Results 6,441-6,460 of 15,536 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: People are required to be able to speak Irish and to be fluent enough to engage with people, not just in general conversation, but when attending court or engaging with various different agencies. Obviously, more than a basic level of understanding is needed to converse with people in those circumstances. The standard has always been that high. That has not changed.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: I might ask one of my officials to respond on that. I am not clear on the answer.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: You have to demonstrate that you have competency and proficiency in the language. It is not a test but you have to demonstrate that you have proficiency. With regard to the changes on the promotion side of things, the new regulations were informed by the Garda Inspectorate report from 2015 which recommended that a new process be put in place. I appreciate the regulations represent a...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: The Garda Commissioner needs to be mindful of striking a balance and make sure that people going for promotion have the relevant skills needed for that promotion while also ensuring we have enough people with proficiency in Irish. This goes back to the original point that the more people we have in An Garda Síochána who can speak Irish fluently or who are proficient in the...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: The answer is that the Department took the decision. It did so based on the information that it was available to it at the time. The Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland highlighted a lack of diversity and a need to increase diversity within An Garda Síochána. The Garda itself, in reaching out to other communities, identified that one of the reasons people were not...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: The report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland has been published and is available to anybody. I am not sure if the information from the Garda on its engagement is published but it was based on the conversations and engagement that happen regularly with An Garda Síochána that this feedback came to us. It is not information that we would have had ourselves but...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: Quite simply, we need to keep everything under review and under consideration. That we have seen an increase in this round is positive. We need to see the numbers that come out of this and whether the actions we have taken have been successful. We need to allow for the strategy within An Garda Síochána to bed down and to see how successful that is. Obviously, 2030 is not that...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: Some from the Irish stream were moved into the English stream. I do not have a figure for the 129 that ended up specifically in that stream. I should have brought more figures with me so I apologise. I will try to come back to the Cathaoirleach on that directly. I know some of them moved streams and moved across the various Irish and English streams. I will endeavour to come back to the...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: I do not have sight of that yet. It has only been a matter of weeks since the competition closed so we would not have any of that information yet. It is important that people who only have one language are allowed to apply. As I said, there may be people with learning difficulties where that would not in any way impact their ability to carry out their jobs the same as anybody else. It is...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: I would not agree with that. Diversity comes in all shapes, sizes and forms. Without knowing the figures, I am certain many people have applied who have more than one language but I am also sure there are many people who do not. We need to make sure everybody has a fair crack of the whip.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: The stipulation is that people must have English or Irish as their base. Irish is treated equally in this instance and if people have other languages, then that is obviously great too. It is not just English with Irish as a potential addition.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (7 Apr 2022)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will appreciate, disciplinary matters within An Garda Síochána are governed by the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended) and the Garda Síochána (Discipline) Regulations 2007, as amended by the Garda Síochána (Discipline) (Amendment) Regulations 2011, and are a matter for the Garda Commissioner. As Minister, I have no role in these...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (7 Apr 2022)

Helen McEntee: I have sought the information requested by the Deputy from the Garda authorities, however, the information was not available in time. I will write to the Deputy once the information is to hand.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Staff (7 Apr 2022)

Helen McEntee: The Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) team at Ireland’s Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels currently consists of seven officials from the Department of Justice made up of one Counsellor, four Attachés and two administrative staff. There are currently no vacancies in the JHA team. The role of officials in the JHA team is to offer assistance to Ministers...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Courts Service (7 Apr 2022)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, among the recommendations made in the Report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice and Equality on Reform of the Family Law System was that consideration be given to whether laws should be amended to take into account situations where one parent is wrongfully influencing their child or children against the other parent, thereby creating unfair and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (7 Apr 2022)

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, including the recruitment and training of Garda members and staff. The Commissioner is also responsible, under Section 33 of the Act, for the deployment of Garda members and staff throughout the State. As Minister, I play no role in these...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (7 Apr 2022)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy is aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended) the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, including the management of the Garda Estate. I can advise the Deputy that a new Garda Capital Plan is currently undergoing consideration between my Department, An Garda Síochána and the OPW. In this regard...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Defibrillators Provision (7 Apr 2022)

Helen McEntee: It has not been possible to collate the information requested in the time allowed. I will write to the Deputy directly when the information is available.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Contracts (7 Apr 2022)

Helen McEntee: I wish to inform the Deputy that there were no contracts awarded to the named organisation by my Department or the offices, agencies and bodies under its remit, in the timeframe outlined.

Seanad: Automated Data Exchange for Police Co-operation: Motion (26 Apr 2022)

Helen McEntee: This is a technical motion, so I thank the House for facilitating this debate so quickly. The Prüm decisions, which this proposal seeks to update and improve, represent a cornerstone of European law enforcement information exchange. The Prüm decisions enhance the crime-fighting capacity of our law enforcement agencies while respecting data rights by enabling member states on a hit...