Results 581-600 of 11,583 for speaker:Jim O'Callaghan

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: -----when it comes to addressing the difficult circumstances that members of the public find themselves in as a result of cost-of-living pressures? It is important to point out that this Government has done a huge amount in respect of those cost-of-living pressures. By looking at what was done in budget 2025, the Deputy is invoking those measures today as a means of assisting people. She...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: -----and indeed 24 months ago. In budget 2025, a wide range of measures were introduced which had the effect of protecting members of the public from the excessive costs that were arising as a result of inflation. We introduced an increased payment in respect of the rent tax credit; it went up from €1,000 to €2,000. There was the extension of the 9% reduced VAT rate for gas...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: -----and brought forward by the Minister, Helen McEntee. The Deputy might not like the fact that a huge number of measures have been taken by this Government to relieve pressure on hard-pressed families. The fact of the matter is that any fair assessment of what is being done shows that this is being done by this Government. I must say that the Deputy's concern about what is going to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: International Protection Accommodation Service: Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I thank the Chairman and committee members for inviting me in. Since becoming Minister, I have taken steps to ensure that the international protection process is robust, that our rules are enforced and that the process is managed as efficiently and effectively as possible. As the Chairman knows, the right to claim asylum is an important principle of international law dating back to 1951....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: International Protection Accommodation Service: Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The first issue is the section 5 exemptions. These happen under SI 376/2023, which grants exemptions for properties to be used as IPAS centres in order to provide people with temporary accommodation. This provision expires in 2028. I note what Deputy Guirke said about concern being created in communities. If a section 5 application notice goes up, some people believe that, inevitably,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: International Protection Accommodation Service: Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: You will not get a contract with my Department for rental accommodation for IPAS if you have convictions for fraud or serious crimes. You will not get a contract with my Department unless you are tax compliant and you have a tax clearance certificate. You will not get a contract unless you are solvent, and you need to have complied with public service contracts. These are fairly...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: International Protection Accommodation Service: Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Deputy will be aware that HIQA has national standards for people in protection. In 2024, there were 300 inspections of IPAS centres. Some of them were performed by HIQA and some were performed by IPAS itself. A total of 82% of the centres were inspected in 2024. My officials inform me that there are inspections of premises on a yearly basis and that those inspections are well...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: International Protection Accommodation Service: Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: They can go to the management of the centres themselves. They do this quite frequently. People are aware that if they are getting very low quality standards in terms of low quality food or hygiene services, they can make a complaint and those complaints are taken very seriously. That is the reason I have terminated contracts. When I get reports that show low and inadequate standards, the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: International Protection Accommodation Service: Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: A huge amount of money is being spent, as I am sure the Deputy appreciates. I want to emphasise that the main driver of that amount of money is the number of people who are in the accommodation. It costs the State €30,000 a year to accommodate a person in a commercial, private sector entity. It costs €12,000 per year to accommodate somebody in a State entity. I have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: International Protection Accommodation Service: Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Once the contracts expire, it is by telling the providers that we are not going to provide X any more, but that we will instead will give X minus 20%. We are renegotiating contracts. That is how we are getting value for money.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: International Protection Accommodation Service: Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I do not support amnesties. I think they are a bad idea. I think they condone rule-breaking.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: International Protection Accommodation Service: Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Okay, I will answer this in a different way. I think it is inappropriate of the State to take three years to process applications for a child.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: International Protection Accommodation Service: Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: We need to speed up the process. The remedy is that we speed up the process.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: International Protection Accommodation Service: Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Let us deal with the specifics of it. There are 9,500 children in IPAS accommodation at present. We will say the number is 10,000. Let us say some of them have a lone parent and some will have two parents. Then we are talking about another 15,000 people, or 25,000 in total. Is the Deputy saying there is no issue and they can all stay here?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: International Protection Accommodation Service: Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am sorry to interrupt the Deputy but it is not always the case that it is the State's failure. I will consider what he said but what will happen is there will be an interest in somebody trying to drag out the process for as long as possible-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: International Protection Accommodation Service: Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: -----and I think that will create more problems in the long term.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: International Protection Accommodation Service: Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (23 Sep 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I will answer the question.