Results 281-300 of 11,589 for speaker:Jim O'Callaghan

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (9 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Getting more Gardaí on our streets to prevent crime is my first priority as Minister for Justice. This 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 2026 includes unprecedented funding of €2.59 billion...

Financial Resolutions 2025 - Financial Resolution No. 5: General (Resumed) (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. At the start, I am pleased to say that I and my colleagues, the Ministers of State, Deputies Brophy and Collins, have secured an allocation of €6.17 billion for the justice sector in this year's budget. This is a record allocation that involves a €330 million increase on last year and it will allow us to invest in a number of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 260 and 264 together. It is a central priority for me that Ireland’s immigration system is robust and rules based. Returning people who do not have permission to remain in Ireland is undertaken through voluntary returns and deportation. Both types of returns are essential for the system to work effectively and to ensure that there is confidence in the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 261, 262 and 263 together. Ireland is currently accommodating almost 33,000 people seeking international protection in 319 International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres around the country. Due to severe shortages of accommodation over recent years, from December 2023, the State was unable to offer accommodation to all people seeking...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Implementing a child payment for children in the international protection process remains under consideration following the international protection reception function’s transition to the Department of Justice. Home Affairs, and Migration in May of this year. This will be considered in the context of the development of a new International Protection Act, priorities under the new...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I can advise the Deputy that Section 51A of the International Protection Act 2015 provides for the making of a return order where an international protection application has been determined as inadmissible. An international protection application may be determined as inadmissible where certain conditions are met in accordance with section 21 of the same Act. This situation will typically...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The salary for the Garda Commissioner role, with effect from 1 August 2025, is €301,744 (non-PPC)/€317,657 (PPC). This salary reflects the size and unique complexity of leading An Garda Síochána, an organisation of over 18,000 employees, including lead responsibility for the security of the State. The current Garda Commissioner is remunerated in line with the above...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business under the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024, this includes all operational matters. In relation to the specific information sought by the Deputy, I am advised by the Garda authorities that it is not possible to provide information specific to ‘domestic/gender/sexual-based...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Combatting domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) is a priority for me and for the Government, and ensuring reliable data on service use is central to this work. In January 2024, Cuan, the new statutory agency dedicated to tackling DSGBV was established. Cuan’s role is to coordinate our national response and Government actions in the Third National Strategy on DSGBV and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Personal Injury Claims (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The possibility of introducing a no-fault insurance system in Ireland has been examined before by Government. The Second and Final Report of Personal Injuries Commission in 2018, commissioned by the then Minster for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, considered this issue and concluded that it would be difficult to envisage a no-fault system, such as exists in New Zealand, being applied in...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Huge strides have been made over recent months in regularising the IPAS accommodation portfolio. New systems and procedures in place are already having an impact and this will improve incrementally over the coming months and into 2026. The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG)'s recent annual report for 2024 looked at overall processes and 20 sample international protection...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The International Protection Procurement Service (IPPS) received an offer of accommodation for people seeking international protection at this property. However, the offer is no longer under consideration. All offers of international protection accommodation are reviewed by the Department under a standardised appraisal procedure. Factors in the appraisal of international protection...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Private Security Authority (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Private Security Authority (PSA) considers the suitability of applicants to work in the private security industry on the basis of competence, criminality and general suitability. The PSA has guidelines on the assessment of what constitutes a fit and proper person. The guidelines are available on the website of the PSA. Where an applicant for a licence has a criminal conviction, the PSA...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: In the interest of transparency, An Garda Síochána publishes data on the allocation of Gardaí by Division, Station and rank. This can be found at the following link: www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/human-resources-and -people-development/garda-hr-directorate/garda-strength-brea kdown-2025/. The Deputy should select the Garda Workforce figures for August 2025 (the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I would like to assure the Deputy, that preventing access to contraband into prisons continues to be a high priority for the Irish Prison Service. It is estimated that up to 70% of the people in custody have addiction issues and the reality is that some of those with active addiction issues may continue their drug-seeking behaviour inside prison, notwithstanding the supports that are...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Irish Prison Service has confirmed that statistics available regarding prisoners on a restricted regime are collated by the Irish Prison Service Statistics Unit and published quarterly on its website (www.irishprisons.ie). This information can be found in the Information Centre under Statistics & Information, Census Reports. I am advised that it is not possible to provide the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Irish Prison Service must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the courts and has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time. Where the number of people in custody exceeds the maximum capacity in any prison, officials in the Irish Prison Service make every effort to deal with this through Temporary Release. Decisions in relation to temporary...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I can assure the Deputy that Irish Prison Service staff work tirelessly to take steps to reduce the flow of illicit substances into our prisons. The prevention of access to contraband including illegal drugs into prisons will always be a high priority for the Irish Prison Service. The Irish Prison Service has committed to continuing to invest in new technologies and measures to support our...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I have been advised that, the healthcare records of prisoners in the custody of the Irish Prison Service are recorded on an individual basis on the Prisoner Healthcare Management System (PHMS). Each individual's record is recorded in a narrative fashion and it is not possible to extract a global report from PHMS to produce a summary of medical conditions or issues for which people have...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legal Aid (8 Oct 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Legal Aid Board is the statutory, independent body responsible for the provision of civil legal aid and advice to persons of modest means, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”) and the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996 to 2021. Section 3(3) of the 1995 Act states that the Board shall, subject to the provisions of the Act, be...