Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy raised a number of matters. Whereas the separation of some elements of my Department is still under consideration, I absolutely assure the Deputy that I will work as closely as possible with the Minister with responsibility for children, disability, equality and integration, Deputy O'Gorman, on the range of matters where I feel the connection remains and where it is necessary.

There is much work under way on family courts and the overall system, not least the family courts Bill. A memorandum for the Government was approved by the former Minister on 30 December last year and it was circulated to Departments in January 2020. It was considered afterwards by the Government but it is something that will be a priority for me. Separate to that are a number of other comprehensive proposals for the modernisation and reform of the family courts system. These include a broad consideration of the best means of providing access to various family law mechanisms available to families in private family law cases, not least through the legal aid scheme. We will also look at the various recommendations from the joint committee report on reform of the family law system. I am 100% committed to establishing a more efficient and more family-friendly user system. It is something we need to do. Putting in place a new dedicated structure and family court within existing structures will be vital.

The Deputy is correct on the matters of visitation. To support our prisoners through their rehabilitation and in preparing them for getting home, it is extremely important that family visits continue. The arrangements mentioned were put in place with the support of prisoners, and that is why we saw such a successful outcome. Videoconferencing was allowed and a great success but I do not know exactly if they will be allowed to continued. I am absolutely certain there will be a review, as there is in many cases, to see how we can learn from what we have undertaken and the various changes that have come about because of Covid-19. Physical visits will begin again on 20 July and I do not anticipate that they will occur any sooner. That is Monday week, so it will be very soon.

There is much work being done on the Data Protection Commission. The fact that our budget has gone from €3.6 million to €16.9 million is an acknowledgement of the significance of the office. I acknowledge that there is work to be done in many areas.

I use this opportunity to congratulate my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, on his appointment and I very much look forward to working with him in the Department.

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