Results 12,961-12,980 of 15,908 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: International Protection (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: I can advise the deputy that a deportation order is a legal order to leave the State. Any person who has been ordered to leave the State and fails to do so is committing a criminal offence, and can be arrested without warrant if they come into contact with An Garda Síochána. Such an order remains on the person’s record permanently, unless revoked by the Minister for Justice...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: International Protection (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: I can advise the Deputy, the review of the Policy Document for Non-EEA Family Reunification, which was last amended in 2016, is examining a wide range of matters relating to applications for family reunification, including the nature and suitability of current income thresholds and waiting periods. My Department has consulted with a wide variety of stakeholders and the expectation is that the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: International Protection (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 77 and 78 together. The establishment of a person’s identity and nationality is an important feature of our immigration process. Immigration officials conduct passport checks, and run operations as required, to ensure passengers arriving in the State are properly documented in accordance with Section 11 of the Immigration Act 2004. To the end of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: International Protection (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: I can assure the Deputy that I am fully committed to ensuring that Ireland’s International Protection system is robust and rules based, and that our borders are protected. I have significantly increased investment into the international protection system, which has allowed for a major increase in processing capacity and the introduction of accelerated processing. Last July, I...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: An Garda Síochána (25 Sep 2024)

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. As Minister, I have no role in such matters. I am informed by the Garda authorities that they are unable to disclose details in respect of the Air Support Unit, due to the impact on operational...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Legislative Programme (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, the Government Legislation Programme for the Autumn 2024 Session was published on 18 September. As set out in the Legislation Programme, my Department currently has four Bills before the Houses as follows: Gambling Regulation Bill - To provide for a robust regulatory and licensing regime to regulate gambling both in person and online, to update and streamline...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Priorities (26 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge the unbelievable work of the members of An Garda Síochána and those from the many other emergency support services who responded to the appalling scenes last November after the tragic event earlier in the day. There are ongoing investigations into this matter. In the days, weeks and months since those events, 51 people have been arrested. There...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Priorities (26 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: The Tánaiste's comments relate to the difference between the British and Irish systems subsequent to days of riots in multiple cities across the UK. I am saying clearly that the difference between the United Kingdom and Ireland is that police over there had access to evidence and information which allowed them to obtain early guilty pleas when bringing people before the courts and to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Priorities (26 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: The Deputy asked a number of questions. In the past four years, the Garda budget has increased by 25%. It now stands at €2.35 billion. We have 14,100-plus Garda members and 3,200 Garda staff. The Garda Reserve has been established, and 1,800 applications were received as part of the first recruitment campaign. Every garda on the beat has a hand-held device. This means that they...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Guardian Status (26 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. All of us in recent times have seen far too many incidents like the one referred to by the Deputy. This is why my Department undertook a review of familicide. This report was published in May 2023. It was commissioned by my Department to effectively respond to a very challenging but also complex area and one that I feel we have...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Guardian Status (26 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: If it were that simple it would be done already but unfortunately it is not that simple. It is the case that for somebody else to become a guardian they will have had to shown that they were for the previous 12 months a part of that child's life and a part of the day-to-day of that child's life. If both parents had been in that scenario and one is since deceased and the other is potentially...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Guardian Status (26 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: I wish to clarify that there is no delay in any report. Any report that I have been given I am acting on. With the familicide report actions are already being taken. This specific one-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Guardian Status (26 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: No. What I said was at the end of the year there were recommendations specifically on this. The familicide report does not set how one does this. The Deputy is suggesting that there would be an automatic removal of guardianship. To do that would impact on the cases that I am speaking about. We need to have an understanding of the individual cases. For that we need to change the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Guardian Status (26 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: No, this is not a report that is being undertaken as part of this. It is not mine. This is separate. At the end of the year there will be proposals as to how we enact this specific recommendation from the familicide report. They are two different things. We are not talking about that.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (26 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for his interest in this very important issue. As he has mentioned, one of the overarching goals of the Zero Tolerance strategy is to ensure that everyone across the country who needs a refuge space will have access to one. Our commitment to double what we currently have represents the fastest ever expansion of refuge accommodation in this country. Earlier this month,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (26 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: The ambition is to double the number in the lifetime of the strategy, which is only two years into its progress. We have not achieved that yet but I am confident that we will achieve it over the lifetime of the strategy. We are also developing safe houses. This is not just about providing wraparound support within the refuge itself. It is also about making sure that there are step-down...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (26 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputies. I have said this many times and I will say it again; I believe we are dealing with an epidemic. It is in every town, village and corner of our society. More women are coming forward. It is mainly women although men are, of course, also victims. It is a very positive thing. We need to be able to respond with resources and supports. It is not just about providing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Visa Applications (26 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy rightly said, a great deal of work is being done but we can always improve the service overall and the timelines for people. We are responding and trying to make these changes while at the same time seeing an increase in the number of applications overall. In 2023, we had over 166,000 visa applications submitted and approximately 140,000 of those were granted. These figures...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Visa Applications (26 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: To the latter question, as the Deputy rightly said, last May I jointly announced with my colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Peter Burke, that a project to adopt the single permit to work and live in Ireland would be developed. There is a two-stream process now. The outcome of this initiative will streamline this process for applicants coming to Ireland to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Visa Applications (26 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: Depending on the country, there are differences in the numbers of applications and ways in which embassies in the original countries are operating. While I do not have the exact times, I can tell the Deputy that the top ten nationalities in terms of the short-stay visa grants are India, China, Turkey, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Russian Federation, the Philippines, Egypt, Colombia and Saudi...