Justice Minister, Dermot Ahern T.D., has obviously thrown in the towel.  Instead of ensuring the safety and protection of those who live in the State he has decided to financially penalise people lawfully going about their business and hand the State over to the crime bosses, stated Fine Gael Justice Spokesman, Alan Shatter T.D.

 “Minister Ahern should state whether last night’s startling and grossly insensitive response to yesterday’s events forms part of a broader Fianna Fail policy agenda, pioneered by his party’s previous leader and former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern TD who favoured cash being stored under the mattress of his bed.   

 “The Minister’s bizarre comments on the shocking kidnapping of a bank manager and his wife starkly illustrates that he has lost the plot.  He should immediately withdraw his outrageous proposal to impose a bank charge on everyone who withdraws their own hard earned cash from their own bank account.  Instead of preventing kidnappings and bank robberies, the Minister outrageously wants to impose a kidnappers tax.

 “Should the Minister persist with this bizarre policy initiative, are we to expect the following new initiatives from him in the coming weeks:

 •                A tax to be paid by every household resident when entering their home as a response  to house burglaries;

•                A tax to be paid by pedestrians each time they enter a new street in response to street muggings;

•                A tax to be paid by drivers at the commencement of every car journey as a response to car theft;

•                A tax to be paid by every customer entering a pub as a response to the risk of assault by a drunk;

•                A tax to be paid on merely entering a bank as a response to bank fraud and the catastrophic banking failures.

 “I am calling on the Minister to clarify whether he proposes to take any of the above initiatives in tackling crime!”

 “The Green Party and, in particular, loquacious and ever tweeting Senator Dan Boyle, should also clarify whether it is Green Party policy to encourage the banks to impose a charge every time a bank customer effects an ATM withdrawal and whether this forms part of the Green Party agenda of political and banking sector reform.  He should also clarify whether the Minister’s initiative forms part of the Green Party environmental policy agenda to tackle the problem of dirty money!”

 Ends

Reports that yet another bank official and his family have been subjected to the appalling trauma of assault and kidnapping makes it clear that the Minister for Justice is failing in his basic political responsibility of protecting the citizens of the State, stated Fine Gael Justice Spokesman, Alan Shatter T.D. Continue reading »

Justice Committee must be allowed to approve lay appointees to Judicial Council

 The delay by Government in bringing before the Dáil the long-promised Judicial Council Bill is inexcusable, Fine Gael Spokesman for Justice, Alan Shatter T.D. said today (Monday).

Deputy Shatter went on to say that over a decade has passed since the need for such legislation was first acknowledged and over eight years have elapsed since the Government had to withdraw the defective legislation it published in 2001. Continue reading »

193 gun murders between 1998 and 21^st March 2010 resulting in only 23 convictions up to that date

Fine Gael Spokesman for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Alan Shatter T.D., has stated today (Monday) that the Minister for Justice is utterly failing in his most basic duty of ensuring that ordinary people feel safe on Dublin’s streets.

“This Government has utterly failed to bring to justice the majority of those responsible for gangland shootings. This morning’s events in Fairview have significantly contributed to widespread public concern that some parts of Dublin are now subject to gun law and not the rule of law. Dublin is becoming more like 1920’s prohibition era Chicago rather than a capital city where people can feel safe and secure. Continue reading »

Speaking after a man was shot dead in broad daylight in Dublin today (Tuesday) in what is believed to be another gangland murder, Fine Gael Justice Spokesman Alan Shatter said Justice Minister Dermot Ahern has failed utterly to gain control of Ireland’s gangland. Continue reading »

Calls for Headshops to be closed down and for end to murderous drug gangs

Deputy Alan Shatter:    “I will share time with Deputies Catherine Byrne and James Reilly.

I would like to start by thanking the Minister for his good wishes on taking up the position as Fine Gael Justice Spokesperson. I hope we will be able to co-operate. I hope that co-operation would extend to the Minister taking on board constructive amendments proposed by this side of the House to Bills produced by him and being willing to give support to Private Members’ Bills that we produce in the public interest to address issues that the Government either has not had the time to address or, indeed, has failed to address regardless of time but which are urgent.

I would like to start off by saying that the principle of this Bill has the full support of the Fine Gael Party. We believe that there is an absolute public duty and a necessity to bring an end to the scourge of head shops and young people being lured into using psychoactive substances, some of which have had catastrophic effects for those who have taken them. Our critique of the Government is the length of time it has taken to produce this Bill. Continue reading »

Expresses concern at Government’s proposal to dissolve St. Luke’s Board and for the management to be transferred to the HSE:-

Deputy Alan Shatter:   ” I am greatly obliged to the Ceann Comhairle for this opportunity to contribute and I thank my colleague, Deputy Creed, for sharing his time with me.

I was anxious to briefly speak on this legislation because of the many people in my constituency of Dublin South, across Dublin and from outside Dublin who have used the facilities in St. Luke’s, who admire the medical care available there, who regard it as a centre of excellence in the area of radiotherapy, who greatly fear for the future in the context of the Government’s intention to transfer the facilities and services provided by it to St. James’s Hospital and who have fears, in the context of the future management of that hospital, not only about how matters will develop but also about its accessibility and the nature of relationships with patients. Continue reading »

An edited version of the following article by Alan Shatter TD was published in the Irish Independent on Wednesday 9th June 2010

Let’s agree on the following propositions. The people of Gaza are entitled to a proper standard of living and everything possible should be done to facilitate reconstruction of homes, commercial and industrial property, schools and other infrastructure destroyed or damaged in the conflict between Israel and Hamas 16 months ago. Also, action is required to facilitate creation of sustainable employment for adults and provide real hope for the future of Gaza’s children. People living in Gaza are entitled to the same human rights and freedoms as us and should not be forced to live in fear of a fundamentalist repressive regime. The people of Gaza should not be perpetually dependant for their basic needs on provisions from UNRWA and NGO’s. No further conflict should take place involving Israel and Gaza which results in injury or death of any resident of Gaza.

Let’s also agree on the following propositions. Continue reading »

An industrial dispute in the East Coast area has been ongoing since 2002 and has resulted in ongoing non-compliance with the Child Care protection guidelines.

 Fine Gael Spokesperson on Children, Alan Shatter TD, has called on the Minister for Children, Barry Andrews TD and the HSE to state how many of the 188 children who have now been acknowledged by the HSE to have died either while in care or about whom there were concerns resided in this area and were affected by this dispute. Continue reading »

Fine Gael Children Spokesperson, Alan Shatter TD today (Friday) said:
“The information published this evening by the HSE yet again starkly illustrates the extent to which our child care and protection services have tragically failed children. It is not acceptable that 151 children about whom social services had a child protection concern died without any record being properly maintained with regard to their deaths and that it has required a sustained campaign by Fine Gael to obtain this information. It is a scandal that 84 of these children suffered ‘unnatural deaths’, the details of which were never properly investigated by the HSE or the former Health Boards and in respect of whom no reports were published. Continue reading »