Results 1,441-1,460 of 4,305 for speaker:Martin Kenny

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

Martin Kenny: I am aware that much work has been done in many areas around the country to modernise the Courts Service and to bring courtrooms up to the required standard. We understand that it is a ten-year plan. However, some work could be done much faster than that to improve the situation in regard to many court buildings that do not have adequate meeting rooms, space, or facilities for barristers...

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

Martin Kenny: The digitisation of courtrooms is also important to facilitate witnesses or expert witnesses who may be in another part of the country or even abroad to be brought into the courtroom using such technology. It happens in some cases but there is not enough of it. A mechanism must be put in place to ensure that can happen. It would speed up the process. Sometimes court cases are delayed or...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (16 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: We are all conscious of that and we all want to pay tribute to the work members of An Garda Síochána do on a daily basis. A lot of this is down to that stress. I spoke to members of the service who told me that sometimes a call comes when there is an incident somewhere and they know there is going to be if not danger then certainly stress involved in that incident. They know they...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (16 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: I appreciate that. I understand that many gardaí get great job satisfaction from what they do and work very hard in respect of that. I always wonder about having more civilian staff that are going to free up gardaí for front-line duties. The experience in communities does not show that. That is the problem here. There was a similar story when Garda stations were closed. Many...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (16 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: Will the Minister consider looking at the training allowance?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (16 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: 3. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps his Department is taking in relation to the current Garda retention crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7530/23]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (16 Feb 2023)

Martin Kenny: Before I go to the question, I welcome Ellie Fay from Finglas, who is a student, to the Public Gallery. Many of our Oireachtas members bring students in here from time to time and it is always a very worthy and worthwhile thing to do. The future is bright when we have bright, dedicated and focused young people in our community. Back to business. What steps does the Minister intend to...

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...