Cabinet Committees

7. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on justice, migration and social affairs will meet next. [64288/26]

8. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on justice, migration and social affairs will meet next. [64345/26]

9. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on justice, migration and social affairs will next meet. [64291/26]

10. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on justice, migration and social affairs will next meet. [64266/26]

11. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on justice, migration and social affairs will next meet. [64814/26]

12. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on justice, migration and social affairs will meet next. [64832/26]

13. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on justice, migration and social affairs will next meet. [65610/26]

Can I get in as well?

We are very tolerant people here.

I am a regular.

We are very generous. I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 13, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on justice, migration and social affairs oversees the implementation of programme for Government commitments that are in relation to matters under those areas. It covers a range of policy areas, including domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, policing and justice reform, migration and initiatives tackling local-area disadvantage. Getting more gardaí on our streets to prevent and detect crime is the Government's first priority, and the Government has allocated over €2.74 billion to the Garda Vote this year, the largest allocation ever. The Government welcomes the progress made by An Garda Síochána with respect to recruitment in recent years. It is expected that the number of gardaí will soon exceed the previous record high of 14,758 in March 2020 and the number of gardai will reach 15,000 in the near future. Recruitment into An Garda Síochána is continuing apace. Groups of around 200 new gardai are now regularly entering and attesting from the Garda College approximately every three months. Five hundred and sixty-six probationer gardaí have been assigned to stations around the country already in 2026, with two more attestations due to take place before the end of the year. The 2025 programme for Government contains a commitment to continue to implement a firmer migration system that, among other things, protects the integrity of our immigration framework. Last November, the Government approved a package of policy and legislative reforms to strengthen Ireland’s migration and asylum system, ensuring it is rules-based, efficient and more closely aligned with those of other EU member states. The Cabinet committee was established in February 2025 following the appointment of the new Government in January. Its first meeting was on 10 April 2025 and it met most recently on Monday, 14 September. The next meeting will be scheduled in due course. In addition to meetings of the Cabinet committee, I have regular engagements with Ministers at Cabinet and individually to discuss issues relating to their Departments.

A huge amount of work has been done by An Garda Síochána to recruit new members. Understandably, after each attestation, the gardaí are allocated to different stations right across the country. My huge problem with that is that in the last three attestations, Galway received, in total across the over 700 gardaí that were allocated, only four gardaí. That is not four gardaí for one town in Galway or one small village; that is for the entirety of County Galway, the city and Connemara. It is a huge area that received only four gardaí. I wrote to the Commissioner on 24 July to highlight this matter because I was really frustrated by it. What it worked out at was that in Galway, we were receiving one garda per 64,000 of population. That was our allocation. I welcome the recent reallocation of 28 additional gardaí to the high-visibility policing efforts now taking place in Galway city. From speaking to the community gardaí in Galway city centre, they are seeing hugely positive results from this high-visibility policing. It is working in Galway city. Galway needs to be focused on and given a greater allocation moving forward. That means that stations in Athenry, Gort, Loughrea, Headford, Portumna and Tuam would see an increased allocation, that we would start to see that flow not just into Galway city but throughout the county, and that people would see higher visibility from the gardaí in the county because there would be the resources to do so. What consideration will be given to the fact that Galway has had such an underallocation of gardaí from recent attestations?

I raise an issue in relation to migration, our deportation process and how it works. I have been in here six and a half years. I have never once objected to an international protection accommodation service, IPAS, centre. I have never once come in here and spoken about migration, if the truth be told. I feel obliged to say that before I make my suggestion or criticism. At present, when somebody is given a deportation order to leave the country - 4,700 were given in 2025 and approximately 434 of those were enforced - the vast majority of those people in this country who are issued such a notice are expected to voluntarily return themselves. To be fair, I would say that happens in the majority of the cases I have come across and it is what gardaí and people involved with migration are telling me. However, there is a third cohort of people who are termed "otherwise confirmed". Essentially, those people volunteer the information to the authorities before they leave. However, from speaking with gardaí, a number of people go unaccounted for and a vast amount of the State's time is spent looking for those people. We do not know if they have actually left. My observation is that the Garda's powers and resources are better utilised enforcing the deportation orders and the laws we have, rather than finding out whether somebody has left the country. Gardaí find themselves seeking out people who might have left six months previously as they have no way of tracing that. Next week, at our policy meeting with the Minister for Justice, who has done a good job since taking over, I will raise with him the issue of traceability and what we are going to do to ensure the people who are served with notices are actually leaving. I would love to say they will leave of their own volition, but in cases where they are not how are we going to trace that in future?

