Results 5,701-5,720 of 15,389 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: If a person is found to not be a victim of trafficking, that potentially has consequences for the individual. If he or she goes through a process and are found to be, or there is a-----

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: Yes, this is where the committee comes in then in terms of the national referral mechanism. Where the committee identifies a person as a victim, that then allows them the opportunity to potentially extend that period. A national referral mechanism will be on a statuary footing and there will be a specific committee, which will encompass An Garda Síochána, State agencies and the...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I do not have data on that here.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: We would know on that basis. In cases where someone has come forward and claimed to be a victim of trafficking, I am not sure anyone has ever been deported. I can clarify that for the Deputy but my understanding is that very few, if any, have been deported.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: The DPP is independent in her functions. This amendment would provide a statutory defence for a person where that person has committed an offence that is not within the dominion of the Bail Act 1997, so where it is not rape or murder but an offence for which the penalty is anything under five years. It could potentially be assault or some form of theft. It would automatically provide that...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I move amendment No. 21: In page 5, line 6, to delete “to amend the law relating to rape;”.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I move amendment No. 22: In page 5, line 10, to delete “and” where it firstly occurs.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I move amendment No. 23: In page 5, line 11, after “enactments;” to insert “to repeal certain provisions of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006 and the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017; to provide for the retrospective application of certain of these repeals in certain circumstances;”.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (9 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: The Spouse of Irish National (SOIN) application from the person referred to by the Deputy has been approved. A permission letter issued from the Domestic Residence and Permissions Division on 6 November. The person concerned should register this permission at their local immigration office. Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Human Rights (9 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: The Deputy will be aware that the question she raises relates to an investigation of nearly 50 years ago and which culminated in the courts overturning the convictions of two people in 1980; a pardon for one individual in 1992; and the payment of financial settlements. There is no doubt that this case cast a shadow on the trust we place in our criminal justice and policing systems to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Measures (9 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 was commenced on the 10th February 2021. Along with other provisions, it created two new offences of sending, or threatening to send, intimate images without the consent of the person, regardless of the motivation for doing so. It also broadened the existing offence of harassment and provided for a new offence of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Measures (9 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: The Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Custodial Sentences) Act 2023 (the “2023 Act”) was signed into law on 1 March 2023 and was commenced on 3 May 2023. As the Deputy will be aware, the 2023 Act transposed Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA on “the application of the principle of mutual recognition to judgments in criminal matters imposing custodial sentences or...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (9 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: The visa applications referred to by the Deputy were refused by the Visa Office. The reasons for this decision were set out in the refusal letters sent to the applicants on the 11 September 2023. An appeals process, which is free of charge, is available which allows applicants, in the event of a refusal of the application at first instance, to address the factors which gave rise to that...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Applications (9 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: The naturalisation application from the person referred to by the Deputy continues to be processed by my Department. I understand the extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants and my Department has been working hard to clear backlogs. It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. However, the nature...

Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (8 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: In the same regard, I do not think the amendment is necessary on the basis that there is no way that this Bill, as it currently stands and is drafted, could be interpreted as designating a service provider as a public body within the meaning of the 2019 Act. The only way that the Bill could actually have such an effect is that if it contained a specific provision amending the 2019 Act to...

Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (8 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I sincerely thank all of my colleagues for their support in the passing of these Stages. This is extremely important legislation, not least because of what it means for the future. It will ensure that irrespective of who is in this Chamber and what year we are in, the issue of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence will remain firmly on the agenda. It will allow for the establishment...

Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (8 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputies for their contributions and Deputy Ó Ríordáin for tabling the amendment and raising this point. He referred to the organisations and individuals who have worked in this space for many decades. At every step of the way in the development of the zero tolerance strategy, but also this agency, I have tried to make sure their views, voices, concerns,...

Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (8 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for outlining the current position and what we discussed previously. It is a given that the processing of personal data by any party must be in accordance with GDPR and law, particularly the legal framework provided by GDPR. As the Deputy noted, the advice I have been given is that section 41 does not alter that in any way or affect the data privacy rights of any person....

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (8 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: Amendments Nos.1 and 2 are minor technical drafting amendments that will insert a letter "a" before both "uniform" and "helmet" in the definition of "body-worn camera" in section 2. Amendments Nos. 13, 33, 70, and 74 are again minor technical amendments that will insert semicolons in place of commas in sections 12, 21, 35, and 43. Amendment No. 40 is a minor technical amendment to section...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (8 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: Section 47 already stipulates what can be included in a code of practice. Section 47(2) provides for An Garda Síochána to set out different provisions for different types of recording devices when drafting the codes. This means that what the Senator is seeking in amendments Nos.3 and 4 is already provided for. The codes of practice will not be included in the Bill directly; they...