Results 2,521-2,540 of 9,252 for speaker:Jim O'Callaghan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (28 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: It is important and sometimes when people present monitoring, it is seen as an additional penalty. Our contention is that it should not be seen as an additional penalty but rather as an alternative to incarceration. Sometimes that is the way it operates in Northern Ireland.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (28 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am the Fianna Fáil spokesperson and we work collectively as a committee. I am supportive of both items of legislation but it is a really complicated and complex area. We must be careful in how we approach this. The witnesses all get involved after a problem has arisen but there is a bigger question for society as to what is causing people to engage in sexual offences and attacks....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (28 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: That is a fair point.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (28 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: That is correct.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Criminal Law Review (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: 1. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the review into the conduct of rape trials that he announced in June 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49980/18]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Criminal Law Review (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: I will abide by the Acting Chairman's instruction. Last June the Minister directed that there be a review of the way in which rape trials are conducted in this State. He sought this review in the aftermath of a very prominent trial that took place in Northern Ireland. He made the good decision to select Dr. Tom O'Malley to conduct the review. Has the review been completed, where is it and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Criminal Law Review (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Government needs to strengthen public confidence in the prosecution of rape and other sexual offences. Unfortunately, it is the case that some damage has been done to public confidence in these very important prosecutions. The Government needs to concentrate on a number of specific areas. First, we in this House and the Seanad introduced a new definition of "consent" last year. This...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Criminal Law Review (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: There are certain steps the Government can take that would make it easier for complainants. For instance, the Minister was recently on television with Leona O'Callaghan, a complainant and a victim of serious rape who deserves to be commended on coming out and speaking publicly about it. What she said was the most harrowing aspect of her time before the courts was the length of time it took...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Garda Deployment (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: 3. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the roll-out of new specially trained Garda units to handle cases involving vulnerable witnesses such as child abuse and sexual crimes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49981/18]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Garda Deployment (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: Every Member of the House is aware that being a member of An Garda Síochána is a demanding and specialist job. One day of the week gardaí can be asked to investigate issues pertaining to financial crime. On other occasions, they can be asked to investigate issues concerning child or sexual abuse. I will ask the Minister about the latter group. It was announced recently...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Garda Deployment (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: I had the pleasure of being at the launch of the Rape Crisis Centre's annual report and I had an opportunity to listen to Commissioner Drew Harris. I welcomed what he said. He gave a commitment that there would be a roll-out of the divisional protective service units in all 29 Garda divisions. It is important to note that taking evidence or a statement from a victim of child abuse or a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Garda Deployment (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: We do not just have to read the report that was published recently by the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland; we can read the reports of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate and the Policing Authority, which have criticised the low numbers of specialist child interviewers within An Garda Síochána. It is a difficulty and problem that exists within the force. We...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Crime (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: 7. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps he has taken to address the concerns raised by an organisation (details supplied) that farmers cannot avail of the criminal law to force trespassers off their land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49602/18]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Crime (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: Many farmers live in fear of the threat and the reality of crime. In north Dublin recently, a farmer approached a number of people who were on his land. Those people subsequently viciously attacked him and he sustained serious injuries. One of the issues raised by the Irish Farmer's Association, IFA, is the fact that if farmers identify people trespassing on their land, they cannot avail...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Crime (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Minister has recounted a series of provisions that exist on the Statute Book but that do not take into account the reality of what is happening on farmland. Farmers find that when people trespass on their land, they have no remedy in the criminal law. When they contact members of An Garda Síochána, they are told that officers can only intervene if there is a threat to commit a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Crime (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: The type of remedy that farmers want is to be able to tell people trespassing on their land to leave and that there will be consequences if they do not do so. They want there to be consequences for people for being on their land. There may be a civil remedy available but that requires farmers to institute proceedings against unknown individuals who then have to be brought before the courts....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Gambling Legislation (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: 11. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will address the delays in publishing the gambling control Bill, the general scheme of which was published in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49603/18]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Gambling Legislation (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: In 2011, the then Minister for Justice and Equality, Alan Shatter, announced plans for new legislation on gambling. Unfortunately, however, no new legislation has been enacted by the Houses of the Oireachtas. It is important that we progress legislation in respect of gambling, which is causing significant social problems and which must be regulated. What is the reason for the delay with...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Gambling Legislation (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: I thank the Minister of State for the reply but the Government's delay in this area is simply unforgivable. As I said in the opening question, it was in 2011 that the then Minister, Deputy Shatter, announced plans to change the law on gambling. In 2013, the Department of Justice and Equality published the general scheme of a Gambling Control Bill which was expected to update the 1956...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Gambling Legislation (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Minister of State is right that it was in January 2018 that the Cabinet approved several proposals to update the 2013 general scheme. It approved the proposal to establish an independent regulatory authority, which we support, for control and regulation of the gambling industry. We are told that this interdepartmental working group has met on five occasions since January 2018. What...