Results 1,681-1,700 of 11,583 for speaker:Jim O'Callaghan

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I appreciate that. Five or six weeks ago I launched with the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, a programme to try to give confidence to people to be able to confront the harassment and intimidation they get from drug dealers. I have been contacted by people in my constituency who have said their child is being threatened, and they are asking what they...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Yes, it is very good.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I thank Deputy Brabazon. I am limited in what I can do in respect of trying to change the pension schemes that operate for certain public sector workers. I have listened to the GRA in respect of it. I know it is not as attractive a scheme as the previous one was. It may be having an impact on recruitment but what I think is probably having more of an impact is the competitive nature of...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Recently I introduced a new statutory instrument in respect of disciplinary rules and performance rules in An Garda Síochána, and this sets out a new procedure. I certainly want to see any procedure expedited and dealt with as quickly as possible. Any person suspended from their employment deserves to have the allegation against them determined as quickly as possible. I note what...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: At the two attestations I have been at, I was impressed by the fact that some of the people were clearly over 35 years of age. There is a benefit to this. People are well able to do Garda work after the age of 35 so there is no reason we should not be recruiting them. As Deputy Brabazon has said, the allowance is €354 at present. I want to see how we will get on in terms of the...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: It is a fairly straight question, in fairness to Deputy Ward. It is my ambition to get to 5,000 but I will not get 1,000 this year. I am dependent on getting more than 1,000 in the next four years. The number at present in An Garda Síochána is 14,227. We also have the Garda Reserve and Garda staff who do lot of the work gardaí used to do. We are getting more gardaí...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I will not.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am hopeful that next year we will get more than 1,000.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I know.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: That is a fair point.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The good news is that the 170 who started on 9 June include some of the 6,700. This is a good sign that they are being processed quickly. We have been expediting and changing the vetting process. People were critical about this. It used to be the case that you could not start in Templemore until you were fully vetted. Vetting took a long time, particularly for people who lived in other...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I do not have the statistics to hand but the majority pass. There used to be issues with the fitness test and we have tried to make changes in respect of that. The majority pass. I would certainly be concerned if large tranches of entrants to Templemore did not pass. The fitness test used to be a problem and it was looked into and changed. We need to keep examining this to ensure that,...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Let us wait and see.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Hopefully, I will still be here in a couple of years. The Deputy may be able to say to me that we only achieved 3,000-----

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I know that.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: It is a hard job, though. I have funding for 1,000. Usually, the problem is trying to get funding out of the Department of public expenditure. I have that funding and I am not going to change it. The funding is for 1,000 and I am not going back to the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers, to say it looks like we are going to hit only 600. I want to keep the funding for 1,000.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I hope so. That may give rise to another issue in that if 1,200 people are interested each year, we will have to expand Templemore and consider the other avenues available.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: As of 31 May, the Garda has had 3,672 vehicles – that is, 2,705 cars, 658 vans, 151 motorcycles, 98 4x4s and 68 other vehicles. The Garda fleet is in good condition. The number of vehicles is up from 3,112 in December 2020, so we have seen an 18% increase in less than five years. Obviously, we need to see more Garda vehicles and we need gardaí available for them. The number of...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: If it is a serious matter, the gardaí will get there immediately. Obviously, there is grading. When a 999 call is made-----

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The calls have to be triaged, but if an incident is serious the gardaí will come.