Results 781-800 of 10,120 for speaker:Jim O'Callaghan

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legal Aid (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Deputy will be aware that a range of supports are available for people experiencing domestic abuse and needing protection and other orders including from An Garda Síochána and the Courts Service, as well as from specialised domestic violence agencies which partner with and are supported by my Department. The Legal Aid Board is the statutory, independent body responsible for...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Policy (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Implementing effective border security arrangements is a priority for me, and the Programme for Government commits to developing a border security strategy to deliver stronger border security. Ireland and the United Kingdom (UK) share a long history and common interest in the effective operation of the Common Travel Area (CTA) and work together to prevent any abuses of the CTA. While...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Deportation Orders (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Deputy has clarified that their question refers to the number of persons refused leave to land at the border as the result of an alert on the Schengen Information System (SIS II). Implementing effective border security arrangements is a priority for me as Minister. The Programme for Government commits to developing a border security strategy to deliver stronger border security, ensuring...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Policy (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I can advise the Deputy that Ireland did not opt-in to the 2008 EU Returns Directive. In March 2025 the EU Commission published a new legislative proposal for a Return Regulation. At present, deportation orders are issued under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) and under the International Protection Act 2015. Ireland has shown its commitment to a common EU-wide solution...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Policy (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I understand the Deputy has clarified that his question relates to the Schengen Information System (SIS II). Implementing effective border security arrangements is a priority for me as Minister. The Programme for Government commits to developing a border security strategy to deliver stronger border security, ensuring technology supports border screening and to reviewing the potential of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Policy (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: It is a central priority for me as Minister for Justice that our immigrations laws are robust and enforced. The establishment of a person’s identity and nationality is an important feature of our immigration processes. This is especially so in the context of persons who make a claim for international protection. Applicants over the age of 14 are photographed and have their...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Support Services (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Irish State and the Irish people have responded with exceptional support and generosity since 2022 in supporting people seeking temporary protection here from the war in Ukraine. The Department of Justice (DoJ) continues to work as part of the whole-of-Government response with a focus on providing access to emergency temporary accommodation to those fleeing the conflict who request...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Bodies (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The recently established Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland has 19 staff in place, with a target to increase this number to 35 in 2025. Section 26 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 provides that the Authority may, with the consent of the Minister for Justice given with the approval of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, appoint...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Social Impact Bonds (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The development and rollout of a Social Impact Fund is a key priority for the recently established Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland. The new fund will invest in educational and awareness initiatives, research and training. Public and private bodies which support people with experience of gambling harm and/or gambling addiction through treatment will also benefit from the fund. ...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Midland Accommodation Centre at Lissywollen in Athlone welcomed residents for the first time in early December 2024, and has been providing accommodation for approximately 150 international protection applicants since that time. The health needs of international protection (IP) applicants are met through the health services in Ireland, and services are provided through the Health...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Irish State and the Irish people have responded with exceptional support and generosity since 2022 in supporting people seeking temporary protection here from the war in Ukraine. Since February 2022, over 89,500 Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection were provided accommodation by the State. Almost 24,300 of those are currently in State supported accommodation and over 38,000 are in...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Status (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 686 and 687 together. The Regularisation of Long-Term Undocumented Migrants scheme opened on 31 January 2022 and closed on 31 July 2022. This once in a generation scheme was designed to give long-term undocumented people without a current permission to remain in the State, the opportunity to regularise their status, access the labour market and begin their...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Student Visas (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I understand that the Deputy is referring to Irish immigration residence permissions issued to students pursuing educational courses in the State. When a non-EEA national comes to Ireland to undertake a course of study and satisfies the relevant criteria, they will be granted a Stamp 2 student immigration permission. I can advise the Deputy that the 2025 figure, broken down by...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Student Visas (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 689 to 691, inclusive, together. I understand that the Deputy is referring to Irish immigration residence permissions issued to students pursuing educational courses in the State. The statistics sought are not collated in the manner as requested by the Deputy. When a non-EEA national comes to Ireland to undertake a course of study, be that an...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Deportation Orders (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 692 and 695 to 698, inclusive, together. I can assure the Deputy that I am fully committed to ensuring that Ireland’s International Protection system is robust and rules based. The enforcement aspects of our laws, including deportation orders, are an essential requirement for the system to work effectively and to ensure that our people have confidence...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I can advise the Deputy that in June 2024, the Council of the European Union adopted the decision to extend the Temporary Protection (TP) Directive until March 2026. This was an important demonstration of continued solidarity and support for Ukraine at a time when innocent civilians continue to be displaced as a direct result of ongoing Russian aggression. Beneficiaries of Temporary...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Status (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: It is not possible to accurately quantify the number of undocumented migrants living in the State. Such persons ordinarily do not make themselves known to officials of the Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) of my Department, or their lack of permission to remain in the State known generally. As the Deputy will appreciate, irregular migration, by its very nature, is clandestine. Consequently,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: It is a central priority for myself, my Department and this Government that our immigration laws are robust and enforced. The number of International Protection applications have been rising over the past number of years, reaching 18,500 in 2024. This year, we are beginning to see application numbers noticeably reduce. There have been 43% less applications in the first four months of 2025...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 700 and 701 together. The State is currently accommodating almost 33,000 people who have applied for international protection in Ireland, over 9,000 of whom are children with their families. Ireland and other EU Member States have responded to a very sharp and sustained increase in the number of people applying for international protection from early 2022...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (20 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I can assure the Deputy that I am fully committed to ensuring that Ireland’s International Protection system is robust and rules based, and that our borders are protected. There has been a significant increase in investment into the international protection system which, combined with digitisation and process reengineering, has facilitated a major increase in processing capacity. ...