Results 12,741-12,760 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (25 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person in question arrived in the State on 05 June 2011 and was registered as a student for three years on non degree courses, until 11 August 2014. All non-EEA students resident in the State are subject to the student immigration rules set out under the "new immigration regime for full time...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Applications (25 Sep 2014)

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, who currently has permission to reside in the State until 7 March 2017. Section 15 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, provides...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Applications (25 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that an application for a certificate of naturalisation has been received from the person referred to by the Deputy. The application is being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation, such as good character and lawful residence. A...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Work Permit Applications (25 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person referred to by the Deputy arrived in the State on 02/07/2003 on an employment permit which expired 22/06/2004 and would appear to have remained here without the appropriate permission. The issuing of Employment Permits is a matter for the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. If...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (25 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the position in the State of the person concerned is as set out in my Reply to the Deputy's earlier Question - PQ No. 603 of Wednesday, 17th September, 2014 - copied beneath. I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the subsidiary protection...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (25 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that one of the persons concerned made an application for permission to remain in the State on 5 September, 2014 on the basis of their marriage to the other person concerned, who is an Irish national. That application is currently pending a decision. In the interest of taking a fair approach to all such...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (25 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have been informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned was granted temporary permission to remain in the State on 4 August, 2005 for 2 years under the revised arrangements for the non-EEA parents of children born in Ireland prior to 1 January, 2005, commonly known as the IBC/05 Scheme. This permission was renewed on a regular...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Applications (25 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that a valid application for a certificate of naturalisation has been received from the person referred to by the Deputy. As the Deputy will appreciate, the granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Deportation Orders (25 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned has been in the State without permission since 23rd March, 2013. Consequently, in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned was notified, by letter dated 29th April, 2014, that the then Minister proposed to make a...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Deportation Orders (25 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned is the subject of a Deportation Order made on 11th March, 2005. The person concerned has been evading deportation since 19th May, 2005 and, as such, is liable to arrest and detention for the purposes of having the Deportation Order enforced. The person concerned should,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Deportation Orders (25 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I wish to inform the Deputy that the person referred to has no entitlement to residency. The person concerned is the subject of a Deportation Order made on 12th November 2008. The person concerned has been evading deportation since 2nd December 2008 and, as such, is liable to arrest and detention. The person concerned should, therefore, 'present' to the Garda National Immigration Bureau...

Other Questions: Prison Accommodation Provision (24 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: The bed capacity within the Irish Prison Service estate is 4,120. The Inspector of Prisons has recommended that the bed capacity be 3,976. The occupancy levels generally are between 92% and 95%. It is intended to align the capacity of our prisons with the guidelines laid down by the inspector of prisons. There have to be enough prison spaces to be compatible with public safety and the...

Other Questions: Prison Accommodation Provision (24 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am involved in budgetary discussions in regard to Limerick Prison. In the initial phase several million euro would need to be allocated to further the project. I will keep the Deputy informed about that. It is important to make progress on improving and developing the facilities and further capital investment would be needed to do that. I hope we will be in a position to do so in the...

Other Questions: Penalty Points System (24 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: We have discussed this already but it is important to wait until we have the results of the inquiries before we draw any conclusions. The starting point is that the new policy is in place. It has been designed in keeping with the inspectorate’s recommendations, which were intended to restore confidence in the system, and it includes important safeguards to that end. There is an...

Other Questions: Penalty Points System (24 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have made a commitment to transparency in the handling of this issue. The acting Garda Commissioner has said the same. We want the public to have confidence in the system and to ensure that the law is applied equally to all citizens and that, if decisions are being taken to cancel penalty points, there are clear reasons outlined for that, that there is a fair and open system in place...

Other Questions: Direct Provision System (24 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: Different countries in Europe take a variety of approaches to asylum seekers arriving on their shores and accommodation varies considerably, as the Deputy knows. In some countries, there are detention centres and in other countries, people are allowed to look after themselves without having any financial support, which is very difficult. That is the case in a number of countries. In...

Other Questions: Direct Provision System (24 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I agree with the Deputy that on a personal level, we want to give people as much opportunity as possible while living in direct provision so they can avail of whatever services they can. That is why it is important that children, in particular, are able to go to primary or secondary school. The length of time is the real issue, and it makes things difficult for so many people. If we can...

Other Questions: Prison Accommodation Provision (24 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can advise the Deputy that on 22 September 2014, the bed capacity of the Irish Prison Service was 4,120, with the number of people in custody at 3,797, representing 92% of capacity. There are 601 people on temporary release but on the same date in 2011, there were 718 prisoners on temporary release, with 4,319 in custody. There has been a 16.3% reduction from that date to the present date...

Other Questions: Prison Discipline (24 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I agree that there is a need for a debate. Perhaps we could start it here by discussing the recently published report on the penal policy review, which took over two years to produce and which I put into the public arena last week. There are 43 recommendations in the review document and I would like further discussion on them. My position is that serious and serial offenders should be in...

Other Questions: Prisoner Rehabilitation Programmes (24 Sep 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I know the Deputy has an interest in this area and he has been tracking it in a variety of ways through parliamentary questions in recent times. He is familiar with the fact that there is a wide range of rehabilitative programmes, including educational and vocational training programmes, available in prisons. The records I have currently do not allow us to differentiate between first-time...