Results 1,521-1,540 of 10,057 for speaker:Jim O'Callaghan

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Police Certificates are issued on a non-statutory basis by An Garda Síochána and are an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner, who is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business. I have checked this with the Garda authorities and they advise that there has been no change in policy regarding Police certificates. The certificate, which is valid...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am committed to building stronger, safer communities, by progressing policies aimed at reducing offending and diverting people away from the criminal justice system through the provision of effective rehabilitation. There are no quick fixes to reducing reoffending and evidence shows that different targeted interventions are needed, including addressing the underlying causes of offending...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Prevention (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Part 9 of the Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 amended the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 to increase the sentences for a number of offences under the 1990 Act related to knife crime. The maximum penalty for the offences of possession of a knife with the intention of unlawfully intimidating or injuring another person,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Deportation Orders (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: It is one of my central priorities that our immigration laws are robust and enforced. The removal of persons who have been refused permission to remain is an essential requirement for the immigration system to work effectively. A person is only deported when all available avenues for appeal are exhausted. Deportation Orders are issued after a person has been offered the opportunity to...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Government is acutely aware of capacity restraints in our prisons and has committed, in the Programme for Government, to increasing capacity by 1,500. The information sought by the Deputy regarding prison capacity and the numbers of prisoners in custody is collated daily by the Irish Prison Service Statistics Unit and published on its website. As of Tuesday, 18 March, the prison...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Personal Injury Claims (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Personal Injuries Guidelines are drawn up by the Judicial Council, which is independent in its functions. In accordance with the Judicial Council Act 2019 (as amended), the Judicial Council has conducted a review of the Guidelines. Following on from the review, the Council has submitted draft amendments of the Guidelines to me. As required by the Act, I will shortly be laying the draft...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: An Garda Síochána needs modern tools and equipment to protect people from harm and save lives. This includes the rollout of bodycams to help protect frontline Gardaí and to allow them to investigate crime as effectively as possible. The Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Act 2023 was enacted in December 2023 and provides a legal basis for the deployment and use of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs to fight crime and a strengthened, well-resourced Garda organisation is central to this policy. The Garda Vote in Budget 2025 saw unprecedented funding of over €2.48 billion for this year, a 27% increase since 2020 which is supporting the continued recruitment of Garda members and staff....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Road Safety (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Road safety is a shared responsibility. The whole of Government response is led by the Department of Transport and is taken very seriously across Government. The development and implementation of road traffic legislation and policy, including the Government's Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030, and the promotion and advancement of road safety, falls within the remit of my colleague Mr Darragh...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Antisocial Behaviour (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Government is committed to the principle that everyone, wherever they live in Ireland, should be safe and feel safe. Building safe and secure communities across the country by investing in An Garda Síochána is a top priority in the Programme for Government. We want every part of country to be a safe space for people to live and work in, and to visit, and the Belmayne-Clongriffin...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The overall Garda workforce, which includes Gardaí, civilian staff and Reserves is almost 18,000. There are currently over 14,150 Garda members across the country, which represents an increase of over 10% since 2015 when there were 12,816 Garda members throughout the country It is the case that once a Garda has completed 30 years of service they may opt to retire on full pension at...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Coroners Service (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Coroner Service comprises a network of coroners located in districts throughout the country. I fully acknowledge the contribution local authorities make, both financial and otherwise, to the provision of the service by coroners. Responsibility for the Coroner Service has been a matter for local authorities since the introduction of the modern coroner system in 1846.Responsibility for the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Prevention (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Targeting the work of organised crime groups, who inflict intimidation and violence on families and communities, is a top priority for my Department. As Minister I want to ensure that people can live in communities which are safe and also where they feel safe. In the first instance I would say that anyone who is concerned for their safety should contact An Garda Síochána either...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Charitable and Voluntary Organisations (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 provided for the establishment of Údarás Rialála Cearrbhachais na hÉireann, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, for the purposes of licensing and regulating betting, gaming, certain lotteries, the sale or supply of products or services related to gambling and charitable/philanthropic gambling activities.Earlier this month, I...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Sentencing Policy (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to examine the introduction of a specific offence of assaulting a retail worker. The development of legislation is a complex task which requires consideration of all the potential implications of any change to the law. Work to progress the commitments within the Programme has commenced and I look forward to delivering on the Justice agenda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: The Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs to fight crime and a strengthened, well-resourced Garda organisation is central to this policy. The Garda Vote in Budget 2025 saw unprecedented funding of over €2.48 billion for this year, a 27% increase since 2020 which is supporting the continued recruitment of Garda members and staff....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Policy (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: It is a central priority for me as Minister that our immigration laws are robust and enforced. An important element of our immigration process centres on establishing a person’s identity and nationality. When it comes to those entering the international protection process, each person is fingerprinted and photographed. These fingerprints are checked against EURODAC, an EU...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Domestic Violence (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: One of the overarching goals of the Zero Tolerance Strategy to address domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV), is ensuring that everyone who needs a refuge space will get one. The Strategy, published in June 2022, includes an ambitious target to double the number of refuge spaces by the end of 2026. To accelerate the delivery of additional refuge accommodation year on year,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: We can see clearly that there is strong interest in a career in An Garda Síochána. The latest recruitment campaign took place in February and attracted just over 6,700 applicants. This builds on the 5,000 applications which were received in 2023 and the almost 6,400 last year. I understand a second recruitment campaign will be held later this year. Last week 201 trainee...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Antisocial Behaviour (20 Mar 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Anti-social behaviour can have a very damaging impact on the quality of life of our communities. Anti-social behaviour is a broad term often used to describe a range of actions and behaviours that violate social norms in specific contexts. Legislation allows members of An Garda Síochána to issue Anti-Social Behaviour Warnings to adults and children and allows for senior members...