Thursday 08 May 2014 16.31 Frances Fitzgerald has received the ministerial seal of office after being chosen to replace Alan Shatter as Minister for Justice.
Nominating her in the Dáil this morning, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said Ms Fitzgerald had transformed the constitutional, legislative and administrative systems in her previous area of children's affairs.
Ms Fitzgerald was appointed Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in 2011. She was the first person to take up the post.
Fine Gael's Charlie Flanagan has succeeded Ms Fitzgerald in the position. The Dáil voted in favour of his appointment by 80 votes to 35.
The Department of Defence has been assigned to the Taoiseach's department on a temporary basis.
Ms Fitzgerald and Mr Flanagan received their ministerial seals of office at Áras an Uachtaráin this afternoon.
They were presented by the Presidential Commission as President Michael D Higgins is on an official visit to the US.
Mr Kenny thanked the former justice minister for his work and said he had implemented huge reform during his time in office, from the creation of the personal insolvency system to the referendum on the Court of Appeal.
He said Mr Shatter's work on private members' legislation would also leave a great legacy on the statute books.
Mr Kenny told the Dáil that restoring "confidence to the Irish justice now becomes the number one priority for the new minister".
"As a Government we want transparency and accountability at the heart of our public service.
"It goes to the heart of what we all seek to achieve here in this house in representing the Irish people on a daily basis."
Mr Kenny reiterated the Government's commitment to establishing a garda authority to work alongside the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and the Garda Inspectorate in providing oversight for the force.
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said there is no doubt that Mr Shatter was right to resign.
Speaking in Galway, Mr Gilmore said people would see the serious issues that the Guerin Report raised when it is published tomorrow.
He also said he is happy with the decision that had been taken regarding the appointment of the new Minister for Justice.
Mr Gilmore denied that the Labour Party was out-of-the-loop in the hours before Mr Shatter's resignation was announced yesterday afternoon.
The Tánaiste also contrasted the Government's handling of the allegations regarding practices in An Garda Síochána with that of previous administrations.
He said all issues were being dealt with in a timely fashion. Mr Gilmore said the Government was working quickly to reform the policing system and work in this regard was continuing.
Fitzgerald has difficult job - Varadkar
Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar has said Ms Fitzgerald has a difficult job ahead.
Mr Varadkar said the priority should be to establish an independent garda authority to make sure whistleblowers are properly protected and to reform the legal system.
Fianna Fáil leader Mícheál Martin said it was absurd that the Dáil was discussing the replacement of the justice minister without knowing anything about the specific information due to which he resigned.
Mr Martin said politicians had been denied the opportunity to see the Guerin Report before Mr Shatter's successor was appointed.
He said they had also been denied the most basic information about how the Taoiseach with Mr Shatter had effectively pushed a garda commissioner into resignation.
Read Alan Shatter's letter of resignation
Timeline: Shatter Resignation
Profile: Frances Fitzgerald
Independent TD Mick Wallace said he took no pleasure in Mr Shatter's fall from grace and respected his ability and intelligence as well as his pro-choice stance and stance on same-sex marriage.
Mr Wallace welcomed Ms Fitzgerald's appointment but said she faced a very difficult job and there are incredible problems in the police force.
Independent TD Clare Daly told the Dáil that she did not believe Mr Shatter had just resigned over the Guerin Report, but believed his resignation related to a long litany of mishandling of serious issues.
She said a root and branch review of An Garda Síochána was needed for the first time in the history of the State to develop a modern police service.
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said citizens deserve a 21st Century policing service and gardaí should be accountable to an independent garda authority.
He said Mr Shatter resigned in the interest of Fine Gael and the Labour party, and "that is not good enough".
Mr Adams also said his party would not support the appointment of Mr Flanagan.
Elsewhere, the National Women's Council has welcomed the appointment of Ms Fitzgerald as the new justice minister, saying it put women right at the heart of the Cabinet.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, NWC director Orla O'Connor described the appointment as "significant".
She said Ms Fitzgerald, who spent four years as chairwoman of the NWC, had always pushed the equality agenda for women, and described her as a "fighter".
Ms O'Connor said that in her previous portfolio as Minister for Children, Ms Fitzgerald put children's rights to the forefront and spearheaded a referendum on the issue.
"I think that the human rights agenda is going to be very important in terms of her equality brief," she said.
Guerin Report critical of number of agencies
Mr Kenny and Mr Gilmore met last night to discuss the vacancy left by Mr Shatter's resignation and the statutory inquiry recommended by Senior Counsel Seán Guerin in his report into the handling of complaints by garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe.
The Guerin Report is critical of a number of agencies, including the Department of Justice.
Sources close to Sgt McCabe said last night that he had not seen the report and will study it thoroughly before making a detailed response.
Minister of State with Responsibility for Mental Health Kathleen Lynch said Mr Shatter "clearly handled some issues badly".
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said she was surprised by this and it may have been because of how busy Mr Shatter was in office and also because he was "a stickler for detail".
Fianna Fáil justice spokesman Niall Collins said the Government now needed to move on and restore faith in policing.
Speaking on the same programme, he said: "We need to have a timescale in relation to an independent policing authority; a timescale for the ramping up of powers of GSOC, the oversight agency.
"We also need to have a timescale for the appointment of a new garda commissioner; we need the commission of investigation, which has been promised and adequate terms of reference in relation to that."
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Fitzgerald replaces Shatter as justice minister
Dengan url
http://newsdeadlineup.blogspot.com/2014/05/fitzgerald-replaces-shatter-as-justice.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Fitzgerald replaces Shatter as justice minister
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Fitzgerald replaces Shatter as justice minister
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar