Results 15,961-15,980 of 18,761 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Written Answers — Garda Deployment: Garda Deployment (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: I have been informed by the Garda authorities, who are responsible for the detailed allocation of resources, including personnel, that Dunlavin Garda station forms part of the Baltinglass area. The personnel strength of Dunlavin Garda station as at today, 12 April 2005, is one garda. The personnel strength of the Baltinglass district as today is 54, all ranks. I am further informed that...

Written Answers — Garda Deployment: Garda Deployment (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: I have been informed by the Garda authorities, who are responsible for the detailed allocation of resources, including personnel, that the personnel strength of Carnew Garda station as at today, 12 April, 2005 is one garda. In addition, I am informed that local Garda management has allocated an additional garda to Carnew Garda station on a temporary basis since 3 January, 2005. Policing at...

Death of His Holiness Pope John Paul II: Motion. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: On behalf of the Progressive Democrats, I wish to join with the Taoiseach in his tribute to Pope John Paul II. I want to reflect for one moment on the breadth of his vision and his personal experience. As a young man, his mother died and he was left in the guardianship of his father and was dedicated to Our Lady in a particular personal way. He became a loyal son of the church in Poland at a...

Security Industry. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: I propose to take Questions Nos. 62 and 63 together. I am informed by the Garda authorities that the robberies referred to by the Deputies are the subject of ongoing investigations. I understand the Garda authorities have set up an incident room at Santry Garda station to investigate the two robberies of security vans in Dublin during the month of March and an extensive investigation is under...

Security Industry. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: I will deal first with the Deputy's final point regarding escorts. The Garda provides a considerable number of non-military escorts in any given week. More than 600 movements of cash are escorted by gardaí so it is not the case that one must see a jeep and Garda cars travelling beside a vehicle to conclude that an escort is in operation. Many cash transits are escorted with little public...

Security Industry. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: I will conclude to allow the Deputy to speak. I wanted to get across the message that the industry has had a forum in place for some time and that, from what I gather——

Security Industry. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: I am not only moving now. As I told the Deputy, but he did not listen, a forum was convened by the Garda in 2004. I told him exactly what happened, including the failures. He knows full well what happened last month when I called in representatives of the industry. It is not a matter of me only acting now. Operation Delivery has been in operation and has had success since June 2004.

Security Industry. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: As the Deputy is aware, last year I asked him and Deputy Jim O'Keeffe to assist me in pushing the private security services legislation through the Houses to ensure it would take effect. The Private Security Authority is independent and decides its own rate of progress. As the Deputy is aware, it does not take direction from me on this matter. It is not true that I ever suggested I would...

Security Industry. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: The Deputy asked whether I am in a position to identify the culprits in a robbery, as I had been with regard to another robbery. While I am not in a position at this stage to reveal to the House the state of Garda investigations, they are well advanced on one of the robberies and good progress is being made on the more recent robbery. It would be wrong of me to satisfy the Deputy's desire for...

Security Industry. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: There are a number of them.

Garda Investigations. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: I thank Deputy Gregory for tabling this question. Deputies will be aware of the main facts of this distressing case. Sylvia Shiels and Mary Callinan were brutally murdered on the night of 6-7 March 1997. In July of that year the late Mr. Dean Lyons made an apparently full confession to investigating Garda officers of his alleged guilt in the double murder. Following consultation between the...

Garda Investigations. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: To clarify matters for the Deputy, I will ask the counsel to go through the considerable volume of documentation which was furnished to my office, together with a report, by the Commissioner last Thursday. I have no doubt that this is a grave issue. I agree with the Deputy that the serious issue in question is whether the alleged inculpatory statement made without any form of recording...

Garda Investigations. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: I do not wish to speculate about what I will be advised by the independent counsel regarding this matter. However, I accept it is a serious issue. I presume the Deputy would not ask the question if it were not a serious issue. I will report back to the House when I have the material available to me.

Prisons Building Programme. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: I am satisfied that the purchase of the 150-acre site at Thornton Hall in County Dublin will prove to be excellent value for money for the taxpayer and I have no intention of reconsidering the purchase. To put it in perspective, a survey carried out on behalf of the Office of Public Works in 2001 estimated the cost of refurbishing the 20-acre Mountjoy site at €336 million. At today's...

Prisons Building Programme. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: The process was not rushed and took a considerable length of time.

Prisons Building Programme. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: The Deputy is well aware that a great number of locations in Dublin and adjoining counties were considered so the decision was not rushed. The Office of Public Works and the expert auctioneers and valuers who were advising it did not make a mistake of the kind the Deputy is suggesting and did not buy a pig in a poke. When the institution is built the Deputy will be the first to recognise that...

Prisons Building Programme. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: If the Deputy was referring to features in the locality, he may well be right but I venture to suggest that the Office of Public Works was careful to have the land it was purchasing inspected and no such features were apparent to it.

Deportation Orders. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: In my statement to the Dáil during the Adjournment Debate on Tuesday, 22 March 2005, I dealt with the deportation of the person concerned. In my statement during the Adjournment Debate in Seanad Éireann on Thursday, 24 March 2005, I dealt with the basis of my decision to allow the person to return. The proposal put to me to deport this person was made in the belief of the proposing...

Deportation Orders. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: If I had sufficient time, I would have said that the files are brought to my office for consideration, with a summary attached to each file. The volume of such files can be understood from the fact that since January 2001, 10,200 deportation orders have been signed by me or my predecessor. In 2004, the number of individual cases varied from ten to 20 on each working day, which is the result...

Deportation Orders. (12 Apr 2005)

Michael McDowell: Deputy Costello made this suggestion but if I were to follow his misconceived advice, 50% of the people involved would be able to avoid deportation according to the figures that are available to me.