Results 4,821-4,840 of 15,389 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: The reduction in prisoner care and rehabilitation is primarily related to inflation and costs that were specific to Covid last year. There is no decrease in service. It is just that last year there was inflation in the overall costs, which we do not expect to happen this year. On mental health more broadly, a body of work was done by the former Minister of State with responsibility for...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: One of the ways in which we can support people is by supporting some of the organisations that are specifically there to work with people. I met with some of them in the Dóchas Centre only last week. Through separate funding in my Department, I have tried to invest in many of those organisations so that they can expand where possible and also offer as much of a service to as many...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: Certainly, one of the recommendations of the Drogheda implementation plan was a prison link worker. I met with that group last year. It has just one prison link worker in place but it is working very well and has already had a positive impact. A very small number of people can have a very positive impact.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: The short answer is "Yes". We have allocated 24 additional new judges among the courts, and there will now be a period for the judicial planning working group to look at how the 24 additional judges and, most important, the structures and the support around them will have an impact on the overall lists. There are a number of changes to the modernisation programme and to ways in which our...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: An additional €3.4 million was allocated for the Probation Service this year, so it has seen an increase, to deal with the number of different services it provides. It is looking at further configuring the networks of the community-based officers to deliver restorative justice services, our joint agency response to crime, JARC, and the youth joint agency response, YJARC. That will...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: I think we also need to look at other ways in which we can improve, such as by making sure the community services side of things is operating in a more efficient and effective way, which it possibly is not at the moment. More work can be and needs to be done there in order that fewer people who did not need to go to prison go to prison. There are a number of strands to this. We now have...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: On A27, the passenger information unit, this is an increase of €1.6 million provided to the Irish passenger information unit. The fund is to hire personnel to undertake ICT projects and the primary function here is to collect and process passenger name data, PNR, and passenger recognition data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences or...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: That is being progressed at the moment. It is still being worked on. I expect it to come before the Houses at some stage this year. I do not have a definite date for that yet, unfortunately.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: Everybody supports the idea of funds being taken from criminals and put directly back into the communities they impact. I was really pleased to be able to set up this fund. In the last two years it has gone from €2 million to €3 million to €3.75 million this year and obviously I want to see that increase further. The overall objective of the fund is to support...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: The objective is to have one community safety partnership per local authority. In Galway and Cork, for example, there are city and county councils so there would be two partnership in those counties. Obviously in Dublin there are four local authorities but the intention is that there will be many more than four partnerships, given the population numbers and density. A final decision has...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: They can still operate but they will be working with the partnership instead of the JPC. The intention is that there will be no gaps, so there will be a provision for that. With the local elections happening this June, the natural order would be that the JPCs would be stood down and when the legislation is enacted later this year, that all of the community safety partnerships would be stood...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: My intention is that we will have three. A competition is under way and I hope to be in a position in a matter of weeks to appoint new commissioners. Obviously, Ms Helen Dixon is stepping down and is moving on to a different role so there will be a vacancy there as well. It is my intention that all three commissioner posts will be filled. I want to take this opportunity to thank Helen for...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: The last time I was here, I took the brief as read but I think it would be helpful to go through it this time. The Department of Justice Vote group, which underpins an extensive ongoing investment to support work right across the justice sector, provides for gross expenditure of €3.637 billion across the six Votes in my Department and the justice sector, €3.363 billion of which...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: The Acting Chairman is right in what he said. We have the highest number there has been for a significant period. There are 4,717 people in prison compared to an approximate capacity of 4,514. This has led to us having to put bunk beds into certain cells. A small number of people are sleeping on mattresses and other areas have been refurbished that might not have been in use previously....

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: It probably is, in some way, a reflection of the challenges there. There is not a requirement for somebody to have that specific qualification, which is the case for probation officers. Having said that, a certain level of training is required and a particular skill set needed, so I have every confidence these people will be very supportive and helpful to the overall system. There is...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: The national office for community safety will be the main office that will manage and support the community safety partnerships. The community safety partnerships will replace the JPCs and essentially expand out on the work they do. It will not just be members of An Garda Síochána, the local authority and local authority members or Oireachtas Members that are part of this group....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Human Trafficking (25 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: I can assure the Deputy that combatting the serious crime of human trafficking is a priority for the international law enforcement community. Disrupting criminal networks engaged in trafficking in human beings is one of the EU’s priorities for the fight against serious and organised crime under EMPACT (the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats) for 2022 to 2025....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (25 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: The Irish Prison Psychology Service provides an integrated service to people in custody. Specifically, this means the Psychology Service is responsible for both mental health and criminogenic (offence related) assessment and interventions. Irish Prison Service Psychologists are qualified mental health practitioners and the largest body of mental health professionals employed directly by the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (25 Jan 2024)

Helen McEntee: The Irish Prison Service provides a health care service for prisoners with addictions in a structured, safe and professional way in line with international best practice. The Irish Prison Service continues to be committed to, and involved with, the National Drugs Strategy in partnership with community colleagues and organisations. It is the policy of the Irish Prison Service that, where a...