Yesterday, the Garda Representative Association told the justice committee that gardaí need greater clarity on the pursuit policy, proper pursuit training, stronger legal protections and adequate roads policing resources. My constituents certainly want to see our gardaí supported in order that they can carry out their duty. I have previously raised the introduction of a separate driving licence for gardaí and a statutory indemnity for gardaí carrying out their role reasonably. What measures will the Government introduce to address these concerns and ensure gardaí are properly equipped and protected when carrying out their duties?

Everyone has the right to be safe and to feel safe in their homes and communities. Across the country, communities are dealing with the scourge of crime and antisocial behaviour. The Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities and significant funding has been put into resourcing An Garda Síochána. There has been an additional €500 million over the last five years. As the Taoiseach said, by the end of this year, for the first time ever, we will have about 15,000 gardaí serving the State. It will be the highest figure since the foundation of the State. I want to see a greater geographical spread of the new resources that are coming on board. Two attestations will take place towards the end of the year. While I welcome the additional gardaí who have been stationed in Cork, Dublin and Limerick, I would like to see a greater geographical spread around the country, in particular, in my constituency. People who live in rural Ireland want to feel safe every bit as much as people living in the cities. I look at stations in places like Graiguenamanagh, Goresbridge, Thomastown, across to Bennetsbridge, down to Callan and Mooncoin and over to Borris and Bagenalstown. We need additional gardaí in all these places because people are telling me they want to see gardaí with their boots on, on the street, on the beat and engaging with the community. We have put fantastic resources into the Garda but we just need a greater geographical spread. I implore the Taoiseach to use his influence to try to get a greater rural spread with the additional gardaí.

I too raise Garda numbers. Only four of 566 new Garda recruits this year have been allocated to Galway and all four went to Galway city. In recent weeks, there was an announcement of 28 new gardaí for Galway city and Salthill but none for stations in county towns like Athenry, Loughrea, Gort and Tuam. These are stations that have not seen any meaningful increase in Garda numbers in years. Assurances have been given that rural towns and villages will see an increased allocation but it has not happened. Across County Galway, there are ongoing issues with rural crime and antisocial and criminal behaviour in towns and villages. This is causing an awful lot of misery for people and I am being contacted regularly by residents about serious issues and by people who do not feel safe because of the lack of a Garda presence in our areas. Athenry, which is a growing town of 5,000 people, does not even have a full-time Garda station or Garda presence. It is totally unacceptable. When are stations in rural east Galway going to see increased allocations to ensure we have an adequate Garda presence in our communities?

Yesterday at the justice committee, we heard that not one garda in the State is trained in pursuit driving. We heard this from the AGSI, the GRA and Garda management. In 2026, I find this absolutely shocking. From speaking to members of the public after yesterday’s meeting, they also find it absolutely shocking. During the meeting, one of the Garda representatives pulled out a policy document from 1988 which stated Garda members were to get pursuit training. Since Ray Houghton put the ball in the England net that year, we have not seen one garda trained in pursuit in this country. The Government said it was going to prioritise pursuit training after the M9 tragedy but we heard yesterday that by the end of this year, only six gardaí in the State will have completed pursuit training. How did we get to a situation where, in 2026, not one garda in the State is trained to pursue a vehicle that is fleeing or refusing to stop for gardaí? It is a simple question and the public want to know the answer to it.

