Tag Archives: Frances Fitzgerald

THE provision of a state inquiry report into a garda investigation about the death of Sixmilebridge 23-year-old banqueting manager 37 years ago to his family on a confidential basis has been criticised as a “worrying u-turn” by a local Dáil deputy. Former Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald appointed retired District Court judge Patrick Clyne to lead an inquiry under Section 42 into the Garda investigation and disciplinary inquiries that took place following the death of Patrick Nugent (23) Feenagh, Sixmilebridge at the end of a 40th wedding anniversary party in the early hours of February 11, 1984. The death of Mr Nugent, Feenagh, Sixmilebridge, was one of the 320 cases examined by the Independent Review Mechanism set up by Minister Fitzgerald, following a complaint made by the family relating to alleged Garda misconduct in June 2014. Deputy Michael McNamara has expressed his dissatisfaction the Judge Clyne report will be only provided by the Department of Justice to the Nugent family …

The Tánaiste and Minister for Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, Frances Fitzgerald, along with Minister for Education & Skills, Richard Bruton, have today (Monday) hosted a joint stakeholder dialogue on “Enterprise Skills Needs and Brexit” in the Aviva in Dublin. This event is part of the Government’s ongoing dialogue with stakeholders in relation to the impacts of the UK’s decision to leave the EU. It provides an opportunity to hear the voices of those affected by Brexit, both directly and through representative groups. The event is of considerable interest to Mid-West businesses and industries that are heavily dependent on links with the UK. Noting that action to improve the skills base represents one of the most practical and effective domestic responses to Brexit, the Tánaiste said “Government is well prepared for the negotiations around the UK exit from the EU but we need to be ready on all fronts to deal with the implications of Brexit and the skills area is …

The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald,has published the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016, following approval by the Government. The Bill will transpose into Irish law Directive 2012/29/EU establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime fulfilling a commitment in the Programme for Government to publish legislation to implement the EU Victims of Crime Directive. The Tánaiste said “This Bill will introduce, for the first time, statutory rights for victims of crime. It is time that the rights of victims are given full recognition in the criminal justice system”. Under the proposed Bill, a victim of a crime will have rights including; · The right to receive comprehensive information on the criminal justice system and their role within it and the range of services and entitlements victims may access from their first contact with the Garda Síochána. · The right to receive a written acknowledgement of the making of the …

CLARE Independent TD Dr Michael Harty has raised, under a Dáil question, the issue of accessing a national sex offenders’ register. Dr Harty asked Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald “the reason there is not a national sex offenders register available for inspection; and if she will make a statement on the matter.” The minister outlined that gardaí may disclose to the public information regarding a convicted sex offender “where it is considered that such person poses a risk”. In her full statement, Minister Fitzgerald said, “I can advise the deputy that the relevant legislation in this regard is contained in Part 2 of the Sex Offenders Act 2001, which makes persons convicted of a range of sexual offences subject to notification requirements. All offenders who are subject to the notification requirements are monitored by the Sex Offender Management and Intelligence Unit (SOMIU) at the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The unit is supported by Garda Inspectors …

Clare men and women have been encouraged by local Fine Gael TD Pat Breen to apply for one of 600 new positions available with An Garda Síochána. The recruitment campaign is now underway and applications are being accepted until January 5. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald formally announced on Friday the opening of a recruitment campaign for new members of An Garda Síochána next year. The 600 new gardaí, to be recruited next year, will bring to 1,150 the total number of new recruits since the reopening of Templemore in September 2014. “So far 295 new recruits have completed their training and are now are on the ground in communities nationwide as fully fledged members of An Garda Síochána. It is expected that successful candidates from the latest recruitment campaign will enter the Garda College from mid-2016. “Serving as a member of An Garda Síochána is a great privilege, but the position comes with great responsibility. I know …

A new Bill, which provides for reform of our laws, including stronger sanctions, aimed at protecting children from sexual exploitation; child abuse material and online grooming, has been introduced by Minister for Justice and Equality Frances Fitzgerald. The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015, which has been approved by Government, provides for a more effective response to sexual offending within our criminal justice system and responds to new and emerging threats such as predatory activity which target children via the internet and social media.” Minister Fitzgerald noted the Bill will bring Irish law into line with a number of international instruments, including an EU Directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child abuse material (child pornography). “It is a further step toward the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse,” she said. Continuing, Minister Fitzgerald said, “The Bill will also implement the recommendations of two …

IFA President Eddie Downey has welcomed Justice Minister Francis Fitzgerald’s commitment to look more closely at the proposal to provide greater certainty to the legal status of prenuptial agreements. The uncertainty surrounding the legal recognition of prenuptial agreements, in the event of marriage breakdown, is a real issue which is impacting negatively on the timely lifetime transfer of the family farm, according to Mr Downey.. He said, “IFA is supportive of measures that can remove barriers to family farm transfer, and I emphasised to the minister that allaying the fears of parents would be an important supporting mechanism to facilitate the orderly transfer of the family farm. This is in line with other key policy measures required to address issues such as income security. This includes include IFA’s priority taxation proposal for this year’s budget, which would provide an incentive, through the taxation system for parents and children to farm in partnership together, prior to the lifetime transfer of the …

The planned introduction of legislation to allow for longer sentences for prolific burglars by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald will deter repeat offender, according to Senator Martin Conway. “I am delighted that Minister Fitzgerald is due to introduce a suite of measures to tackle the distressing issue of burglaries, said the Fine Gael Seanad spokesperson on Justice, Disability and Equality “At the Fine Gael conference in Castlebar, the minister confirmed that she was planning to introduce new measures to deal with the issue including a new Burglary Response Unit. “While Operation Fiacla, which is a dedicated operation to reduce burglaries, has seen criminal charges brought forward in more than 4,000 cases, a new approach is required to deal with repeat offenders. “I will be urging the minister to expedite the publication of this legislation to respond to the level of break-ins carried out by repeat offenders,” the Clare senator said.