Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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767. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the level of foresight or future planning that operates within his Department; who is responsible for long-term planning; the input these individuals or teams have into Departmental policy and practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61666/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Policy priorities in my Department are shaped by the Programme for Government and by my Department's Statement of Strategy 2025-2028, which will be published shortly. Long-term needs are considered through the development of research, legislative and policy proposals as well as operational systems by officials across the Department.

I chair the monthly meetings of the MinMAC, which includes my colleagues, Ministers of State Niall Collins and Colm Brophy, the Management Board and the Directors of a number of agencies. These meetings provide for a focus on prioritisation and monitor delivery of agreed objectives.

The Management Board, led by the Secretary General, has a planning role, subject to the Minister's approval, in setting the strategic direction for the justice sector, overseeing policy implementation, and managing resources. At the heart of policy development are two policy functions in both the criminal justice and civil justice areas which develop policies for my consideration. These policy units are supported by a Research and Evaluation Unit which undertakes long-term policy research, including strategic foresight, evaluations and modelling. Recent examples of this work include ongoing research programmes with the ESRI on Migration and Integration. More tailored pieces of research are commissioned to inform the planning of specific policy and legislation, for example research on the In-Camera Rule in Family Justice and the use of Community Service Orders and Short-Term Prison Sentences.

Additionally, several strategic structures operate under the remit of my Department. For example, the Criminal Justice Strategic Committee includes senior leaders from within the Department and each of the criminal justice agencies. Its purpose is to ensure a coordinated approach to long-term strategic issues in the sector. The Future Prison Capacity Working Group reported in August 2025 following its examination of Ireland’s prison capital requirements out to 2035.

My Department also led the work of the Judicial Planning Working Group, which reported in February 2023 and set the strategic direction for determining Ireland's judicial needs in the short, medium and long term.