Results 9,381-9,400 of 17,498 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (25 Oct 2022)

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 purchase, allocation, and effective and efficient use of Garda vehicles. As Minister, I have no role in such matters. I can however assure the Deputy that the Government is committed...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (25 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: I understand that Parliamentary Question No. 1442 of 8 September 2022 asks when the next recruitment campaign for the Garda band will commence. As the Deputy is aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including all matters relating to the Garda Band. As Minister, I have no role in these matters. I understand that no...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Coroners Service (25 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: Since 1st January 2018, my Department has had direct responsibility for providing financial and administrative support to the Dublin District Coroner’s Office. The Coroner Service comprises the network of coroners located in districts throughout the country. As I am sure the Deputy is aware, coroners are independent statutory officers exercising quasi-judicial functions, which...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (25 Oct 2022)

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 purchase, allocation, and effective and efficient use of Garda vehicles. As Minister, I have no role in such matters. I can however assure the Deputy that the Government is committed...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (25 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: I am advised that a new Garda Capital Works Building Plan has been the subject of extensive collaboration between OPW and An Garda Síochána and it is expected that it will be finalised shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Data (25 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: Human trafficking is an exploitive crime that preys on the vulnerable and I have been clear that there is no place for it in our society. Significant progress was made in the past 12 months in relation to a number of initiatives, particularly in relation to the revised National Referral Mechanism (NRM), and the development of a new Action Plan on Human Trafficking, which I expect to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Data (25 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: Non-EEA family members or dependents of UK nationals continue to hold the same residence rights to live, work or study in Ireland, if they resided here at the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020. Non-EEA family members or dependents of UK nationals were required to exchange their valid Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card for a new one stating that they benefit from the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (25 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: The application for the person referred to by the Deputy was received by the Undocumented Unit of my Department on 8 March 2022 and continues to be processed. Due to the large number of applications on hand it is not possible to provide a definitive timeframe for a decision to issue. The processing times of applications will vary depending on the complexity of the application....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (25 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: An application for the person referred to by the Deputy has been received by the Domestic Residence and Permissions division of my Department and a decision will issue shortly. Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at INISOireachtasMail@justice.ie, which has been specifically...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (25 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: Where a person has received documentation or can otherwise support their claim as having been born in Ireland to an Irish citizen parent, that person is entitled to Irish citizenship from birth, whether or not he or she was subsequently adopted. Additionally, a person born outside the island of Ireland can also become an Irish citizen if one of their parents was an Irish citizen at the time...

Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Second Stage (Resumed) (20 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: I have to go, I am afraid.

Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Second Stage (Resumed) (20 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: Part 7 amends the Judicial Council Act 2019. The purpose of these amendments is twofold. First, they allow for the temporary replacement of a member of the complaints review committee by providing for an alternate member of the committee to substitute for the absence of a member in additional circumstances. The amendment also provides for the recusal and replacement of a judicial member of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Insurance Coverage (20 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: This is a priority for me. There are 66 actions contained in the action plan on insurance reform. Thirty-four of these are the responsibility of my Department. The specific change required is probably one of the last key changes required. The Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 was introduced last night and I will be continuing my speech on it in the next hour or...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Insurance Coverage (20 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: It affects not only businesses but also community groups, individuals and landowners, as the Deputy has said. The intention is that once the legislation is passed, in the same way as with the judicial council guidelines, we will start to see that impact into the overall payments in the courts. Working with the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, and others in the Department, I hope that in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Legal Aid (20 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: I stress the important work of the Legal Aid Board. A review is under way to identify how the board can support even more people and examine the structures in place, which have never been amended, to increase the number of people who can access the support among those who need it. This new legislation will require additional resources and will require us to ensure legal support is available...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Legal Aid (20 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: While I am not aware of the exact details of the case, I know the Minister intends to have the legislation enacted in the coming month. While there might be a lead-in period, the Deputy is right that this legislation will be in place and should be implemented in the early new year, at the latest. Without knowing the details of the case, I am not sure why that would be progressing in that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Citizenship Applications (20 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: We welcome anyone who wants to come to Ireland to study, spend time, live here and pursue a course of study, whether part time or full time. When a non-EEA person comes to Ireland to undertake an English language course, or a course at level 6 or above on the national framework of qualifications, NFQ, a stamp 2 student permission will be granted. It was always envisaged that time spent in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Citizenship Applications (20 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: We receive between 12,000 and 13,000 citizenship applications per year. We had challenges through the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically where the in-person citizenship ceremonies could not take place. To try to respond to that, we have made a number of different changes to the process itself to try to speed it up and make it easier for people to apply and go through the system. We have also...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Sentencing Policy (20 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: There is work that needs to be done on reporting policy. There is currently a strong focus on the modernisation programme in the Courts Service and one of the biggest challenges in moving to a more digital courts system is the fact the information we have is difficult to collate, is not collected in the same way everywhere and is not necessarily reported on in the same way. Investment and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Sentencing Policy (20 Oct 2022)

Helen McEntee: It is important that we have information on anything we do. Any policy decisions we make have to be backed up by facts. That applies in any Department or role. The focus of the modernisation programme is to ensure we have a more efficient system that people can use online, rather than the paper-based system on which the justice sector is still reliant, and one that it allows us to...