and I have reported to the House that they did not anticipate that a group of 200 or 300 people would come to disrupt the event in the way they did. Garda management made a decision about the nature of policing. It decided that it...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: Deputy Kehoe said this was a matter of resources. It most certainly was not a matter of resources. There was no question of any downward pressure on the officers who made the decision in this case not to deploy resources. In the course of consultations I asked about helicopters and water cannons. I am satisfied they were all considered carefully by the gardaí who made the decisions. As...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: The Deputy asked what political contact there had been and how the Love Ulster rally came into being. There was no contact, of which I am aware, with my Department or politically at any level prior to the arrangements made with the Garda Síochána. The first time I became aware of a proposed march of this kind was when the The Sunday Tribune ran a rather fanciful front page story in which it...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: None that I know of at any level. I have never heard of any Governmental involvement. I think the organisers took it up directly with the Garda. I do not know why they went to Pearse Street Garda station. I had no hand, act or part nor had my Department or any of my colleagues, as far as I know. Saturday, 4 February, was the original date they had in mind. So far as I know, there was no...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: A couple of years ago I heard of a proposal, when Mary Freehill was the Lord Mayor, for a march in Dawson Street and again there was no contact with me.

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: As to the route chosen, as the Deputy will see from the report from the Garda Síochána, the original application of the FAIR group was to assemble in O'Connell Street and march to the Dáil. They were told by the Garda Síochána that it was customary when having a political demonstration in Dublin to use Parnell Square as the assembly point and to move from there to the Dáil. That is the...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: No decision was made to withdraw gardaí from the front line, if that is what is being suggested. Rather, the public order unit was brought in. The decisions made are fully documented in the material I have supplied to the House and I will not dump on the competence of those who made them. They were made in good faith and those concerned have handled many demonstrations in their time. I adopt...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: That is a good question. The Deputy will note from the material supplied that the question of the building materials on the works on O'Connell Street had been the subject of six separate meetings between the Garda and city council officials. The Garda stressed throughout those meetings that the building materials were to be made secure. Given that the materials were made secure behind...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: I do not know the furthest point from which gardaí were summoned; I am not in a position to answer.

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: I will respond to Deputy Cowley's first point by reminding him that the Garda is being expanded by more than 1,000 members per annum. That has been the case for the last year and will continue to be the case for the next two years. The force will reach a total strength, of gardaí in training and fully qualified gardaí, of 14,000 by December this year. All 14,000 members will be fully...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: Perhaps Deputy Higgins will be pleased to note that there is a point of difference on these benches in that regard. I assure Deputy Ó Snodaigh that I am wholly unaware that anyone in Store Street Garda station asked anyone in authority for additional resources. The assistant commissioner for the Dublin area was responsible for deciding what the level of resources would be. I am not aware of...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: I thank Deputies for the support they have expressed for the motion which I hope will be adopted by the House without debate at the end of this discussion. It is right that there is accountability in Parliament for what happens on our streets. It is right that a Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform should be politically accountable to his or her colleagues in Dáil Éireann because...