Results 2,121-2,140 of 15,060 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: No. It will fall back on the common law.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: There is an option there but-----

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: It is this Act that we are amending, not the 2001 Act.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: It will default to the way in which it is defined under the Children Act in relation to murder, which is common law.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge and thank him and the members of the committee for waiving pre-legislative scrutiny and acknowledging this is very specific and very much responding to the High Court ruling and the need to ensure equality between children and children who have aged out when it comes to the sentencing and the timeline. There are two elements to the amendment. The first...

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: To the second point, the amendment itself specifically references the aged-out child and references murder. Again, the legal advice I have is the Children Act 2001 disapplied any specific sentence specific to murder. While there may be a general sentence, there is no specific statutory sentence for children relating to murder, whereas this would place a specific statutory sentence on the...

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: The discrepancy we are trying to remove inserts this on the other side. There is a second element to this. There is a Supreme Court case which is looking at murder as it applies to a child. Apologies that I did not say this earlier but this particular case has the potential to require further changes in legislation. The Children Act is being worked on at the moment, and there is an...

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: The objective of the Bill is to provide that level playing field and that equality. Where the 2001 Act is silent is specific to murder, so by including the amendment, where we are specifically referencing murder to the aged-out child, where it is not specifically referenced to children in the 2001 Children Act, and I appreciate this is where we are talking about-----

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: There is no specific reference. The 2001 Act is silent on murder.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: It is the use of that. It does not exist, so to disapply it for the aged-out child brings it onto a level playing field and brings it back to where it was. I am not saying we should not have on the Statute Book something specific about murder as it relates to children but it does not currently exist. Applying the amendment as it stands inserts something specific to murder for the aged-out...

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

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 69, 70 and 71 together. As the Deputy will be aware, the EU Temporary Protection Directive (2001/55/EC) was activated by the EU Council in March 2022 in response to the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The Directive establishes the minimum standards of protection to be provided by Member States in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons from third...

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

Helen McEntee: Community safety is about people being safe and, importantly, feeling safe in their own communities. At the heart of this policy is the principle that every community has the right to be and feel safe in order to thrive and flourish. Our approach to community safety is a whole-of-Government one. We want to bring the relevant social service providers, including the Gardaí, together with...

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

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for operational policing matters such as those raised. I have contacted the Garda authorities for the information requested, regrettably this information was not to hand in time. I will write to the Deputy once the information is available.

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

Helen McEntee: The Review of the Enforcement of Child Maintenance Orders, which was published on 8 January 2024, is one of the actions contained in Goal One of the Family Justice Strategy, that of ‘supporting children’. The Review was led by my Department and builds on the report of the Child Maintenance Review Group. The Review notes that the vast majority of parents take their financial...

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...