Results 181-200 of 10,013 for speaker:Jim O'Callaghan

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Okay.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am the person responsible and accountable for it. If the Chair has issues of concern, he should write to me about them. I am concerned about setting up reviews of work I am responsible for. If the Chair has issues with applications made, he should write to me. I will raise them in the Department and try to give him a response. That is all I can say.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The general situation is that fund gets fairly exhausted early in the year. If an award is made to people under the criminal injuries compensation tribunal and no money is available that year, they will get it fairly promptly the next year. It is a scheme that needs to be reformed and put on a statutory basis. There is also a series of references to the CJEU in respect of how the scheme...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Yes, of course.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: We can give people an interim payment.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am told that does happen. With large awards, there will be an interim payment.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Yes, but I want to be realistic with the Chair and the committee. I am trying to get a lot of legislation done and the criminal injuries compensation tribunal is one aspect of this, but I cannot give a guarantee it is going to be done this year or next year. A Law Reform Commission report will be coming out in respect of the scheme. It generally produces a Bill at the back of it. I will...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I ask the committee to give me a bit of notice. Obviously, I have a very tight schedule between now and the end of the Dáil term. I am just being frank with the Chair. I do not want to be saying something that cannot happen. I have no difficulty coming here, but it may have to wait until September or October.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am trying to stop that.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Buying accommodation that the State will own. The only solution is that the State provides the accommodation.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: To get away from the commercial provision of accommodation units for international protection applicants, the State has to provide its own accommodation. Otherwise, we will always be renting.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I have instructed officials in my Department to ensure they get the best value for money. The market has changed. As I said to Deputy Kelly, last year, the State was chasing after sites. Now, site owners are chasing after the State. The market has changed but that can change very quickly. A significant number of people, about 2,500, are not being provided with accommodation. It is a...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I thank the Chair and members.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Actually, the Chairman should come down to some attestation. It is a great family occasion and one realises the pride people have in An Garda Síochána. I hope Deputy Kelly will be at the next one.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I thank Deputy Brabazon. I am limited in what I can do in respect of trying to change the pension schemes that operate for certain public sector workers. I have listened to the GRA in respect of it. I know it is not as attractive a scheme as the previous one was. It may be having an impact on recruitment but what I think is probably having more of an impact is the competitive nature of...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am wary of saying it but I have funding for 1,000 new gardaí each year. I am not going to go around to people saying we probably will not recruit 1,000. Deputy Kelly knows what I am saying.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: It is used across the board. The overtime budget is fairly significant. The overtime budget for 2025 is just over €150 million, which represents an increase of nearly 60% over the previous figure, €94 million. Expenditure on overtime so far this year is ahead of profile by 26%, or nearly €19 million. Sixty percent of the budget had been spent at the end of May, on...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Yes. We enacted legislation last year, the Family Courts Act 2024. An implementation body is in place to ensure that what is set out in the legislation is implemented. It is not within that funding, but once the report of the implementation body comes to me and sets out how we need to implement the changes made under the Family Courts Act, there will be funding available for that in...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: We have significantly increased funding for public order policing over the past year. We have invested in a water cannon and further fleets. It is costing us money for public order policing. As the Deputy is recognising, however, we need to recognise the right of people to protest. If we look at the weekend, the Garda did a very good job. There were two ongoing protests. One was a group...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Deputy asked whether I am aware of any problems with vetting of a person within An Garda Síochána. The answer is that I am not but if there was an issue, I probably would not get to hear about. As Minister for justice, I would not expect to-----