Results 2,021-2,040 of 7,010 for speaker:James Browne

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: That is very important. We saw only a few weeks ago the opening of the new forensic mental health hospital at Portrane. It is a state-of-the-art facility. I visited it. The fact that somebody is in prison should in no way diminish his or her entitlement to appropriate medical healthcare. The forensic mental health hospital will provide just that. We also established in the Department...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: All 96 patients transferred from Dundrum to the National Forensic Mental Health Service Hospital in Portrane. I cannot remember the figures off the top of my head, but I will certainly get them to the Deputy. There are 170 places in total. Ten of them are for children. There are a number of intensive treatment beds in there as well. I think it is another ten. I do not have the figures,...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: It is a consistent comment from all of the services within the Prison Service that it is not possible to give people treatment if they are on less than a one-year prison sentence. That continues to be the situation. The impact is more severe on women. When I travelled around the prison, one of the things I learned that was striking is that men in prison get a significant number of visitors,...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: Yes. It was something I was very conscious of when this aspect was raised with me when I visited the prisons. I know it was the same for the Minister. All I can say at this point is that we are aware of it and it is something that is very much being looked at.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: My understanding is that this system was revamped during Covid-19. It should be possible for most prisoners now to be able to do that, but I will get more detail on this subject for the Chair. This information is not in the Estimates but I will get more detail in this regard.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: Last year, we received an additional €6.7 million for youth diversion projects.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: This year, it was an additional €2.5 million. The total, therefore, is €9.2 million. This is coming off a base of approximately €14 million, so there has been a significant increase in the space of two budgets. Our priorities with the youth diversion projects, in respect of the initial funding, is to get-----

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: No, it is €16.7 million plus €2.5 million, meaning there has been an increase of €9.2 million in the space of two budgets.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: It is coming off of a base of approximately €14 million to €15 million.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: That was what we were starting with. There was also some one-off funding present within the youth justice budget when I took up my portfolio concerning Greentown and some other specialised projects. This was the base the funding was coming off, so it has increased significantly. It is contained in the justice Vote rather than that for An Garda Síochána.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: Regarding the strategy in this regard, the first priority is to get full national coverage. Only last week, we approved the advertisement for youth diversion projects in areas that remain to be covered, including parts of counties Mayo, Cavan and Tipperary. The name of the fourth county escapes me for the moment. We are working on full national coverage. We have also been increasing the...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: Yes.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: I will have to see why those reports are not being published. My understanding is that they come through via An Garda Síochána, as opposed to the youth diversion projects themselves. The Department just-----

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: I will have to inquire about why that is the case. I do not have any information to hand.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: Absolutely. Earlier this year, the recruitment call was successful, with more than 11,000 expressions of interest. The first intake started yesterday, with 92 trainees. We expect to take in 200 every eight weeks, beginning in February 2023, to bring a total of 1,000 people into An Garda Síochána through the current recruitment process. The recruitment process has been successful...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: As the Deputy knows, the public raised a number of concerns last year about antisocial behaviour. There were significant successes relating to organised crime, including both drugs and criminals themselves. Much extra work was put into those types of programmes and into Operation Citizen, which tries to increase Garda visibility. We have seen challenges such as the incidents in Ballyfermot...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: In the last Garda recruitment process, we got more than 11,000 applications, which showed significant interest by the public in becoming members of An Garda Síochána. The initial application was significantly simplified and could be more described as an expression of interest rather than a complicated application. That was partly to expand interest so that people who would not...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: Obviously, retention is very important. The level of resignations has increased slightly but they are still quite low and I suspect they are quite low by international comparison. However, any increase is something we have to monitor. People resign from any organisation for all sorts of reasons. We work very hard to retain. Operations in terms of rostering are a matter for the...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: Yes. When it goes wrong, it can go badly wrong. I would certainly encourage anyone to stay in An Garda Síochána. It is a life well lived.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2022)

James Browne: The roll-out of any type of equipment is a matter for the Commissioner. As the fleet is renewed year on year, the new cars often have more specialised equipment. The legislation on bodycams is working its way through. The general data protection regulation, GDPR, means it requires specialised legislation to set out clearly how and when they can be used because these gardaí will be...