Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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679. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the main policy achievements of his Department since 23 January 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38759/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I am proud of the broad range of policy and legislative achievements made by my Department since my appointment as Minister in January 2025. I am dedicated to continuing this work on progressing policy and legislative reforms which are priorities for me as Minister, in line with the commitments set out in the Programme for Government.

Since my appointment as Minister, work has been ongoing in my Department to develop a new Statement of Strategy and it is my intention to finalise the Statement in the coming weeks. The Statement of Strategy will set out specific strategic goals to further the work towards our shared vision of a safe, fair and inclusive Ireland.

Some of the achievements of my Department since 23 January 2025 are set out below.

Garda Recruitment and Operations

My first priority as Minister for Justice is to get more Gardaí out onto our streets preventing the commission of crime through high visibility patrols. Increased recruitment and appropriate civilianisation where possible are vital to achieving this as is modern technology and equipment and active management of Garda resources. The Programme for Government commits to recruiting at least 5,000 Gardaí in the coming five years. As we strengthen An Garda Síochána, we will see more Gardaí visible in our communities tackling and preventing crime.  So far this year 370 new recruits have been welcomed into the Garda College in Templemore. New Garda recruits are already making an impact in their communities and the ongoing recruitment of new Gardaí will see further progress in increasing Garda numbers across the State. 

Domestic, Sexual, and Gender-Based Violence Strategy

Tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence has been a central priority for me since taking office. Last month, I published the final implementation plan of the five-year National DSGBV Strategy setting out the delivery targets and collective action to 2026. The implementation plan contains 95 specific actions across our four pillars. It places strong emphasis on delivery, on collective responsibility, and on meaningful outcomes.

Amongst the key deliverables are actions already underway in respect of significant legislative reform which will:

• allow for the removal of guardianship rights of a person who has been convicted of killing their intimate partner under the Guardianship of Infants (Amendment) Bill;
• limit the disclosure of counselling records in rape and sexual assault cases and criminalise the exploitative practice of seeking sex in lieu of rent under the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025;
• ban sex for rent under the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025;
• and allow for the establishment of a mechanism to ensure any person can find out if their partner has a previous conviction for an offence against an intimate partner, or former intimate partner, subject to court discretion and victim consent.

Immigration

It is also a central priority for me to ensure that our immigration system is robust and enforced.

My Department has taken action to significantly improve immigration enforcement measures and increase removals. This includes the renewed use of chartered deportation flights. 

2,403 deportation orders were signed in 2024 an increase of 180% compared to 2023. In 2024, 1,116 people departed the State under various mechanisms (i.e. enforced deportation, voluntary return etc.). This year 2,443 deportation orders have been signed and 1,074 people have departed the State under various mechanisms (i.e. enforced deportation, voluntary return etc.).

We have seen the number of people seeking international protection in Ireland is down by 43% in 2025 compared to the same period last year. 

In keeping with the Government commitment to significantly enhance the delivery of public services digitally, phase one of my Department's Immigration Customer Service Portal, which enables applicants to check their immigration application status, book first-time registration appointments, and submit queries, has been operational since last October and to date has dealt with 145,000 registered customers, with over 111,000 queries resolved and 60,000 registration appointments made.

Commencement of Policing, Security, and Community Safety Act

On 2 April 2025, I was pleased to commence the landmark Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024.

As a result, the following bodies were established:

• The new Garda Board
• The Policing and Community Safety Authority (replacing the existing Policing Authority and Garda Síochána Inspectorate)
• Fiosrú – the Office of the Police Ombudsman
• The Office of the Independent Examiner of Security Legislation
• The National Office for Community Safety

Community Safety

The National Office for Community Safety established in April 2025 is a central coordinating body to the new whole of government, collaborative, problem-solving approach to community safety as envisaged in Commission for the Future of Policing in Ireland (CoFPI).

Last month, I signed regulations to allow for Local Community Safety Partnerships to begin their work across the country. These regulations allow for a total of 36 Local Community Safety Partnerships to be established across every Local Authority. At a local level, community safety partnerships will play a major role in enhancing community safety nationwide in collaboration with An Garda Síochána, local residents, businesses and state agencies.

I also launched the €4m Community Safety Fund 2025 on 7 April, which directs proceeds of crime, seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and An Garda Síochána, into local projects focused on enhancing community safety.

Youth Justice

On 20 February, my colleague Minister of State Niall Collins commissioned two new Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) for Clare and Tipperary. YDPs work with young people at risk of crime and anti-social behaviour to divert them away from criminal behaviour and towards better life outcomes. The creation of the new YDPs will deliver on the target as set out in the Youth Justice Strategy of full national coverage of YDPs, ensuring that a service is available to every young person who needs it.

Criminal Assets Bureau

Just last week, I received Government approval to strengthen the State’s ability to identify, freeze and confiscate assets linked to serious and organised crime. The Proceeds of Crime and Related Matters Bill 2025, approved by Cabinet on 8 July, represents the most significant update to Ireland’s civil asset forfeiture laws since their introduction in 1996.

The Bill strengthens CAB’s investigative powers, with new provisions to freeze bank accounts when there is a reasonable suspicion that it is being used to hold proceeds of crime. To address the risk of funds being moved quickly or hidden, a direction can be given to a financial institution to freeze an account for up to seven days.

Transfers of responsibilities

Responsibility for integration, International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS), and the Ukraine Division transferred to my Department from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, and Equality on 1 May 2025. This transfer includes the transfer of all staff, approximately 340 people, alongside a substantial budget transfer of approximately €2.1 billion. As my Department had existing responsibility for immigration and migration and the processing of applications for international protection, this transfer underpins a more cohesive and strategic approach to migration and integration. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) also transferred to my Department from the Department of the Environment, Communications and Climate on 2 June 2025. The NCSC is the lead government agency on cyber security.

