Results 10,641-10,660 of 17,543 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: My concerns are the same as in the previous areas. I do not think the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin's, Bill would apply to this, separate to the fact it is not commenced. I would have the same concerns if that had been the case. While there is the requirement for balance between gender, diversity and the Irish language, we have tried to set it out such that somebody is appointed based...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: My concern is it is an essential skill, rather than a desirable one. You would not preclude anyone from applying but, by making sure they had to have Irish, you are potentially excluding many people by making it mandatory.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: The two-year review will look at the judges appointed and the requirement around diversity, gender and Irish language. The specifics around the establishment of the commission dealing directly with the Minister, Deputy Martin's, Bill is for a date after that is commenced. It will look at things after that is commenced.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: Is the intention of the reference in amendment No. 12 to the commission conforming to these objectives with regard to all three names? The intention is that the applicants are based on merit but they would have to include somebody with a proficiency in the Irish language and somebody with a diverse background and alternate between male and female each time. This is very specific,...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: I move amendment 15 In page 28, to delete lines 21 to 25 and substitute the following: "(f) in the case of a nomination for appointment to be a judge of the Court of Justice, an Advocate General of the Court of Justice or a judge of the General Court, he or she is qualified for appointment in accordance with the requirements of the TFEU,".

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: My understanding of the amendments is that there is no reference to removing the Attorney General in either of them. The Attorney General advises the Government but is not a member of the Government. The 1995 Act puts in place a specific recommendation that Attorneys General applying to the JAAB must recuse themselves from any involvement in the overall process. This would absolutely apply...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: Section 46 deals with interviews only but the addition of “has completed any other selection process” seems to have been taken from section 50, which works on its own. The intention is to make sure that everybody not just goes through interview but comes through the selection process. If we look at the functions of the commission, section 10 states: “The general...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: I take this opportunity to raise with the committee my intention to consider one or two aspects of the interview requirement which may need an amendment later. The way we had worded it potentially suggests that all members of the commission must interview every person. As that is not the intention, we need to look at whether we will be prescriptive as to who needs to interview or how many...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: To group the amendments together, the only democratic input that there will be in this whole process after the change is essentially the decision to choose one of the three, and that is based on the fact that under the Constitution, the Government must retain the power to make a decision. If candidates are given a ranking of one, two or three, that obviously takes away any democratic...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: The whole point of the Bill is to amend the procedures that we have and to make sure that anybody who comes forward is suitable for the job and, first and foremost, that it is based on merit. Therefore, all three will now come based on merit and suitable for that particular role in whichever court, and all three will be capable of carrying out that job. Obviously, there is a provision here...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: I move amendment No. 24: In page 37, lines 37 and 38, to delete all words from and including "The" in line 37 down to and including line 38 and substitute the following: "The Commission shall provide the Minister, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs in so far as it relates to the judicial office of judge of the European Court of Human Rights or the International Criminal Court, with a...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: I move amendment No. 25: In page 39, to delete lines 2 to 5 and substitute the following: "(ii) in the case of the judicial offices of judge of the Court of Justice, Advocate General of the Court of Justice or judge of the General Court— (I) the requirements of the TFEU, and (II) the criteria used by the panel, established under Article 255 of the TFEU, to assess candidates'...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: I move amendment No. 26: In page 42, to delete lines 32 to 34 and substitute the following: "(i) the judicial offices of judge of the Court of Justice, Advocate General of the Court of Justice or judge of the General Court, any requirements of the TFEU concerning the procedures for selection of candidates for those judicial offices,".

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: I move amendment No. 27: In page 43, to delete lines 31 to 35 and substitute the following: "(iii) the effectiveness of the procedures, set out in the statement of selection procedures, in achieving the objectives set out in section 39(2) in relation to membership of the judiciary in each court,".

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: This amendment presents the same challenges as previous ones. What the Deputy is proposing goes beyond what the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, is proposing in her Bill on the Irish language. It would preclude anyone who is unable to understand the Constitution in Irish as well as English from seeking appointment to the Supreme...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: For the reasons I set out in respect of the other amendments, I am not minded to accept this proposal.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: I again acknowledge the work done by the committee during pre-legislative scrutiny. It was very helpful even in getting to this point. As the Chair said, that process has worked very well for this Bill. I thank the committee for its work.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: United Nations (19 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: Ireland has signed but has yet to ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT). Ireland has, of course, already signed and ratified the Convention itself. The Protocol provides for the establishment of bodies known as National Preventive Mechanisms (NPM) which would inspect facilities where people can be held involuntarily. The Programme for Government includes a...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Travel Documents (19 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: I can advise the Deputy that Travel Documents are processed by the Travel Documents Unit of my Department with the assistance of the Passport Office in the Department of Foreign Affairs. In recent times, the Unit has experienced a very high volume of applications requiring processing and this, along with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, has unfortunately had a negative impact on...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (19 May 2022)

Helen McEntee: The application from the person referred to by the Deputy was received by the Undocumented Unit of my Department on 14 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. To be fair to all applicants, applications are processed in order of the date on which they are received....