Results 6,001-6,020 of 7,312 for speaker:James Browne

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Citizenship Applications (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: I acknowledge that in the past there were significant delays in processing citizenship applications. What the Minister, the officials in the Department and I have done to streamline matters and introduce a new processing system with the online application form and e-vetting has led to a significant change in the processing time relating to citizenship applications. I am confident that by...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Citizenship Applications (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: Significant work is being done in the Department to ensure that all applications, be they in respect of citizenship, asylum or whatever, are dealt with in a speedy and timely fashion. It is acknowledged that significant work needed to be done in this area. This work is being carried out.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Policing Authority (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: I thank Deputy Naughten for this very important question, which relates to supporting policing in our rural communities. Community safety is a top priority for my Department. Everyone has the right to be safe and feel safe in their community, and rural Ireland is no exception in that regard. Our approach to community safety is a whole-of-government one. Enhancing rural safety includes...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Policing Authority (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: I acknowledge that we do not have as many gardaí as we need, but significant efforts are being made to address this. We have had a very large increase in the number of recruits coming through Templemore. Regarding safety in rural Ireland, the national rural safety forum was established in 2019. In 2022, we published the national rural safety plan. Yesterday, I met the deputy...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Policing Authority (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: There is no question that there is a challenge regarding the number of gardaí, but that arose out of the situation during Covid when recruitment was paused. We are now addressing the situation by significantly increasing recruitment through Templemore. Up to the end of June of this year, 581 gardaí were assigned to the Mayo, Roscommon, Longford division and 599 were assigned to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: I thank Deputy O'Connor for raising the very important matter of the number of gardaí in each district in the Cork East constituency. Everyone deserves to be safe and feel safe in their own communities, and of course having a visible Garda presence in the community is an important part of that. Everyone deserves to have that sense of safety. The unprecedented allocation of over...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: Again I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter of the number of gardaí. There is a significant increase in the number of Garda trainees going through Templemore to address the challenge around Garda numbers. On rural community safety, we have the rural safety forum, which has established the rural safety plan, published in 2022, which we are now working to update. It is an...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: As the Deputies will be fully aware, the Garda Commissioner is independent in terms of deployment of members of An Garda Síochána right across the country, and deploys them where he feels they are best deployed. Garda transfers, again, are an internal matter for the Garda Commissioner and An Garda Síochána. On what Deputy Stanton has raised, I fully agree with him. That...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important matter on the number of gardaí, as well as Garda staff, assigned to Borris, Carlow, Hacketstown, Muine Bheag, Myshall, Rathvilly and Tullow stations. The Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs to fight crime and a strengthened, well-resourced Garda organisation is central to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: The number of gardaí in the area has increased by 9% since the end of 2015. We are carrying out a recruitment process in Templemore for An Garda Síochána and this has sped up significantly, with a significant number of gardaí graduating from there. There is a challenge with Garda numbers but as the numbers increase I have no doubt additional gardaí will be assigned...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: I condemn the incidents of crime outlined by Deputy Murnane O'Connor. They are absolutely outrageous and I have no doubt An Garda Síochána will leave no stone unturned in investigating these criminal activities. There is an excellent chief superintendent in Anthony Pettit, who is originally of the Wicklow-Wexford division. No doubt the chief superintendent would very much...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Road Traffic Offences (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: I thank the Deputy for his very important question about the number of scramblers that have been seized. As the Deputy will know, the law changed in this regard to allow scramblers to be seized. A sum of €190,000 was allocated to assist approved projects in 2022 and 2023 and almost €149,000 has been allocated for 2024 to help seize scramblers. The total number of scramblers...

Seanad: Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: I thank the Acting Chair. Amendment No. 47 involves two new insertions in section 13, namely, the appointment of a person with lived experience of problem gambling to the board of the authority and a limit on the number of members of the board who have been employed in the gambling sector. Given the scale of its remit, membership of the authority should reflect a broad range of expertise...

Seanad: Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: Some of the Senator's comments have left me a bit lost. Almost the entire Bill is about prevention and protection of people from gambling addiction. There are too many sections to even begin listing them, including sections on child protection. The social impact fund is not just downstream. In fact, education and awareness are specifically listed among the social impact fund's purposes....

Seanad: Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: Unfortunately, I cannot accept the amendments. The provision the Senator seeks to remove is now standard provision used across the Statute Book and to do so would undermine the fundamental principles underpinning the operation of Government and could compromise the ability of the authority to operate within its independence.

Seanad: Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: I cannot accept the Senator's amendments as I believe the matter they seek to address is already dealt with in the Bill. I refer to amendment No. 63. Section 31 provides that the authority "may undertake, commission or collaborate with research projects in relation to gambling or gambling activities", including in relation to gambling addiction. In addition, the other activities specified...

Seanad: Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: I am very aware of the human consequences of gambling addiction. I have highlighted that myself consistently. That is why we have drafted a 220-section Bill, one of the biggest to come through the Houses in the lifetime of the Government. I am very aware of the impact, and this legislation comes from a public health perspective. We are not accepting the amendments because we say they are...

Seanad: Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: Unfortunately, I cannot accept amendment No. 68 as the matters it raises are already addressed in the Bill. Section 31 provides the authority may undertake, commission or collaborate with research projects related to gambling or gambling activities. The list provided in this section is not exhaustive and would not preclude the authority from engaging in research relating to any other...

Seanad: Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: Regarding amendment No. 70, the Bill provides in section 64 for an amendment to the Freedom of Information Act 2014. The intention is that the authority members, its staff, authorised officers, the appeals panel, appeals board, appeals officer and adjudication officer would be subject to obligations under the Freedom of Information Act concerning their respective functions insofar as the...

Seanad: Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (26 Sep 2024)

James Browne: The agency would have significant investigate and prosecutorial powers. Documents gathered for those purposes will not be subject to an FOI because they will be necessary in the investigation and prosecution of a licenceholder, for example. It would also undermine the tenets of any prosecution if documents seized during a prosecution or investigation were released to the public. That would...