Integration

Minister of State Colm Brophy announced earlier this month, that applications are open for the 2025 Integration Fund which will make available €3.5 million to national, regional and local non-profit groups to support the integration and inclusion of people who have moved to Ireland as migrants. 

The Fund, which brings together the previous International Protection Integration Fund (IPIF) and the Communities Integration Fund (CIF), will enable communities across Ireland to play a greater role in promoting the integration of migrants, with parts of the fund directed to a specific focus on people seeking international protection.

Establishment of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland

On 5 March, I established the independent Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland. The Act provides for a new streamlined, simplified, and coherent licensing framework which reflects the nature of modern gambling in the State and for a robust regulatory regime to regulate gambling in-person and online that will replace the existing, fragmented systems which date back to 1929.

The regulatory powers of the GRAI take into account the harms associated with problem gambling and provide safeguards to protect people from those harms, including children, those vulnerable to problem gambling, and those affected by problem gambling. The GRAI will establish and maintain a National Gambling Exclusion Register, funded through licence fees, and establish a Social Impact Fund, financed by a levy on the industry, to support services to treat gambling addiction and fund public education and awareness raising programmes.

Improvements to international judicial cooperation

Bilateral agreements between Ireland and the UAE on extradition and mutual legal assistance (MLA) in criminal matters entered into force on 18 May 2025. The bilateral MLA and extradition treaties will ensure that criminals cannot evade the law. They will also serve to mitigate the harm caused by any perception that criminals can evade the law and benefit from the ill-gotten gains of criminal activity abroad, which itself diminishes the trust and confidence of citizens in the rule of law.

Courts

On July 8, the Government nominated eight new judges for appointment by the President. One  nomination has been made in relation to the High Court and six in relation to the District Court. The Government has also made one nomination in principle to the District Court. These are the first judicial nominations following the establishment of the new Judicial Appointments Commission on 1 January 2025.

Omagh Inquiry

In April 2025, I signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chairman of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry on matters relating to the disclosure of materials to the Inquiry. This is a truly important step to delivering on the commitment in the Programme for Government, to “play our full part in legacy processes...including facilitating and supporting the Omagh Inquiry”. That is in the best interests of the victims’ families and survivors.

Family Justice

The ongoing reform of the Family Justice system, for the benefit of families and children, is another of my key priorities.

On 28 April, I hosted my first meeting of the Family Justice Development Forum.

This was followed in May by the publication of the Review of the Operation of the In Camera Rule in Family Law Proceedings.  The review, a key action in the Family Justice Strategy, was conducted by a team from University College Cork and Trinity College Dublin and is an important piece of research which details the perspectives of many stakeholders regarding the current understanding and operation of the in camera rule in family law proceedings.  Importantly, it includes the views of those who have been parties in such proceedings. 

General Scheme of the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025

In May, I secured Government approval to progress the General Scheme of the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025, which inter alia significantly expands the courts' powers to conduct criminal proceedings remotely, provides for the digitalisation of court documents in such proceedings, criminalises the exploitative practice of seeking sex in lieu of rent, amends the law on disclosure of counselling records in sexual offence trials, and empowers the Gardaí to direct the removal of face coverings in certain public order situations.

The Bill also incorporates legislative amendments to the Criminal Justice (Community Service) Act 1983 and the Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) Act 2011 to provide that the limit of community service hours be increased from 240 up to 480 hours. This action also includes the requirement for the judiciary to consider community service be mandatory where considering a custodial sentence of up to 2 years or less. It is anticipated that the Bill will be published this year.

Prisons and penal reform

In June of this year, I received Cabinet approval to accelerate the delivery of 960 additional prison spaces by utilising an exemption from the initial approval stages of the infrastructure guidelines for these projects. This will enable accelerated delivery of prison spaces with timelines reduced by 12 months to 18 months. 

With Minister of State Collins I have sought to push forward the Youth Diversion Programmes to ensure national coverage will be achieved by the end of this year. This will seek to provide a pathway away from criminality for young people at risk of entering a life of crime. 

The Future Prison Capacity Working Group was established in July 2024 to consider future prison capacity needs and to make recommendations on the numbers and types of prison capacity needed out to 2035. I brought the report of this Working Group to Cabinet recently and it was published on 4 July 2025. The report assesses the necessary upgrades to existing prison infrastructure and provides preliminary cost estimates for both capital investment and operational expenditure that delivers adequate capacity, while also ensuring a modern and fit-for-purpose prison estate that is humane, safe and secure and which provides the most effective supports for the rehabilitation of offenders.

In April, I approved the publication of the 'Community Service - New Directions Implementation Plan 2025-2027 by the Probation Service. This plan sets out commitments to drive the delivery and support the increased use of Community Service as a robust and meaningful alternative to imprisonment. Engagement with the Judiciary, imbedding the principles of desistence, restorative justice and social justice, and increasing the visibility and accessibility of Community Service are part of this plan.

The CAST pilot project is a partnership pilot between An Garda Síochána and the Mental Health Services, HSE and Mid-West Community Healthcare which is currently being trialled in the Limerick Garda Division. 

As of 8 May 2025, there have been 40 diversions from arrest and subsequent detentions under Section 12 of the Mental Health Act 2001. 141 individuals have benefitted from the pilot and 48 referrals from within Limerick Garda Division have been received.