Results 40,561-40,580 of 46,575 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Reviews (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: I will certainly reflect on the comments Deputy Ó Ríordáin has made this evening and will feed them back into the Department and have conversations with colleagues there. I think we would all agree that no organisation or no part of society, as we know through our work on many issues, is immune to wrongdoing or discriminatory actions and the like. What is really important...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Drug Dealing (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Ward for this important question. As the Deputy will be aware, and as I am from my past political life, the Department of Health leads on Government policy in the area of drugs, and this policy is guided by the national drugs and alcohol strategy which is called Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery - a health led response to drug and alcohol use in Ireland 2017-2025. This...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Drug Dealing (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy. His colleague, Deputy Crowe, was good enough to talk to me about it the other day and I am aware he has brought forward a Private Members' Bill on this and I have given him an undertaking that I will consider it and engage with him when it is scheduled to be debated. I also note that the Child Care Act 1991 falls under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Drug Dealing (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: We will of course engage with the Deputy to consider the legislation and seek views and opinions on it as well. For clarity, the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 is the responsibility of the Minister of Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and we may need that engagement aspect as well. I get what the Deputy is trying to do here, though, and I fully respect his motivation, which is a concern around the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: The Deputy is entirely right. We have a commitment to double the number of refuge spaces under the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. For the avoidance of doubt, this is to double the number of refuge spaces, bringing it to 280. As the Deputy will be aware, Tusla reviewed the accommodation services for victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: I assure the Deputy, on my part and those of the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, that this is a major area of priority in the Department of Justice and across the Government. The Deputy referred to the familicide review and we do have that report in the Department. I have considered it in quite a lot of detail. I met the commissioner of that report...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: It is accepted by me, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the whole of the Government that these 280 places are not the end destination. It is, though, where we realistically believe that pulling out all the stops and going at this with gusto and prioritisation is truthfully where we can get to in the lifetime of this strategy. I have even a greater degree of confidence about this after...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for asking the question. The Government's zero tolerance strategy, published last year, is an ambitious five-year programme of reform aimed at achieving a society which does not accept, in any way, shape or form, domestic, sexual and gender-based violence or, crucially, the attitudes which underpin it. Built on the four pillars of the Istanbul Convention, the strategy was...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: I fully acknowledge the need for urgency and am confident that the Government and both Houses see the need too, for all the reasons the Deputy has outlined. As a Government or as an Oireachtas, we do not establish new agencies very often. I hope the fact that we have taken a decision to establish a new agency assures the women of Ireland and the people of Ireland more broadly that we are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputies Christopher O'Sullivan and Murnane O'Connor. Regarding west Cork, Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan is correct that this is an area the Government has identified through its work with Tusla as a priority location for a new refuge. I would be very happy to engage with the organisation doing the work on the ground there. If he wishes to bring a delegation to Leinster House, I...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Crime Prevention (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: I very much understand that burglaries can be traumatic and invasive. They can leave people feeling unsafe and uneasy in their home and community. They very much impact people’s sense of security in their home. The Deputy will be aware of Operation Thor which tackles burglary and actively targets organised crime gangs and repeat offenders through co-ordinated crime prevention and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Crime Prevention (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: We will absolutely support the Garda in resourcing Operation Thor, in recruiting gardaí and getting more gardaí on the streets and rolling out the community safety plans in every county in Ireland in 2024. The numbers show a stark improvement. Every burglary impacts on a person or family. I do not dismiss in any way the significance of that individual trauma and loss of a sense...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Crime Prevention (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: I do not want to drown the Dáil in statistics and yearly comparisons. I just make the point that we try to compare the last year before there were Covid restrictions which was 2019 - last normal year - with 2022, the first year without Covid restrictions. During the pandemic years when everyone was at home with lockdown periods and the likes, that obviously had a downward impact on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: It is a fair question and I somewhat share the Deputy's frustration. I have voiced similar frustration, as have my colleagues. In July 2020, departmental officials contracted an independent expert to undertake the review of Part 4 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act. Significant work was completed cataloguing the submissions received under the Part 4 review, which, as the Deputy...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: I completely assure the Deputy that the legal obligation to carry out a review of this was taken extraordinarily seriously by my Department. The review was commissioned and an independent expert was appointed. While I share the Deputy's frustration, I have outlined the reasons as to why there was a delay and the additional efforts my Department has made to ensure that the review can be...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: I cannot stand over the delay, and I am not seeking to do so. I am seeking to ensure that the report is progressed, finalised and published as a matter of urgency. I have acknowledged my frustration that it has not been forthcoming, and I have outlined the reason why it has been delayed. As Leas-Cheann Comhairle, the Deputy will know that in the context of oral parliamentary questions,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: I have a great deal of material. I was making the point that, and this is in no way to apportion blame to anybody, but the study lead for this report, when they were commissioned to do this piece of work, was asked to also carry out the familicide review following the untimely passing of Norah Gibbons. She very kindly agreed to do that and put a great amount of effort into it. I am hoping...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Northern Ireland (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Ó Cuív for his question and for his ongoing work. I only wish I had counterparts in Northern Ireland. I do not say that to be facetious but the Deputy will see during my answer how the absence of an Executive stymies some levels of engagement. However, I am pleased to say there is excellent ongoing cross-Border co-operation with counterparts in Northern Ireland on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Northern Ireland (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: I will seek confirmation on the two issues the Deputy has raised concerning the recent engagement my colleagues had with their counterparts. I believe in all jurisdictions, including for Irish citizens in Northern Ireland, people having swift access to justice is an important part of any effective justice system. I am personally engaging with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Northern Ireland (18 Apr 2023)

Simon Harris: The fifth report of the IRC was brought to Government in December. Overall, the IRC has not altered its view that the risks posed to society by the continuing existence of paramilitary groups and structures means paramilitarism remains a clear and present danger in Northern Ireland. Six new recommendations are contained in the fifth report, including a further recommendation on the...