Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 9 together.

Cabinet committee G was established in January this year to provide for political oversight of developments in respect of justice and equality issues, including implementation of the Government's programme of reform for the justice sector. There have been two meetings of Cabinet committee G since: one on 18 January and one on 16 April. The next meeting of Cabinet committee G will be held later this month, when the Minister for Justice and Equality will be in a position to bring to us his response to the recommendations of the O'Toole commission. The work of the committee is informed by recent reports of the effectiveness and renewal group, ERG; the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, the O'Toole commission, and the Charleton tribunal which published its most recent report this week.

Several important steps have been taken to reform the justice sector. Mr. Aidan O'Driscoll has been appointed as Secretary General of the Department and a new management team is now in place, as recommended by the ERG which I know has a different meaning in the neighbouring state. It is clear from the group's second report that the building blocks highlighted in the first report have been established and that a strong start has been made to implementation of the necessary reforms. The third report of the group will be submitted to the Government by the end of the year.

The report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland was published on 18 September. As I mentioned, a high level implementation plan will be brought to the Cabinet committee with a view to it being taken to the Cabinet for approval in December.

The conclusions made in the Charleton report published last week will also inform the development of the implementation plan. They will also be taken into account in the Department of Justice and Equality's restructuring plan.

See this speech in context