Results 8,801-8,820 of 17,539 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: These amendments are technical. They provide for consequential changes to a number of other enactments arising from the new section 3A, covering non-fatal strangulation or non-fatal suffocation offences, and section 4A, which covers non-fatal strangulation or non-fatal suffocation causing serious harm offences. The effect of these is essentially to extend existing provisions, which are...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: The Mental Health Review Board is a quasi-judicial body responsible for the review of the detention of patients in the Central Mental Hospital. Currently, Schedule 1(1) of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 outlines the requirements of the membership of the board. There must be a chairperson and such number of ordinary members as determined by the Minister in consultation with the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: This is the final group of amendments. They are amendments to the Communication (Retention of Data) Act 2011 to correct drafting and cross-referencing issues in the amending Act that was passed last year. Under the 2022 Act, applications for data must be approved by a judge. They are made on an ex parte basis with the relevant agency present, for example, An Garda Síochána. They...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Question Heading for question(s) 140 (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, I obtained an order of the High Court pursuant to section 3A of the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011 (as amended by the Communications (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Act 2022) on 26 June 2023. The order requires service providers to retain data in all of the categories specified in Schedule 2 of the 2011 Act for a period of 12 months from the date...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: The visa applications referred to by the Deputy were refused by the Visa Office in Manila on 20 April 2023. The reasons for this decision were set out in the refusal letter sent to the applicants at that time. An appeal of this decision was launched on 15 June 2023. Appeals for applications of this type are processed in the order in which they are received, to be fair to all applicants....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Family Reunification (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: The person referred to by the Deputy created on-line Join Family visa application on 21 March 2023. The supporting documentation and relevant fees were applied on 03 April 2023 in the New Delhi visa office. This visa applications were withdrawn by way of letter on 24 April 2023. Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Rights of the Child (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 143, 144 and 145 together. The Government is firmly committed to ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023, which I will publish this month, will remove the final obstacles to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Reviews (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy is aware I published the majority report and the minority report of the Independent Review Group appointed to examine all aspects of the Offences Against the State Acts on 21 June following consideration by Government. Given the importance of the Acts as the State's primary counter-terrorism legislation over many decades, any proposals for reform must be thoroughly...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: State Bodies (5 Jul 2023)

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

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: I can advise the Deputy that it is open to persons who have been legally resident in Ireland for a minimum of five years as the holder of an employment permit issued by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to apply for Long Term Residency permission. To qualify under this scheme, applicants must show legal residency in Ireland based on employment permit conditions as...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Antisocial Behaviour (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including the recording of information on the Garda IT system. As Minister, I have no role in these matters. I have been informed by Garda authorities that there is no specific crime incident type...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Work Permits (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: I can inform that officials in my Department are in ongoing communication with the organisation referred to regarding the issues of concern raised and that the Atypical Working Scheme (AWS) applications from organisation continue to be processed. I am informed that further documentation was requested on a number of applications, as the information supplied did not meet the requirements set...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Deportation Orders (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: I can advise the Deputy that in Parliamentary Question No. 154 of 21 June 2023, you requested the number of deportation orders 'granted' and those 'fully executed'. In my response I provided those statistics for the period 2018 to YTD 2023 rather than the period 2020 to YTD as requested in order to provide a greater comparator of the data to take account of the suspension of deportations...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Communications Surveillance (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: I understand that Deputy is referring to the order of the High Court granted by Mr Justice Owens pursuant to section 3A of the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011 (as amended by the Communications (Retention of Data)(Amendment) Act 2022) on 26 June 2023. The order requires service providers to retain data in all of the categories specified in Schedule 2 of the Act for a period of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Equipment (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: My Department conducts software asset management processes to quantify software licence liabilities at regular intervals. Any shortfalls identified during this process are addressed by the purchase of additional licencing where required.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Probate Applications (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, the Probate Office is an office of the High Court. Under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in its functions. Probate functions are also carried out by County Registrars at District Probate Registries in 14 provincial court offices, and these office holders are...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Women's Resource Centres (6 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: A key aim of the Third National Strategy is the doubling of the number of refuge places over its lifetime, bringing it to 280. In order to achieve this ambitious goal, we are working with all stakeholders to put in place the necessary structures and supports to accelerate the delivery of additional refuge accommodation year on year. Work undertaken to implement the Strategy has already...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Websites (6 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: The Department of Justice has a process in place for managing security certificates on our infrastructure. The Department’s records do not show any instance of the department website being unavailable due to SSL certificate expiry. An SSL certificate was only added to the Department website in 2021.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (6 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: The Deputy does not state the nationality of the person referred to. However, it is noted that the address provided is in South Africa and South African nationals are not visa required and may seek to enter and reside in the State on visitors conditions for up to 90 days. Entry into the State, for both visa required and non-visa required nationals, is solely at the discretion of the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (6 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: I can inform the Deputy that following full consideration by a Visa Officer, the visa application referred to was refused. A letter issued to the applicant on 04 July 2023 outlines the reasons for this refusal. An appeals process, which is free of charge, is available which allows applicants, in the event of a refusal of the application at first instance, to address the factors which gave...