Results 14,941-14,960 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2011: Second Stage (26 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: I am happy to be back in the Seanad for a second time today to present this Bill to the House. As I am sure Senators know, the purpose of the Bill is to encourage the greater use of community service as an alternative sanction to imprisonment. The Bill reflects the commitment set out in the national recovery plan to extend the use of community service orders by introducing a requirement on...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2011: Second Stage (26 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: It will get worse in the autumn.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2011: Second Stage. (26 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: I will start by thanking Senators for their contributions and support for this measure, which is a very important one. I appreciate the support from all sides of the House. I do not want to be unduly contentious but I want to say to Senator Byrne that I wish my predecessor had done all the work on this Bill. In fairness to him he started some work on it but a substantial amount of work had...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2011: Second Stage. (26 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: I seem to have set up residence here. I apologise for being a few moments late. We had a very lengthy final Cabinet meeting earlier today.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2011: Second Stage. (26 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: It was our final meeting before the summer recess. I hope it will not be our final meeting altogether. I am pleased to present the Criminal Justice Bill 2011 to the House. I am grateful that the Seanad is sitting this week in order to facilitate the taking of this particularly important measure. It is urgent that the Bill be enacted. The programme for Government is unambiguous in its...

Written Answers — European Conventions: European Conventions (21 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: Cosc, the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, an executive office within my Department, actively contributed to all stages of the drafting process in relation to the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. Cosc is currently considering the steps which need to be taken to pave the way...

Written Answers — Coroner Service: Coroner Service (21 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: I can inform the Deputy that the Dublin City Coroner's Office does not record referrals on a district or area basis and that the collation of such information would require a disproportionate use of available resources. I can however advise the Deputy that the number of deaths reported to the City Coroner for each of the years 2006 to 2010 was as follows: 2006 - 2,417; 2007 - 2,646; 2008 -...

Written Answers — Course Accreditation: Course Accreditation (21 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: I can inform the Deputy that my Department has been in contact with the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland with regard to the application by the college referred to by the Deputy, a private US establishment, to be included on the Internationalisation Register (a list of approved courses for non-EEA students). I understand from those discussions that the college is not eligible for...

Written Answers — Deportation Orders: Deportation Orders (21 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: I refer the Deputy to my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 376 of Tuesday 17 May, 2011 in relation to this person. The situation remains unchanged since that response. I should remind the Deputy that queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this...

Written Answers — Criminal Prosecutions: Criminal Prosecutions (21 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: I understand the Deputy's question to refer to the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 which entered into force on 23 July 2009. The primary purpose of this Act is to provide for additional measures with respect to the combating of organised crime. I am informed by the Garda authorities that since the enactment of the legislation until 30 June this year, the provisions have been used on 127...

Written Answers — Sexual Offences: Sexual Offences (21 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: I can advise the Deputy that issues in relation to the management of sex offenders in the community were considered in detail in two documents published by my Department. Both documents - The Management of Sex Offenders (January, 2009) and Summary of views received on the Management of Sex Offenders (October, 2010) - are available on the Department's website at www.justice.ie.

Written Answers — Gender Discrimination: Gender Discrimination (21 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: I should make the point at the outset that the Report is necessarily brief, as we were limited to a maximum of 10,700 words, or approximately 20 pages. The wide range of issues arising therefore are perforce covered in a concise style. The prohibition in our laws against discrimination on a range of grounds – including on gender, civil status and family status grounds – is referenced in...

Written Answers — National Lottery Funding: National Lottery Funding (21 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: I can inform the Deputy that my Department did not receive any funding from the National Lottery during the years in question.

Written Answers — Small Claims Procedures: Small Claims Procedures (21 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: I would draw the Deputy's attention to my responses on 29 June last to his Questions (No. 175 and No. 176) on this matter. The small claims procedure of the District Court is an alternative method of dealing with a civil proceeding in respect of a small claim. The majority of claims are dealt with by administrative staff in the local District Court offices. Typical claims are: - a claim in...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (21 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: My Department is finalising a report on the "Cash for Gold" trade and as soon as the report is submitted to me I will make an assessment as to what, if any, further action, legislative or otherwise, may be required. The Deputy can be assured that following this assessment I will make the report's findings and any proposals which I may have known in due course. I can inform the Deputy that my...

Written Answers — Court Sittings: Court Sittings (21 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: The management and administration of the courts, as the Deputy will be aware, is a matter for the Courts Service. The allocation of the business of the courts, scheduling of court cases and the management of court lists are matters for the judiciary and the Presidents of the courts. The sittings and vacations of the courts are currently provided for in Rules of Court. The Presidents of the...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (21 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: In its report to the Minister for Social Protection, published last week, the Gender Recognition Advisory Group concluded that the existing equality legislation and investigative machinery are adequate to discourage and prevent discrimination against persons who are making the transition from one gender to the other – both during and after the transition phase. As already announced, my...

Written Answers — Travel Documentation: Travel Documentation (21 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: I am informed by the Irish Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INIS) that the person concerned applied for a temporary travel document on three occasions, twice in September 2009 and once in March 2010 and was refused on each occasion. He was advised to contact his own consular authorities to renew his passport or obtain an equivalent document. There is no current application from the...

Written Answers — Courts Service: Courts Service (21 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy will appreciate that a Referendum will be necessary to establish a Court of Appeal. And while it is not one of the three Referendums proposed to be held later this year it is my intention to finalise examination of the detail and to progress the matter at the earliest suitable opportunity.

Written Answers — Courts Service: Courts Service (21 Jul 2011)

Alan Shatter: My Department has commenced consideration of the measures necessary to establish a Commercial Court at Circuit Court level in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government. This is a complex issue and detailed consideration will be necessary. It is, however, my intention to progress the matter as soon as possible.