Results 12,101-12,120 of 15,536 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Confidence in Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Motion (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: I wish to start by expressing my absolute confidence in the Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar. Sinn Féin is here tonight yet again preaching, once more claiming to apply standards to everyone else in this House and to hold others to account, yet when its members are asked to account for their own actions, they fall silent. My colleagues have outlined many instances of hypocrisy but I will...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Domestic Violence Policy (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: The Programme for Government commitment, to conduct an audit of how responsibility for Domestic, Sexual and Gender based Violence (DSGBV) is segmented across different government agencies, will be undertaken by an external consultant with meaningful involvement from relevant NGOs and service providers, as well as input from Departments and agencies. The terms of reference for the audit have...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: The person concerned submitted an application to the Immigration Service of my Department to change their permission to remain in the State from a Stamp 3 to a Stamp 4. In the interests of fairness to all applicants, all such requests are dealt with in chronological order. Due to the large volume of applications received, it is unfortunately not currently possible to give a specific timeframe...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Residency Permits (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: I am advised that the person referred to by the Deputy has a current permission to remain in the State, on stamp 4 conditions, up to 20 January 2021. Their permission was extended from its original expiry date of 18 April 2020, by the series of automatic extensions of permission provided for in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. An application for a certificate of naturalisation from the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: On 28 August 2020, I announced that court fees and their associated excise and stamp duty relating to renewal of licences will be waived in 2020, as part of the wider support package that was announced by the Government. Further to this, the District Court (Fees) (Amendment) Order 2020 was signed on 13 October 2020. The order implements the Government Decision to waive court fees for...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Reviews (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: The Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 was enacted with the primary purposes of reforming the law relating to the ownership and management of common areas of multi-unit developments (MUDs) and facilitating the fair, efficient and effective management of owners’ management companies (OMCs). It is important to understand that the involvement of my Department with this issue is limited, and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: My Department looks at all international protection applications made in the State on a case by case basis in accordance with the legislation, the International Protection Act 2015. If an applicant fails in their International Protection claim, they may seek humanitarian leave to remain. Each consideration takes into account a number of factors as set out in section 49 of the Act. Since the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Process (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 586, 589, 591, 594, 596, 612, 627, 633 and 634 together. A Family Justice Oversight Group has recently been established in my department which, in addition to department officials, also includes representation from the judiciary, the Courts Service, the Legal Aid Board and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The Group...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Civilian Staff (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: The Deputy will be aware that the Garda Commissioner is by law responsible for the management of An Garda Síochána, including personnel matters and deployment of resources. As Minister, I have no role in these matters. I am assured, however, that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities, to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Civilian Staff (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: The Deputy will be aware that the Garda Commissioner is by law responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including personnel matters and deployment of resources. The allocation of Garda resources is made in light of identified operational demand. This includes deployment of personnel among the various Garda Divisions. As Minister, I have no direct...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Data (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: Our objective is to have decisions on international protection applications and permission to remain considerations made as soon as is possible. This ensures that those who are found to be in need of our protection can receive it quickly and begin rebuilding their lives here with a sense of safety and security. For those found not to be in need of protection, we can offer them assistance to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Data Protection (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: I am advised by my officials that the Data Protection Commission (DPC) recently issued a letter relating to the processing of biometric data by the Irish Prison Service. The understanding is this constitutes preliminary findings rather than a decision. I am informed that the findings are in respect of a complaint from an employee of the Service associated with the processing of biometric...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Programme (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 593, 595, 613, 616, 626, 629 and 639 together. The Programme for Government contains a commitment to enact a Family Court Bill to create a new dedicated Family Court within the existing court structure and to provide for court procedures that support a less adversarial resolution of disputes. In September, the Government approved the drafting of a...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Data (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: The Government is fully committed to ensuring that those impacted by domestic abuse during the Covid-19 pandemic continue to receive the highest priority. The impact of increased restrictions on domestic abuse incidents was one of the key considerations taken into account when looking at moving the country to Level 5 of the Framework for Living with Covid 19. Additional Covid specific...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Process (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: The Programme for Government outlines a commitment to invest in a comprehensive training programme for professionals who may have contact with a victim of coercive control, including An Garda Síochána, legal professionals and courts services personnel. I can assure the Deputy, combatting all forms of domestic abuse and sexual violence continues to be a key priority for me. In Budget...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Process (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: The introduction of legislation to provide for Domestic Homicide Reviews is an important commitment in the Programme for Government. One of the elements that will feed into delivering on this commitment is the independent study commissioned by my Department into familicide and domestic homicide reviews. This independent specialist research is looking at international best practice in the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Support Services (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 600 and 601 together. My Department is committed to protecting the rights and privacy of all individuals and complies fully with data breach reporting requirements. The table below shows that a total of 22 passports from across the entire immigration area that were notified as lost, misplaced or sent to the incorrect address and reported to the Data...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Civil Registration Service (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: The Deputy will be aware that the imposition of new restrictions when the country moved to Level 5 of the Government's Plan for Living with COVID on 21 October 2020 has had implications for all aspects of public life, including the Courts and Court Officers. Nonetheless, the overall objective is to maintain access to justice as far as possible, even at Level 5, having regard to public health...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Support Services (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: The management and administration of the Registration Office in Co. Longford is the responsibility of An Garda Síochána. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have made enquiries with the Commissioner and have received the following update. Approximately 5,500 appointments were made for immigration registration purposes, in the Roscommon-Longford Division in...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (10 Nov 2020)

Helen McEntee: An application for a certificate of naturalisation in relation to the person referred to by the Deputy is currently being processed with a view to establishing whether they meet the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible. The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an...