Results 1,141-1,160 of 3,998 for speaker:Martin Kenny

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Courts Service (16 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: 1. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he is aware of the staggering waiting times facing victims of crime and victims of domestic violence in the Courts Service, with some waiting as long as 36 months for a hearing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7529/23]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Courts Service (16 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: The Minister is aware of the staggering waiting times in many of our courts for people who are victims of domestic and sexual violence. We spoke about it at a committee meeting yesterday, as it happens. I would like a commitment from him this morning setting out what concrete action will be taken to change this. I got back a list of court sittings. In Trim, people are waiting 16 weeks in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Courts Service (16 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: I thank the Minister and look forward to that report from the Courts Service. We are all aware that people across Ireland are becoming more conscious of the scourge of domestic and gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, harassment and coercive control. As a society we are getting better at identifying people in that situation and encouraging them to seek support and come forward....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Courts Service (16 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I appreciate the work going on in respect of all that. Bringing forward legislation, setting up new agencies and focusing on all this is worthy and worthwhile but the key issue is ensuring we have the resources to deal with what is basically a pandemic across our society. According to report from the Central Statistics Office yesterday, four out of five...

Cost-of-Living Supports: Motion [Private Members] (14 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: I commend Deputy Doherty on bringing forward the motion. The cost-of-living crisis is biting every community in the country. In my constituency, I regularly deal with people coming to my clinic with various issues relating to bills they cannot pay. Recently, a single mother whose rent has been increased by almost €300 a month came in. She receives the housing assistance payment,...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: I thank the Minister. I apologise, as I was late in coming in for his opening remarks. In regard to An Garda Síochána and the additional funding put in place, the real issue as I see it across the entire process here is about recruitment and retention in the first instance. It is really turning into a crisis situation. I acknowledge the targets the Government have had but those...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: I reiterate what Deputy Ó Ríordáin has said. I met with Caron McCaffrey, the head of the Irish Prison Service, on this issue, along with her colleague Fergal Black. One of the issues that struck me was that the point of prison has to be to ensure we build a better society and people do not go back into the cycle of reoffending, going in and out of prison. That seems to be a...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: Is it possible to make some Garda stations that were closed available for the same purpose?

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: The Minister has mentioned that there are just over 4,400 prisoners in Irish prisons, which means that in some cases there are three persons in each cell. Overcrowding is a real issue. Overcrowding has an impact on the mental health of prisoners and on prison staff who must deal with the results of a highly stressed environment. I do not advocate that we build more space and we should not...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: The Minister has mentioned judges and how a report was due to arrive on his desk.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: I hope that the report tells him what everybody has told us. Everybody, including members of the Judiciary, the legal profession and the Courts Service, have told us that there is a crisis situation in all of the court systems, and particularly an acute situation in family law in the District Courts and Circuit Courts. That situation is primarily due to not having enough judges to deal with...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: I want to go through a couple of things in the Department of Justice Vote, specifically the issue of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and the commitment from the Department to establish how it will look after that, deal with it and work to propagate and provide a service for those who are in the most dire situations. It almost goes back to the Courts Service part of the Vote...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: This is an issue for which we in Ireland have a particular responsibility because the headquarters of many of the large multinational data centres are located here. This is their home address, whether or not all their activity happens here. This puts a huge onus on the State, in a European context and probably in a worldwide context as well, to act appropriately on this issue. My...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: I cannot.

Mortgage Interest Relief Scheme: Motion [Private Members] (8 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: I compliment Deputy Doherty on tabling this motion on a mortgage interest relief scheme for homeowners who are under significant pressure. I meet them in my constituency. Indeed, we all meet them regularly. Only last week, I spoke to a woman who told me that, in the past two and a half years, her mortgage had increased by almost €180 per month, causing her difficulties. She was...

Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Custodial Sentences) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (8 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: It is very clear the victims of crime have a role and will at least be consulted and made aware of what is happening. Very often in the past, we have come across situations where the victim of a crime has discovered something by hearing it on the grapevine or when meeting somebody on the street. That is not appropriate and we need to ensure that will not happen in the future.

Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Custodial Sentences) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (8 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: All of this is very technical. We understand and appreciate that. I am seeking clarity, however, on an aspect relating particularly to persons who may be sentenced here and serving the sentence in another jurisdiction. What consultation will take place with the victims of the crime in such circumstances? It is an issue that is often raised and I am seeking clarity on it. Perhaps the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: They are entitled to appeal.