Results 3,081-3,100 of 15,389 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Work Permits (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: Application processing times for Extension to Work Permit Conditions can fluctuate depending on the volume of applications received to the Domestic Residence and Permissions Division of the Immigration Service. Currently, applications are taking approximately 3 months to process. As the Deputy will be aware, in order to work in Ireland a non-EEA national must have an employment permit...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Data (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 134 and 135 together. As the Deputy will be aware, the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, is responsible for the compilation and publication of all crime statistics. I am advised by An Garda Síochána that the CSO publish statistics on the offence of ‘burglaries’. This information can be found at...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: Community policing is at the heart of An Garda Síochána, and all Gardaí have a role to play in community policing in the course of carrying out their duties. Community policing is also fundamental to the new Garda Operating Model which is currently being rolled out across the country, and is fully commenced in thirteen Garda divisions. The new model will provide more...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (3 Jul 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, including the distribution of Garda members between the different Garda units and Divisions. As Minister, I have no role in such matters. The Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 138 and 139 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 the distribution of Garda members between the different Garda units and Divisions. As Minister, I have no role in such matters. The...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy is aware, the Inspector of Prisons, established under the Prisons Act 2007, is independent in how he carries out his functions. One of those functions is to investigate all Deaths in Custody and deaths that occur within one month of temporary release from Prison. The objective for investigation of deaths in custody is to establish the circumstances and events surrounding the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 141 and 142 together. As the Deputy is aware, the Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP) was established under the Prisons Act 2007 and is independent in how it carries out its functions. The Inspector's role is to carry out regular inspections of prisons. There are two unpublished reports of the Inspector of Prisons in relation to the women’s...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána. This includes all recruitment and training matters. As Minister I have no role in these matters. I am committed to ensuring An Garda Síochána have the resources they need to deliver on their mission of 'Keep People Safe'. This is reflected in...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Reviews (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will understand, my Department is responsible for a wide range of policy and legislative matters in relation to civil and criminal justice and the immigration system and has responsibility for a large number of statutory and non-statutory bodies. In the normal course of business my Department keeps all aspects of policy and legislation under review in order to ensure that all...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Prevention (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy may be aware, in 2021 I announced the creation of the Community Safety Innovation Fund to reinvest proceeds of crime funds returned to the exchequer by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) back into communities, in order to fund innovative local projects aimed at building stronger, safer communities. The Fund has since been renamed the Community Safety Fund (CSF) . The CSF had...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: Section 9 of the Immigration Act 2004 provides that a register of non-nationals who have permission to be in the State (in general for a period of 3 months or longer) shall be established and maintained by registration officers and also provides that a non-national is required to pay a fee to the registration officer for the issue of a registration certificate. This fee is set by regulations...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Data (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, murder can be one of the most complex crimes to investigate and it can take some time before a suspect is identified and prosecuted. Therefore I am informed that, until that happens, it is not possible to fully determine if there is any relationship to the victim, so there is a time lag in data regarding familial relationships being collated from PULSE. The...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legal Aid (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: 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 and the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996 to 2021. The Board engages private solicitors to supplement the services provided by Board solicitors in certain areas of law on a...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) are community-based, multi-agency youth crime prevention initiatives which primarily seek to divert young people who have been, or are at risk of becoming, involved in anti-social or criminal behaviour. YDPs are run by community-based organisations and are a vital support to the statutory Garda Youth Diversion Programme. A top...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legal Aid (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: At the outset, it is important to clarify that criminal legal aid and civil legal aid are separate services. Under the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962, it is the Courts, through the judiciary, that are responsible for the granting of legal aid. The Criminal Legal Aid Scheme is demand-led and the fees and expenses due to legal practitioners are paid in accordance with the terms and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) is a non-statutory executive agency of the Department of Justice responsible for the secure custody, care and rehabilitation of people serving a sentence in each of Ireland’s 12 prisons. The IPS is the second largest agency in the criminal justice system, with a budget of €453m in 2024 and €422m in 2023....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Family Reunification (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: I can advise the Deputy that the application referred to was created on the 06 May 2023. Supporting documentation was received in the Pretoria office on the 28 September 2023. The application was received in the Dublin Visa Office on the 06 October 2023 where it awaits examination and processing. Long Stay Join Family visa applications are processed in accordance with the guidelines set out...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (3 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, the Government recently approved increasing the mandatory retirement age to 62 years of age in a number of the uniform services, including in An Garda Síochána and the Irish Prison Service. This increased mandatory retirement age will need to be facilitated by amendments to the relevant primary legislation and by related secondary legislation. The...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Courts Service (2 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: I mentioned the overall change because this is all part of the work that is being done. This is linked to last year’s 10% increase and is part of improving the overall system, which includes fees, so I would like to think that the action I have taken to date shows my good faith commitment to restoring fees. This is not just about the 10%, but a potential further 8% and another 8% on...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Courts Service (2 Jul 2024)

Helen McEntee: I thank all three Deputies for raising this important matter. I appreciate the important role that our legal profession, our barristers and solicitors, play in the administration of criminal justice. I am aware of the proposed withdrawal of services on 9 July, 15 July and 24 July. Like everyone here, I hope this can be avoided. My Department has commenced a review of criminal legal aid....