Results 661-680 of 9,106 for speaker:Jim O'Callaghan

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I can advise the Deputy that Israeli and United States of America citizens are not visa required. This means that they do not need to seek prior screening approval from the Immigration Service for the purpose of travel to Ireland.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I have requested the information sought by the Deputy from the Garda authorities. Regrettably, this was not available in time and I will write to the Deputy once the information is to hand.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business under Section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), which includes the service's compliance with data protection obligations. As Minister, I play no role in these independent functions. I am advised by the Garda authorities that An Garda Síochána has not received...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Data Protection (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I can confirm that my Department has not, to date, been issued with any fines in respect of breaching general data protection rules. This includes the areas of my Department that provide immigration services. My Department is committed to protecting the rights and privacy of all individuals in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation, 2016/679 (GDPR) and the Data...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Ministerial Appointments (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1100 and 1101 together. The role of the Single Person Committee (SPC) arises in relation to refusals of Irish Citizenship where national security concerns arise. The role of the SPC is to review, upon request from the applicant, the material upon which the intention to refuse to grant a certificate of naturalisation was made, in circumstances where the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The naturalisation application from the person referred to by the Deputy has been received by the Citizenship division of my Department. I expect that going forward, the vast majority of applicants will receive a decision within one year, however, it is important to note that no two naturalisation applications are the same and some take longer than others to process. Given the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Naturalisation Applications (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1103, 1123 and 1130 together. As part of my Department’s continued commitment to improving its services, an online citizenship application process was made available in October 2023. This has made the application process easier for applicants, allowing them to easily fill in relevant forms, make payments and submit their application online. The...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Court Accommodation (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I propose to take questions Nos. 1104 and 1107 together. I am advised by the Courts Service that the existing Ashe Street site does not have sufficient space to provide a courthouse building on the scale envisaged. In December 2023, the Courts Service completed the purchase of a portion of the Island of Geese site from Kerry County Council for the purpose of building a new courthouse...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Ministerial Responsibilities (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Tackling rural crime is a priority for the Government. With regards to burglaries, which can be of particular concern for people living in rural areas of the country, I can say that An Garda Síochána have had considerable success in reducing the prevalence of this through Operation Thor, which focuses on the prevention of burglaries and associated crimes, throughout Ireland, using...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Personal Injury Claims (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Judicial Council adopted the Personal Injuries Guidelines, which were drawn up by the Council's Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee, in March 2021. The Judicial Council has conducted a review of the Guidelines and has submitted draft amendments of the Guidelines to me, in accordance with section 7 of the Judicial Council Act 2019. It is important to note that, under Section 6 of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I can advise the Deputy that the applications referred to were created on 19 July 2024. Supporting documentation was received in the Dublin Visa Office on 08 August 2024 where it awaits examination and processing. The applicant will be notified as soon as a decision has been reached by a Visa Officer. It is not possible to give a definitive date as to when these applications will be...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1109 and 1110 together. Road safety is a shared responsibility, and while the whole of Government response is led by the Department of Transport, it is one which is taken very seriously across Government. Road traffic laws are enforced by both Roads Policing Gardaí and as part of the day-to-day duties of uniformed Gardaí nationwide. This...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Staff (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Public jobs is the primary recruiter for the Civil Service and all new civil servants recruited to my Department and agencies under its aegis are subject to vetting in the usual way by the Garda National Vetting Bureau (GNVB) prior to assignment. Insofar as additional vetting may be required, in some cases this may be completed after employment has been taken up while the employee is...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Surveys (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Understanding and improving the experience of all victims engaging with the criminal justice system is a priority for me. I am acutely conscious that coming forward to report an offence can be a traumatic and daunting experience for victims. It is crucial that victims feel heard, supported and empowered throughout the process. My Department is undertaking various measures to enhance our...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: 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 and stationing of Garda members throughout the State. As Minister, I have no role in such matters. Everyone has a right to be safe and to feel safe in their community and in their home, and in the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Measures (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Following consultation with stakeholders, drafting of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 (Clinical Negligence) Pre-Action Protocol Regulations is ongoing. These regulations will introduce a protocol in relation to proceedings concerning possible clinical negligence. The aims of the protocol are to encourage early resolution of allegations of clinical negligence, promote timely...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Data (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Road safety is a shared responsibility, and while the whole of Government response is led by the Department of Transport, it is one which is taken very seriously across Government. Road traffic laws are enforced by both Roads Policing Gardaí and as part of the day-to-day duties of uniformed Gardaí nationwide. This includes a programme of high-visibility road safety and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Funding (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Community prison link (CPL) workers generally work on a one-to-one basis with offenders, providing a range of support services to those awaiting sentence, in prison, on remand, and post-release. My Department acts only as a conduit for prison-link projects and I am advised that they are in fact funded chiefly by the Department of Health, with the exception of one community prison links...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Data (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Irish Prison Service must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the Courts. As such, the Irish Prison Service 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 a combination of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (19 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including the recruitment, training and deployment of Garda members. As Minister, I have no role in these independent functions and am unable to seek to direct, or otherwise influence, the Commissioner in such matters. A...