Results 9,221-9,240 of 15,638 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (26 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: The Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities and the 2023 budget of over €2 billion will allow for the continued recruitment of Garda members and staff, with Garda recruits entering Templemore approximately every 11 weeks. I can assure the Deputy that the Government remains committed to reaching its current targets of 15,000 Gardaí and 4,000 Garda staff....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legal Aid (26 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 420, 421, 422 and 423 together. 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 provisions of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 and the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996 to 2021. Section 3(3) of the Act states that the Board shall, subject to the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Domestic Violence (26 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: Under Budget 2023 I secured an extra €9million for funding DSGBV services, a 22% increase. The €9million includes increased funding of just under €7million (€6.88m) for organisations funded by Tusla. In total, Tusla has been allocated approximately €37million for DSGBV services in 2023. Funding of €5.75m is being provided to maintain and support...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Agreements (26 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: The introduction of a visa requirement for Bolivian nationals has brought Ireland into alignment with the visa requirements applying in the UK and in the Schengen area. Bolivian nationals are required to obtain a visa prior to travelling to these jurisdictions. Section 17 of the Immigration Act 2004 provides that the Minister for Justice may, for the purposes of ensuring the integrity of the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Court Orders (26 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: The legislation on maintenance provides several mechanisms to deal with cases where a person fails to comply with court-ordered maintenance obligations. Section 10 of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976 enables an application to be made for a court order that maintenance be paid by way of attachment of earnings, so the maintenance due is deducted directly from...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Regulatory and Poverty Impact Assessments (26 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: The preparation of Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIA) is an important element of the legislative process and presents an opportunity that my Department takes seriously. Of the 27 Bills prepared and published by my Department since 27 June 2020, 19 RIAs were prepared, 5 of which were published. As the Deputy will be aware, RIAs are not required in relation to all legislation. The details...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (26 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána. This includes the allocation of Garda resources to specialist units. As Minister I have no role in these matters. Community policing is at the heart of An Garda Síochána, and all Gardaí have a role to play in community policing in the course...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Courts Service (26 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions. Furthermore, the scheduling of individual court cases and the allocation of court business are entirely matters for the Presidents of the Courts and the presiding judges who are, under the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (26 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm that an application for a Stamp 4 immigration permission from the person referred to by the Deputy was approved in February 2023. The Domestic Residence and Permissions Division of my Department reissued the grant letter to the applicant on 21 September 2023. Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Policies (28 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 217, 218 and 219 together. Last week the Commission for Victims and Survivors in Northern Ireland published survey results of attitudes here regarding the Troubles and people’s experiences of the Troubles. The findings offer an opportunity to explore the attitudes and perceptions of people impacted by the Troubles in this jurisdiction. I appreciate...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (28 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: The naturalisation application from the person referred to by the Deputy continues to be processed by my Department. I am advised that an e-Vetting invitation link has now re-issued to the applicant and on receipt of same, the application will be processed further. The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (28 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: I have been advised that senior officials in the Irish Prison Service have met with the organisation referred to by the Deputy on a number of occasions over the last ten months to gain an understanding of their current situation and the range of services this organisation provides to their members. I understand the services are similar in nature to those provided to comparable organisations,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Family Reunification (28 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: The current immigration arrangements for family reunification are set out in the Policy Document for Non-EEA Family Reunification, which is available on my Department's website. The policy document sets out the rationale for applying resource requirements as part of the overall assessment of whether to approve an application for family reunification. In general terms, the sponsor must...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (28 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 223, 224 and 225 together. The Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities and a strengthened, well-resourced Garda Síochána is central to this policy. This commitment is demonstrated by the unprecedented allocation of over €2 billion to An Garda Síochána for 2023, which is allowing for sustained and ongoing...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (28 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is governed by the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. All applications for a certificate of naturalisation are processed and assessed individually in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Applicants are required to have 5 years reckonable residence in the State prior to making an...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Applications (28 Sep 2023)

Helen McEntee: The naturalisation application from the person referred to by the Deputy continues to be processed by my Department. The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (3 Oct 2023)

Helen McEntee: The introduction of a visa requirement for Bolivian nationals has brought Ireland into alignment with the visa requirements applying in the UK and in the Schengen area. Bolivian nationals are required to obtain a visa prior to travelling to these jurisdictions. Section 17 of the Immigration Act 2004 provides that the Minister for Justice may, for the purposes of ensuring the integrity of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Family Reunification (3 Oct 2023)

Helen McEntee: The visa applications referred to by the Deputy were refused by the Visa Office in Abu Dhabi on 14 February 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 11 March 2023. Appeals for applications of this type are processed in the order in which they are received, to be fair to all...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Measures (3 Oct 2023)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 432 and 449 together. The Victorian-era laws which were repealed by the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 caused immeasurable harm to generations of gay and bisexual men, criminalising and stigmatizing them simply because of their sexual orientation. As the Deputy will be aware, I published the final report and recommendations of the Working Group...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Inquiry into the Death of Mr. Shane O'Farrell (3 Oct 2023)

Helen McEntee: The report of Judge Gerard Haughton arising from the scoping exercise into the circumstances surrounding the tragic and untimely death of Shane O’Farrell, aged 23 in August 2011 was published on 3rdJuly 2023. Judge Haughton was appointed by Minister Flanagan in 2019 to carry out a scoping exercise in light of the public controversy surrounding the circumstances of Shane's tragic death....