Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Cuirim fáilte romhaibh go léir. Apologies have been received from Senator Lynn Ruane and Deputy Tom Brabazon, who is speaking in the Chamber and will, hopefully, make his way to the meeting as soon as possible.

I remind members to turn off their mobile phones or switch them to silent. Before we proceed, I have a number of procedural issues that I would like to deal with. First, in accordance with Standing Orders, I wish to make the following declaration. As Cathaoirleach, I do solemnly declare that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my knowledge and ability execute the office of Cathaoirleach of the Joint Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration without fear or favour, apply the rules as laid down by the House in an impartial and fair manner, maintain order and uphold the rights and privileges of members in accordance with the Constitution and Standing Orders.

I remind members of the constitutional requirement that those who participate in public meetings must be physically present within the confines of the Leinster House complex. Members of the committee attending remotely must do so from within the precincts of Leinster House. This is due to the constitutional requirement that, in order to participate, members must be physically present within the confines of the place where the Parliament has chosen to sit. In this regard, I will ask any member participating via Microsoft Teams to confirm, prior to making a contribution to the meeting, that he or she is on the grounds of the Leinster House campus.

Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice that they should not criticise or make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable, or otherwise engage in speech that may be regarded as damaging to the good name of a person or entity. Therefore, if their statements are potentially defamatory in relation to an identifiable person or entity, I will direct them to discontinue their remarks. It is imperative that they comply with any such direction.

Cuirim fáilte roimh chomhaltaí uile an choiste seo inniu. Is mór an onóir dom a bheith ceaptha mar Chathaoirleach ar an gComhchoiste um Dhlí agus Ceart, Gnóthaí Baile agus Imirce. I am very honoured to have been appointed as Cathaoirleach of the Joint Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. This committee has a lot of important and urgent work to do and I look forward to working constructively with members to get that work done. While the committee will have a lot of legislative work to do, it also has an important role in holding the Government, including the Minister for Justice, to account. As Chair, I will seek to ensure that happens.

There are many issues across the justice, home affairs and migration portfolio that need to be addressed. We have too few gardaí to police our communities, prevent crime and prevent young people from becoming involved in crime. We have too few gardaí in community policing and roads policing. Last Friday, I attended the funeral of Garda Kevin Flatley. The death of Garda Flatley reminded us all of the dangers members of An Garda Síochána face in the line of duty. I take this opportunity at the first meeting of the Joint Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to put on record the committee's condolences to Garda Flatley's family and colleagues in the Garda. There must be an increase in the training capacity to put more gardaí on our streets and in our communities to ensure that our communities are safe and that gardaí can do the job they love.

Much more must be done to prevent young people becoming involved in crime and people from being drawn into crime because of poverty, and to invest in diversion and rehabilitation. We need to ensure that the policies that are pursued in the criminal justice system actually lead to a reduction in the level of recidivism. We need to improve access to justice, particularly access to justice for victims of sexual crimes and domestic abuse. There needs to be urgent action from the Minister and the rest of the incoming Government to address problems with civil legal aid that are preventing victims from securing barring orders, for example, and there needs to be better support for victims during and after the judicial process.

Our migration and international protection systems remain chaotic. Decisions and appeals are still taking too long. Deportations are not enforced. There is significant profiteering from the provision of often-times inappropriate IPAS accommodation. We need a system that is fit for purpose, works in a timely manner and enforces decisions. That means that those who are entitled to be here are processed and integrated as part of our community and country. It means that those who are not entitled to be here are processed quickly and leave orders are enforced. Under the previous Government, the only criterion that determined where accommodation for international protection was located was where private interests seeking to profit from the dysfunctional system had properties that they wanted to turn into IPAS accommodation. Often, these properties were unsuitable. This has to change. Any new IPAS centres should be placed in areas that are best resourced to accommodate them. This means not in areas that are already struggling in terms of a lack of resources.

This committee can play a constructive and proactive role in addressing a range of issues, including ensuring that we have safer communities, better policing, more gardaí and a migration system that is fit for purpose and works as it is supposed to. As Chair, there are a number of things I hope the committee will agree to put on our agenda as early as possible. These include an examination of the three-county Garda divisional model and the Garda operational model, the recruitment and retention crisis in An Garda Síochána and profiteering in the granting of IPAS contracts. If we do our job as a committee, we will contribute significantly to delivering improvements in terms of justice and migration. To do that, I want to ensure that, as much as possible, we can have ordinary people who are campaigning for improvements in our justice and other systems appear before this committee and not just allow the committee to remain the preserve of academics or non-governmental organisations. This is a committee that I hope will deliver in the time ahead.

Do members have any comments to make before I proceed with the business of the committee?