Results 161-180 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Written Answers — Garda Vetting of Personnel: Garda Vetting of Personnel (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: The Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) provides employment vetting for a large number of organisations in Ireland registered with the Gardaí for this purpose and which employ persons in a full-time, part-time, voluntary or training capacity to positions where they would have substantial, unsupervised access to children and/or vulnerable adults. The GCVU has managed a substantial increase over...

Written Answers — Irish Prison Service: Irish Prison Service (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: I have no immediate plans to introduce legislation to place the Irish Prison Service or the Prisons Authority Interim Board on a statutory basis.

Written Answers — Prisoner Education Service: Prisoner Education Service (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: The CONNECT project was piloted with EU Integra Funding in the years prior to 2000 and was announced as part of the 2000 to 2006 National Development Plan. It consisted of three strands: Work Training (including Specials Projects), Sentence Management and Capital Projects. Expenditure under the programme consisted, in the main, of staff salaries and materials for the work training area....

Written Answers — Irish Prison Service: Irish Prison Service (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: As the Deputy is aware political responsibility for the Prison System in Ireland is vested in me as the Minister for Justice and Law Reform. The Irish Prison Service operates as an executive agency within my Department. Day to day responsibility is delegated to the Director General of the Irish Prison Service under the Public Service Management Act 1997 and all Governors report directly to...

Written Answers — Irish Prison Service: Irish Prison Service (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: I can advise the Deputy that I visited Mountjoy Prison on 14 June 2010. During this visit I toured the facility to see a first hand the range of services and facilities available to the prisoners. I also met with the prison management, representatives of the prison staff and prisoners.

Written Answers — Prison Building Programme: Prison Building Programme (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: I can inform the Deputy that the development of the new prison campus at Thornton Hall, Kilsallaghan, County Dublin is now proceeding on a phased basis. Phase one, which is currently in progress, comprises essential preliminary works to facilitate the prison development including the construction of a dedicated access road, the installation of off-site services and the construction of the...

Written Answers — Prison Education Service: Prison Education Service (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: I can advise the Deputy that over 70% of prisoners are unemployed on committal and a similar percentage of these prisoners self-report as not having any particular trade or sectoral occupation. Employment is a vital factor in reducing recidivism - international research has shown that employment on release can reduce the risk of re-offending by between a third and a half. Improved vocational...

Written Answers — Irish Prison Service: Irish Prison Service (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the table below. Figures are taken from the Annual Reports for the Irish Prison Service. Figures for 2010 are being finalised and will be published in the Annual Report 2010. Year Daily average number ofpersons in custody 2009 3881 2008 3544 2007 3321 2006 3191 2005 3151 2004 3199 2003 3176 2002 3165 2001 3112 2000 2919 1999...

Written Answers — Prisoner Work Schemes: Prisoner Work Schemes (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: I can advise the Deputy that the information required is not readily available and will be forwarded to him as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Probation and Welfare Service: Probation and Welfare Service (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: In recent years, in addition to the direct work of probation officers in regard to accommodation issues, a weekly clinic service has been provided in ten prisons by the Health Service Executive (HSE) Community Welfare Service through the Homeless Person's Unit (HPU). Referrals to this service generally are at the pre-release stage and emergency and other accommodation options, supplementary...

Written Answers — Prison Education Service: Prison Education Service (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: The Irish Prison Service places a strong emphasis on access to educational services and on the provision of work and training activities for prisoners. Educational services are available in Mountjoy and all other prisons and are provided in partnership with a range of educational agencies in the community, notably the VECs. Provision of literacy, numeracy and general basic education is a...

Written Answers — Garda Operations: Garda Operations (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: I am advised by the Garda authorities that Operation Marshall was a policing operation undertaken by the Garda National Drugs Unit with support from local drug units during the period June to December 2010. The operation targeted drug dealing in the following three Garda Divisions within the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) - Dublin North-Central, Dublin South-Central and Dublin West. I am...

Written Answers — Visa Applications: Visa Applications (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: Ireland is not a party to the Schengen Convention and does not, therefore, issue Schengen visas. My Department continually keeps under review visa arrangements with visa-required countries including China. In this regard, the Deputy may wish to know that the Approved Destination Status initiative put in place in April 2010 with the Chinese authorities, whereby the National Tourism...

Written Answers — Legal Costs: Legal Costs (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 607 and 608 together. As indicated in response to Question No. 148 of 15 December 2010, the details of proposals for legislation in relation to legal costs continue to be developed by my Department in line with commitments in the Government Legislation Programme, the National Recovery Plan 2011-2014 and the Programme for Financial Support for Ireland. I expect...

Written Answers — Court Staff: Court Staff (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 609 and 610 together. The salary paid to each Taxing Master of the High Court during 2010 was €138,655 p.a. The costs associated with the operation of the Office of the Taxing Master are paid out of the Courts Service Vote. As the Deputy is aware, one of the two Taxing Masters retired on 23rd December 2010. As part of the overall strategy to tackle legal...

Written Answers — Garda Investigations: Garda Investigations (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: The Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 provides that, if the specified Minister considers that the publication of a report from a commission might prejudice any criminal proceedings that are pending or in progress, the Minister must apply to the High Court for directions concerning the publication of the report. If, after hearing the application, the High Court considers that the...

Written Answers — Garda Training: Garda Training (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: I am informed by the Garda authorities that there are two Civilian Forensic Accountants employed full time by the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation (GBFI) which replaced the Garda Fraud Squad in 1996. No accountants are employed on secondment in GBFI from any accountancy firms. While it is not the practice to release personal details of individuals, I am informed that both accountants are...

Written Answers — Legal Profession: Legal Profession (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Question Nos. 613 to 615, inclusive, together. I refer the Deputy to the 2009 Annual Report of the Competition Authority which makes clear that the Law Society has either completed or progressed all of the recommendations addressed to it. The same Annual Report notes that while the Bar Council has implemented many of the recommendations addressed to it, the recommendations...

Written Answers — Legal Services: Legal Services (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 616 to 618, inclusive, together. I can inform the Deputy that, for the most part, the legal services sought by my Department are coordinated and paid for by the Office of the Attorney General and Office of the Chief State Solicitor. These services are typically sought in the context of the preparation of legislation, legal advice in respect of policy issues...

Written Answers — Asylum Applications: Asylum Applications (12 Jan 2011)

Dermot Ahern: The first named person concerned applied for asylum on 27th March, 2007. Following investigation by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, it was established that she had previously made an asylum application in Belgium and, as such, a determination was made, in accordance with the provisions of the Dublin II Regulations, that she should be transferred to Belgium for the...