Results 10,061-10,080 of 15,389 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, under Section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended) the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business. This includes the allocation of resources to the various Garda divisions/specialised units. As Minister I play no role in this independent function. Further, under the Act, the Garda Commissioner is...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Road Traffic Offences (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible by law for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including the enforcement of road traffic legislation. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in these matters. The following table, furnished to me by the Garda authorities, provides a yearly...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including Garda training matters. I, as Minister, have no role in such matters. Please find as follows the table provided by Garda authorities that provides the information requested by the Deputy. ...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: I recognise and acknowledge the crucial role frontline workers are continuing to play in responding to the threat of COVID-19. They work in a challenging environment and deal with vulnerable people on a daily basis. Their exceptional commitment has been particularly clear throughout the pandemic, during which they have been playing a key role in preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus. ...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible under the law for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, which includes operational matters such as Garda vetting. As Minister, I have no direct role in the matter. I am informed by the Garda authorities that it is necessary for enhanced vetting and background checks and security vetting to be...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Policy (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 508 and 513, inclusive, 518 and 522, inclusive, together. The Government has approved my proposal for a once-in-a-generation scheme to regularise thousands of undocumented migrants and their families who are living in Ireland. The scheme will be for long-term undocumented migrants and their eligible dependents where the specific criteria is met. The scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Support Services (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 514, 516 and 517 together. Currently, due to public health restrictions, for the safety of all our customers and staff, the Registration Office can only operate at 50% of our normal capacity. This means that we can register a maximum of 200 customers per day, resulting in 1,000 customers being registered every week. My officials continue to engage with...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Parole Boards (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, the Parole Board, established under the Parole Act 2019, is an independent statutory body that considers the eligibility for parole of prisoners serving life sentences once the prisoners concerned have served at least 12 years of their sentence. The statutory Parole Board is an entity entirely separate from its predecessor, the Interim Board and will make...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Status (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: The person referred to by the Deputy was granted a five-year residence card on 4 April 2016, valid to 3 April 2021. As noted in the approval letter issued at the time, the person was advised when applying for a Permanent Residence Card at the end of the five-year period, to submit an application six months before the expiry date of the Residence Card. To date, no application for a Permanent...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware the Garda Commissioner is responsible under the law for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including by arranging for the recruitment, training and appointment of its members. As Minister, I have no direct role in the matter. As the Deputy will be aware, public health restrictions have unavoidably impacted on intakes to the Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Private Security Authority (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: The Private Security Authority, established under the Private Security Services Act 2004, as amended, is responsible for the licensing and regulation of the private security industry in the State. The Authority is an independent statutory body under the aegis of my Department. Following the enactment of the Private Security Services (Amendment) Act 2021, which provided for the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Covid-19 Pandemic (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: The Legal Aid Board is the statutory, independent body responsible for the provision of civil legal aid and advice to persons of modest means, in accordance with the relevant criteria and provisions of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995. Section 3(3) of The Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 states that "the Board shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be independent in the exercise of its functions"....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (14 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: On 15 November, I announced that persons with expired IRP cards may continue to use the cards to enable them to depart and return to the state in confidence. I also suspended the re-entry visa requirement for minors aged 16 years and under from 12 November 2021 to 15 January 2022. Customers holding an Irish Residence Permit card that was in-date at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (9 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is governed by the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. All applications for a certificate of naturalisation are processed and assessed individually in accordance with the provisions of the Act. There is no review mechanism of citizenship decisions. However, in the past, officials of my...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (9 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: I share the Deputy’s concerns for the Afghan people and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. As the Deputy is aware, the Government has approved my Department's proposal for an additional initiative: the special Afghan Admission Programme, which will provide places for up to 500 Afghan family members to travel to Ireland. Each applicant will have an opportunity to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Expenditure (9 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: The amount spent by my Department on electricity costs in each of the past five years to date in 2021 is set out in tabular form below. These costs relate to 12 premises which are used by my Department. The Department cannot provide the energy costs in relation to our servers as these are hosted in the Revenue Data Centre. It is also not possible to quantify how much is spent on power for...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Expenditure (9 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: I have referred the matter to the Garda authorities and will contact the Deputy directly when a response is to hand.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Covid-19 Pandemic (9 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has been working closely with all Government Departments to support the national COVID-19 effort. My Department has contributed to and participated in the large scale cross-Government communications programme which has been running since the start of the pandemic. This includes supporting and amplifying Government and public health messaging...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (9 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: The Irish Prison Service is responsible for the safe and secure custody of all people held in prison. When a court makes an order committing a person to prison, the Irish Prison Service must accept that person into the prison as specified by the court. All people committed to prison are accommodated in accordance with their legal gender. In some cases, the Governor may make a...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Policy (9 Dec 2021)

Helen McEntee: Last week, the Government approved my proposal for a once-in-a-generation scheme to regularise thousands of undocumented migrants and their families who are living in Ireland. The scheme will enable eligible applicants to remain and reside in the State and to regularise their residency status. It will bring some much-needed certainty and peace of mind to thousands of people who are already...