Results 9,081-9,100 of 16,457 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Prevention (5 Jul 2022)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 551 and 552 together. As the Deputy will appreciate, the restricting of a person’s liberty is a serious issue, given the Constitutional presumption that a person is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. While the State’s bail laws do provide for the refusal of bail in certain circumstances, the presiding judge is entirely independent in...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Child Abuse (5 Jul 2022)

Helen McEntee: The Government takes the issue of sexual exploitation of children very seriously and there is comprehensive legislation in place to deal with these offences. The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act was enacted in early 2017. It is a wide-ranging piece of legislation which significantly enhances laws to combat the sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children.  Specific offences...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (5 Jul 2022)

Helen McEntee: I have contacted An Garda Síochána for the information requested by the Deputy, regretfully this information was not available in time. I will write to the Deputy once the information is to hand. 

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Prevention (5 Jul 2022)

Helen McEntee: I can assure the Deputy that the Government remains committed to ensuring An Garda Síochána have all the necessary resources to tackle all forms of criminality that affects our communities and has allocated An Garda Síochána with an unprecedented budget of over €2 billion for 2022. As the Deputy will be aware, in accordance with the Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (5 Jul 2022)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, which includes decisions on the deployment of personnel among the various Garda Divisions. As Minister, I have no role in these matters. I am advised by the Garda authorities that at 31 May 2022, the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (5 Jul 2022)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including personnel matters. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters. I am advised by the Garda authorities that to ensure that Garda members can safely and effectively carry...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legal Aid (5 Jul 2022)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, there are two categories of legal aid; civil legal aid and criminal legal aid. The provision of civil legal aid in the State is delivered by the independent Legal Aid Board pursuant to the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995, as amended, and the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996 to 2017. The Board also provides family mediation services and operates 30 full-time law centres...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Applications (5 Jul 2022)

Helen McEntee: A non-EEA national does not necessarily need to become a naturalised Irish citizen before they can access employment in the State. Any person, during the five years reckonable residence required for naturalisation, may have been able to seek employment having been granted an immigration permission from my Department that permits employment, or upon being granted an employment permit from the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Gangland Crime (5 Jul 2022)

Helen McEntee: I can assure the Deputy that tackling organised crime activity is a key ongoing priority for both the Government and An Garda Síochána. An Garda Síochána tackles organised criminal activity through a range of targeted measures designed to disrupt and dismantle the operations of criminal organisations. To the greatest extent possible, these measures include the use of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (5 Jul 2022)

Helen McEntee: The Irish Prison Service provides a wide range of educational and rehabilitation facilities to those in custody that aim to offer purposeful activity to prisoners while serving their sentences and encourage them to lead law abiding lives on release.  All prisoners are eligible and allowed to use the services, including those who are first-time offenders. There is no application...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (5 Jul 2022)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, which includes Garda HR matters. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters. However, I am pleased to note that the Garda Employee Assistance Service provides a proactive...

Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Second Stage (1 Jul 2022)

Helen McEntee: I thank all colleagues for their contributions and for their support for this Bill. Without wading into a debate about timelines, while some might say what happened in Ukraine was predictable, a lot of us did not expect it to happen in the way it did. At a national level, a European level and internationally, we have responded in a quick manner. We have put measures in place as quickly as...

Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Second Stage (1 Jul 2022)

Helen McEntee: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." In light of the omnibus nature of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, I will share time with my colleagues, the Minister forChildren, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O’Gorman, and the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Naughton, who will speak to the Parts in the Bill under their...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (30 Jun 2022)

Helen McEntee: Anyone who wishes to travel from the State may do so regardless of whether their Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card is in date or has expired. Non visa-required nationals trying to re-enter the State may rely on their in-date IRP card. If their IRP card has expired they will need to provide proof of their permission to reside in the State, such as a letter from my Department, to an...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Strategies (30 Jun 2022)

Helen McEntee: On 27 May 2022, I published the Implementation Plan on Civil Justice Efficiencies and Reform Measures, containing over ninety specific actions based on the Peter Kelly Review recommendations. This Plan identifies the work streams for implementation of the majority of these actions on a phased basis over the next three years; the lead body responsible for implementation; the enablers that...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (30 Jun 2022)

Helen McEntee: As I have said previously, bias, inequality and racism have no place in our societies. I very much welcomed the report by Maynooth University when it was published by the Irish Penal Reform Trust in April. I can assure the Deputy that the recommendations made in the Report are currently being examined by officials in my Department and in the relevant agencies with a view to informing...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Reviews (30 Jun 2022)

Helen McEntee: Non-custodial penalties, particularly supervised community sanctions, play a significant and important role in addressing criminality, reducing reoffending and providing a degree of protection to the public. This is supported by Central Statistics Office figures on recidivism. As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government 2020 contains a broad range of policies and proposals...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (30 Jun 2022)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 261 and 262 together. The application for naturalisation from the persons referred to by the Deputy were acknowledged on 9 May 2022 by the Citizenship Division of my Department. They will now be processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation and will be submitted to me for...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Closed-Circuit Television Systems (30 Jun 2022)

Helen McEntee: It has not been possible to collate the information requested by the Deputy in the time allowed. I will write to the Deputy to provide this information as soon as it is available.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (30 Jun 2022)

Helen McEntee: The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is governed by the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, and all applications are processed in line with the eligibility criteria as set out under the Act. Each application is assessed individually in accordance with the provisions of the Act. A determination on whether an applicant satisfies the...