Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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421. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when the Criminal Procedure Act 2021 will be commenced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34670/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy may be aware that the Criminal Procedure Act was signed into law by the President on 24 May 2021.

This legislation is being introduced following recommendations from a number of reports in recent years, including those on reforming how we tackle white collar crime and corruption, and on increasing protections for vulnerable witnesses in sexual offence cases. The reforms introduced in this Act will be of particular benefit to victims in criminal proceedings and include, for the first time, the introduction of preliminary trial hearings in Irish law.

I intend to commence the Act as soon as possible, bearing in mind that the practical arrangements and Rules of Court need to be put in place to allow preliminary trial hearings to take place. Work is already underway in that regard in the Courts Service.