Results 9,181-9,200 of 9,410 for speaker:Jim O'Callaghan

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (14 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that all Education Centres meet the quality assurance standards demanded by QQI. The Department of Education provides an allocation of 220 (whole time equivalent) teachers to the Irish Prison Service through the Education and Training Boards (ETBs). Education in prisons is delivered with a focus on providing education which is quality assured,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Measures (14 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am committed to ensuring that legislative provisions balance the victim’s right to personal privacy and the accused person’s right to a fair trial. To support legislative change to achieve a greater balance, I secured Government approval for the drafting of the General Scheme of the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 on the 6th May last. The...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Anti-Racism Measures (14 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Transposition of Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA of 28 November 2008 on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia was formally notified to the European Commission before the deadline in November 2010. In 2014, the Commission published a report on the implementation of the Framework Decision, which outlined concerns over correct transposition in over a dozen EU...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Closed-Circuit Television Systems (14 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Community safety is a top priority for my Department and everyone has the right to be safe and to feel safe in their communities. Community CCTV plays an important role in achieving this goal. Since 2017 my Department has administered a grant-aid scheme supporting groups wishing to establish a community-based CCTV system in their area. The CCTV grant scheme was extended in 2019 to cover...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Work Permits (14 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I can inform the Deputy that the Reactivation Employment Permit scheme is operated by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE). The purpose of the scheme is to provide non-EEA nationals who hold an employment permit a pathway to re-employment where they have fallen out of employment through no fault of their own. The role of the Immigration Service of my Department is to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Functions (14 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: My Department's work on migration includes engagement with other Departments on the development of policy across Government and to that end a Strategic Migration Policy Group was established in December 2024 to support that work. The objective is to develop whole-of-government approaches to migration that are coherent across Departments and responsive in seeking to address Ireland’s...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Applications (14 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 148, 149 and 150 together. I can advise the Deputy that all applications for a certificate of naturalisation are assessed individually in accordance with the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. A determination on whether an applicant satisfies the statutory criteria for naturalisation can only be made after an...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (14 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The State is currently providing accommodation to approximately 33,000 people applying for international protection and has also welcomed over 114,000 people from Ukraine since 2022. The International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) provides accommodation at over 320 centres nationwide. Our accommodation systems have been forced to expand at a rapid pace over the last two to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Domestic Violence (15 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am absolutely committed to a zero tolerance approach to the scourge of domestic violence and the conditions in which it thrives. In January 2024, the Government established a new domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence agency, Cuan, to coordinate and drive the implementation of the Third National Strategy. I have prioritised this since my appointment as Minister and have already...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Reviews (15 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: My position, and the position of this Government, is that prostitution is inherently exploitative of vulnerable people, mainly women and girls, and that many people are forced into prostitution through trafficking, drug addiction, homelessness and poverty. The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 decriminalised the sale of sex, criminalised the purchase of sex, and increased the penalty...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Local Community Safety Partnerships (15 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The objective of all Local Community Safety Partnerships, including in County Louth, will be to bring the relevant bodies together with communities in a collaborative manner, by focusing on the concerns identified and prioritised by local people. It is the my intention that the LCSPs will be established as soon as is practicable following completion of the regulations. It is worth saying...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (15 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The State is currently accommodating over 33,000 people in over 320 International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres around the country, about 9,400 of whom are children with their families. As the Deputy will be aware, the system has responded to a sudden and sustained increase in applications over the last three years. By way of illustration, in August 2021, the State was...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Local Community Safety Partnerships (15 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I acknowledge the Deputy's concerns and I want to repeat that it is absolutely my intention that the Local Community Safety Partnerships will be established as soon as possible following completion of the necessary regulations. The Partnerships are the cornerstone of our policy on community safety and so it's vital we get them up and running so that they can begin work on the development of a...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Getting more Gardaí on our streets to prevent crime is my first priority as Minister for Justice. This 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 this policy. At the end of March, the total Garda personnel strength stood at 18,243, which included...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Electronic Tagging (15 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am committed to implementing electronic monitoring in line with the commitment set out in the current Programme for Government. Since becoming Minister for Justice. I have demonstrated my commitment to progressing and implementing policies aimed at increasing the use of community sanctions, reducing offending, diverting people away from the criminal justice system, and providing...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Antisocial Behaviour (15 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Government is committed to the principle that everyone, wherever they live in Ireland, should be safe. All people should also feel safe as they live or work in our communities. Building safe and secure communities across the country by investing in An Garda Síochána is a top priority for this Government. I want every part of the country to be a safe space for people to live and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Prevention (15 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Government is committed to the principle that everyone, wherever they live in Ireland, should be safe and feel safe. Building safe and secure communities across the country by investing in An Garda Síochána is a top priority in the Programme for Government. I want every part of the country to be a safe space for people to live and work in, and the Clongriffin area in Dublin 13...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am advised that a total of 400 Gardaí left the service within five years of joining in the past ten years, as of 9 May 2025. There were none recorded in 2015. The breakdown for 2016 to 2025 is as follows: 2016 12 2017 8 2018 26 2019 41 2020 42 2021 63 2022 59 2023 68 2024 65 2025 16 I am advised that, while these figures are largely accounted for by...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Court Accommodation (15 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am advised that the Courts Service purchased a site in 2020, at Kylekiproe, on which to build a new Courthouse. Further progress in relation to the Portlaoise project and several others, as part of Courts Service building projects included in the National Development Plan (NDP), will depend on the next round of NDP funding. The Programme for Government, Securing Ireland's Future,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Public Inquiries (15 May 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I thank the Deputy for submitting this question. I met with the O’Farrell family on Friday 21st March last. At our meeting I listened carefully to what they had to say. I know the pain the O’Farrell family have suffered and continue to experience since the tragic loss of their beloved son and brother Shane, in August 2011. I cannot ease their pain but I do want to ensure that...