Results 2,141-2,160 of 10,120 for speaker:Jim O'Callaghan

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I can advise the Deputy that the application referred to was created on 18 April 2024. Supporting documentation was received on 02 May 2024. The application was forwarded to the Dublin Visa Office on 02 May 2024 where it awaits examination and processing. The person concerned can now directly check the status of visa application on the Immigration Service’s new Digital Contact Centre...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Family Reunification (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I understand that extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants and I want to assure anyone who has made an application for a join family visa that my Department is doing everything possible to progress applications as quickly as possible. The entitlement to family reunification varies depending on the permission granted to the sponsor of the application. Accordingly, there is not a...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Ministerial Responsibilities (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that Niall Collins TD has been appointed Minister of State at my Department with special responsibility for International Law, Law Reform and Youth Justice. It is intended that Colm Brophy TD will be appointed Minister of State with special responsibility for Migration following the enactment of the Ministers and Secretaries and Ministerial, Parliamentary,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The suspension of a requirement for re-entry visas for children under 16 was introduced in 2022. The processing of these applications required applicants to submit their passports, which, at times, resulted in significant processing times, delays and other issues arising. Suspending re-entry visa requirements for children under 16 allowed the Department to minimise potential disruption to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: All applications for a certificate of naturalisation are assessed individually in accordance with the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. A determination on whether an applicant satisfies the statutory criteria for naturalisation can only be made after an application is received. Applicants are required to have 5 years reckonable residence in the State...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business under Section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), including the recruitment and training of Garda members and staff. I am advised that, since the reopening of the Garda college in September 2014, a total of 4,993 Garda members have attested and have been allocated to Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 451 and 452 together. 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, including human resourcing matters. As Minister, I have no role in such matters. I can, however, assure the Deputy that the Government is...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is by law responsible for all operational policing matters, including responses by An Garda Síochána to emergency calls. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters. I am advised by the Garda authorities that An Garda Síochána operates a Regional Control Room strategy which ensures that Garda resources are...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Schemes (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: At the outset, it is important to note that, as Minister, I do not comment on individual Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) applications. My Department does not currently publish the details of individually approved IIP projects or the investments received due to commercial sensitivities. The data requested by the Deputy is not collated in such a way as to differentiate ‘social...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Reviews (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The majority and minority reports of the Independent Review Group, appointed to examine all aspects of the Offences Against the State Acts, were considered by Government and published in 2023. The Offences Against the State Acts are Ireland's primary counter-terrorism legislation. They have served, and continue to serve, the State well and fulfil a vital role in our criminal justice...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Policy (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: As the Deputy will be aware, the Temporary Protection Directive has been extended until March 2026 at a meeting of the European Council in June 2024, thereby providing certainty for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection who can continue to avail of the protections that the Directive provides during this time. Consideration as to the arrangements to be put in place following the expiry of the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Functions (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: As the Deputy will appreciate, the Programme for Government commits to the establishment of a Public Transport Security force under the National Transport Authority. As the NTA rests under the remit of my colleague the Minister for Transport, at present my Department has no role in the establishment of this force. Officials will, of course, engage with colleagues in the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 458 and 459 together. International students from outside the EU/EEA are granted a permission on Stamp 2 conditions where they have enrolled on, and commenced a course listed on the Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP) issued by the Department of Education and Science. A stamp 2A permission is granted where a person has enrolled in full time study in...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Student Visas (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I can advise the Deputy that international students who are from visa required countries must apply for an Irish visa before traveling to study in Ireland. It is normal practice throughout EU Member States to charge a fee for immigration services. The current fees for visa applications are €60 euro for single entry visas and €100 euro for multi entry visas. Some...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: As the Deputy will appreciate, community safety is not a job for An Garda Síochána alone. It is something that requires a multi-agency, multi-sectoral and a whole-of-Government response. A key principle of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland is that community safety requires multi-agency cooperation working in partnership with An Garda Síochána and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 462 and 464 together. ">Garda Fleet Details As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána. This includes the distribution of resources, including the Garda fleet, across the various Garda Divisions and National/Specialist...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including the purchase, allocation, and effective and efficient use of Garda resources. As Minister, I have no role in these independent functions. Garda vehicles are purchased under contracts...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs to fight crime and a strengthened, well-resourced Garda organisation is central to this policy. The Garda Vote in Budget 2025 saw unprecedented funding of over €2.48 billion for this year, a 27% increase since 2020 which is supporting the continued recruitment of Garda members and staff....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Internet Safety (11 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Deputy may be aware that Coimisiún na Meán has been established further to the provisions of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022 and operates under the aegis of my colleague, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. The Act empowers an Online Safety Commissioner, as part of the wider Coimisiún na Meán, to hold designated...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (6 Feb 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I can advise the Deputy that the application referred to was created on 30 September 2023. Supporting documentation was received in the Dublin Visa Office on 22 December 2023 where it awaits examination and processing. My Department's business target for join family visa applications is 12 months. The business target reflects the detailed and often complex assessment that is required to be...