Results 5,321-5,340 of 15,508 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Applications (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: In response to a notification pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), written representations have been submitted on behalf of the persons concerned. These representations, together with all other information and documentation on file, is currently being considered under Section 3 (6) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) and all other applicable...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Applications (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: For reasons of maintaining full confidentiality, it is not my Department's practice to comment on whether an application for asylum or subsidiary protection has been made in the State. An applicant for such protection status, or their legal representative, should contact either the International Protection Office (IPO) or the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) directly, as...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Coroners Service (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: The Coroners Service is a network of coroners located in districts throughout the country. Coroners are quasi-judicial officers and are independent in the conduct of their functions. Neither I nor my Department has any role in the directing the work of the coroner. My Department does, however, actively support coroners in the carrying out of their very important service to the public....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Data (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: There is no official data on the number of undocumented people in the State, as such people tend to avoid official notice. The Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland has previously estimated that there are some 15,000 to 17,000 undocumented people in the State including 2,000 to 3,000 children. These are estimates and not official statistics. There are a variety of reasons as to why people...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: The person referred to by the Deputy created an online employment visa application on 7 November 2021. The supporting documentation and fees were received on 17 November 2021 in the New Delhi Visa Office. Their application was examined in detail and a decision was made to refuse their visa on 25 November 2021. The reasons for the refusal are outlined in the refusal letter. It is open to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (14 Dec 2021)

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 the purchase and distribution of Garda resources such as Garda vehicles. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in these matters. I am advised however, that Garda management keeps the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including Garda training matters. I, as Minister, have no role in such matters. I have been provided with the figures in the table below by the Garda authorities, which outlines the number of Gardaí who...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, under Section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended) the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business. This includes the allocation of resources to the various Garda divisions/specialised units. As Minister I play no role in this independent function. Further, under the Act, the Garda Commissioner is...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Road Traffic Offences (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible by law for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including the enforcement of road traffic legislation. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in these matters. The following table, furnished to me by the Garda authorities, provides a yearly...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including Garda training matters. I, as Minister, have no role in such matters. Please find as follows the table provided by Garda authorities that provides the information requested by the Deputy. ...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: I recognise and acknowledge the crucial role frontline workers are continuing to play in responding to the threat of COVID-19. They work in a challenging environment and deal with vulnerable people on a daily basis. Their exceptional commitment has been particularly clear throughout the pandemic, during which they have been playing a key role in preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus. ...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible under the law for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, which includes operational matters such as Garda vetting. As Minister, I have no direct role in the matter. I am informed by the Garda authorities that it is necessary for enhanced vetting and background checks and security vetting to be...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Policy (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 508 and 513, inclusive, 518 and 522, inclusive, together. The Government has approved my proposal for a once-in-a-generation scheme to regularise thousands of undocumented migrants and their families who are living in Ireland. The scheme will be for long-term undocumented migrants and their eligible dependents where the specific criteria is met. The scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Support Services (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 514, 516 and 517 together. Currently, due to public health restrictions, for the safety of all our customers and staff, the Registration Office can only operate at 50% of our normal capacity. This means that we can register a maximum of 200 customers per day, resulting in 1,000 customers being registered every week. My officials continue to engage with...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Parole Boards (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, the Parole Board, established under the Parole Act 2019, is an independent statutory body that considers the eligibility for parole of prisoners serving life sentences once the prisoners concerned have served at least 12 years of their sentence. The statutory Parole Board is an entity entirely separate from its predecessor, the Interim Board and will make...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Status (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: The person referred to by the Deputy was granted a five-year residence card on 4 April 2016, valid to 3 April 2021. As noted in the approval letter issued at the time, the person was advised when applying for a Permanent Residence Card at the end of the five-year period, to submit an application six months before the expiry date of the Residence Card. To date, no application for a Permanent...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware the Garda Commissioner is responsible under the law for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including by arranging for the recruitment, training and appointment of its members. As Minister, I have no direct role in the matter. As the Deputy will be aware, public health restrictions have unavoidably impacted on intakes to the Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Private Security Authority (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: The Private Security Authority, established under the Private Security Services Act 2004, as amended, is responsible for the licensing and regulation of the private security industry in the State. The Authority is an independent statutory body under the aegis of my Department. Following the enactment of the Private Security Services (Amendment) Act 2021, which provided for the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Covid-19 Pandemic (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: The Legal Aid Board is the statutory, independent body responsible for the provision of civil legal aid and advice to persons of modest means, in accordance with the relevant criteria and provisions of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995. Section 3(3) of The Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 states that "the Board shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be independent in the exercise of its functions"....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: On 15 November, I announced that persons with expired IRP cards may continue to use the cards to enable them to depart and return to the state in confidence. I also suspended the re-entry visa requirement for minors aged 16 years and under from 12 November 2021 to 15 January 2022. Customers holding an Irish Residence Permit card that was in-date at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020,...