Results 10,641-10,660 of 15,638 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: Yes, everybody has access to the mobility app.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: In regard to Garda staff, the objective of making sure we have an increase in our overall numbers is to ensure as far as possible that front-line gardaí are not behind the desk doing paperwork or work that Garda staff could do. There will always be a level of work that gardaí need to do, inputting data and information, but certainly the objective is that the more Garda staff we...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy. He is right that one of the biggest challenges is making sure that we have enough prison staff to manage the overall prison population, which is increasing, but also to make sure prisoners are able to access their education and health needs. They are impacted where there are not enough people essentially to transport them to that class or whatever it is they are going...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: The reduction in prisoner care and rehabilitation is primarily related to inflation and costs that were specific to Covid last year. There is no decrease in service. It is just that last year there was inflation in the overall costs, which we do not expect to happen this year. On mental health more broadly, a body of work was done by the former Minister of State with responsibility for...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: One of the ways in which we can support people is by supporting some of the organisations that are specifically there to work with people. I met with some of them in the Dóchas Centre only last week. Through separate funding in my Department, I have tried to invest in many of those organisations so that they can expand where possible and also offer as much of a service to as many...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: Certainly, one of the recommendations of the Drogheda implementation plan was a prison link worker. I met with that group last year. It has just one prison link worker in place but it is working very well and has already had a positive impact. A very small number of people can have a very positive impact.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: The short answer is "Yes". We have allocated 24 additional new judges among the courts, and there will now be a period for the judicial planning working group to look at how the 24 additional judges and, most important, the structures and the support around them will have an impact on the overall lists. There are a number of changes to the modernisation programme and to ways in which our...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: An additional €3.4 million was allocated for the Probation Service this year, so it has seen an increase, to deal with the number of different services it provides. It is looking at further configuring the networks of the community-based officers to deliver restorative justice services, our joint agency response to crime, JARC, and the youth joint agency response, YJARC. That will...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: I think we also need to look at other ways in which we can improve, such as by making sure the community services side of things is operating in a more efficient and effective way, which it possibly is not at the moment. More work can be and needs to be done there in order that fewer people who did not need to go to prison go to prison. There are a number of strands to this. We now have...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: On A27, the passenger information unit, this is an increase of €1.6 million provided to the Irish passenger information unit. The fund is to hire personnel to undertake ICT projects and the primary function here is to collect and process passenger name data, PNR, and passenger recognition data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences or...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: That is being progressed at the moment. It is still being worked on. I expect it to come before the Houses at some stage this year. I do not have a definite date for that yet, unfortunately.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: Everybody supports the idea of funds being taken from criminals and put directly back into the communities they impact. I was really pleased to be able to set up this fund. In the last two years it has gone from €2 million to €3 million to €3.75 million this year and obviously I want to see that increase further. The overall objective of the fund is to support...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: The objective is to have one community safety partnership per local authority. In Galway and Cork, for example, there are city and county councils so there would be two partnership in those counties. Obviously in Dublin there are four local authorities but the intention is that there will be many more than four partnerships, given the population numbers and density. A final decision has...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: They can still operate but they will be working with the partnership instead of the JPC. The intention is that there will be no gaps, so there will be a provision for that. With the local elections happening this June, the natural order would be that the JPCs would be stood down and when the legislation is enacted later this year, that all of the community safety partnerships would be stood...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: My intention is that we will have three. A competition is under way and I hope to be in a position in a matter of weeks to appoint new commissioners. Obviously, Ms Helen Dixon is stepping down and is moving on to a different role so there will be a vacancy there as well. It is my intention that all three commissioner posts will be filled. I want to take this opportunity to thank Helen for...

Death of Former Taoiseach: Expressions of Sympathy (7 Feb 2024)

Helen McEntee: John Bruton will always be the defining figure of the Fine Gael Party in County Meath. In his 35 years as a Meath TD, he provided leadership on every single issue. His impact will continue because Bruton values will always be at the heart of Fine Gael. He knew every inch of County Meath, and it seems he knew every family - or, indeed, every family knew him personally. He combined an...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (7 Feb 2024)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy is aware, earlier this year the Government established Cuan, a new statutory agency with a dedicated focus on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. The agency has a specific mandate to drive the implementation of the Zero Tolerance: Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence across Government, bringing the expertise and focus required to tackle...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Ukraine War (7 Feb 2024)

Helen McEntee: Applications for temporary protection are dealt with by officials of my Department who assess applications under the criteria outlined in the temporary protection directive (2001/55), available at the link below, which was activated by EU Council decision of 4 March 2022. eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2022/382/oj. Registration of persons granted temporary protection are processed on a Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (7 Feb 2024)

Helen McEntee: The Single Public Service Pension Scheme is a statutory Public Service Career-Average Defined Benefit Pension Scheme, established on 1 January 2013 under the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012. The entitlements of the Single Scheme are clearly set out in law and were enacted on 28 July 2012. All new entrant public servants, including members of An Garda...