Last year, 122 students from Palestine, many of them coming from the horror of Gaza, were accepted into universities and colleges here to study and were given the visas to do that. Only 22 of those visa applications were refused. This year, 39 were granted and 103 refused. It is clear from the testimony of the colleges, universities, student unions and so on that something has changed, which is quite incredible, in the refusal of visas to people fleeing the most horrific conditions in Gaza. These students have been accepted by the third level institutions and in most cases the fees are not an issue, meaning there is no real cost for the State at all. They come through either sanctuary programmes or sponsors. I was talking to a young Palestinian woman whose two siblings were refused. They have an American sponsor paying the fees, so there is no cost but they are still being refused. This looks like a sort of performative cruelty by the Department of justice. It is asking questions like whether the students can provide bank statements from the last couple of years from Gaza. Gaza has been bombed to bits and subjected to a genocide. The Department has asked the students whether they can prove they are going to return to Gaza. The people of Palestine and Gaza want to go home. Their problem is they are being bombed to bits by Israel and the world allows it to happen. When they are coming here to study, having been accepted by third level institutions, and given their numbers are tiny, could we show a bit of humanity and decency by allowing them to come here to study and giving them visas?

Hear, hear.

Will the Taoiseach ask the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, to do that?

I also raise Garda numbers in towns and villages, this time in Kerry. I am referring not just to Killarney and Tralee but to Castleisland, Dingle, Kenmare, Killorglin and Cahersiveen. In one particular area, Portmagee, there was always a garda until a few years ago. I have made representations on that. The other issue I wish to raise is drink spiking. It is becoming very common across the world, but also here, including in the Taoiseach's county. I am aware of cases there. I was approached recently by a prominent businessman in Killarney whose daughter had her drink spiked. He said only for the fact that he was working in the town, he would not have got to her in time. These incidents are leading to sexual assaults in most cases. Deputy Séamus McGrath and I will sit down shortly with the Minister for justice in regard to a Private Members' Bill. I hope the Taoiseach, the Government and our colleagues will support it.

I thank the Deputies for the range of questions that has been asked. We began with Deputy Dolan and there was another question later about Galway. Deputy Dolan made a very strong case for Galway county, particularly east Galway. As I said, Garda numbers have increased dramatically since Covid. There are 200 gardaí being attested every three months now. It seems the Commissioner has concentrated on getting big cities done first, and Dublin was the first of these. It got a very significant tranche for the high-visibility policing initiative. There was also Cork and Limerick. I will speak to the Minister and Commissioner in respect of Galway. It is an operational issue for the Garda, first and foremost. He understands the desire of the Government for wide coverage and so forth. That seems a low number. In reference to the figure of 28 mentioned by the Deputy, did that relate to Galway?

They were repatriated outside Galway.

That is an extra 28 for Galway.

For the city.

It was four for the county and 28 for the city. That is good. I take the Deputy's point. The towns he mentioned are large, including Athenry, Gort and so on. Deputy Cleere gave us a strong sense of the towns in Kilkenny. I take the point. Rural Ireland has its unique crime issues and people feel vulnerable if there is a sense that there is not a sufficient Garda presence. It is a budget priority to continue the momentum in terms of Garda recruitment for 2027. Deputy O'Sullivan made an interesting point on the migration question. He essentially said there should be better follow-up in terms of deportations. In 2025, about 4,700 deportation orders were signed, an increase of 96% compared to 2024. Up to 24 July, 2,650 deportation orders had been signed this year. The number of deportation orders signed to 4 September 2026 has increased by 12% on 2025. In 2025, 2,111 people departed from the State under various mechanisms. I will speak to the Minister in respect of the voluntary return issue. It is a more effective and efficient way of doing it because deportations are significant in themselves. There has been an increase of about 80% in the number of deportations that have occurred compared to 2024. The Deputy's fundamental point is that we know the figures. People have nothing to live on if they hang around, and therefore there is an incentive to move on. I will speak to the Minister about tightening up the number of voluntary deportations. There has been a sea-change in the number of deportation orders that have been signed and planes have taken off with people on them. We have to have a firm and fair migration system and people have to know that the rules are enforced. There is a faster application process. We are speeding up the appeals process. The asylum pact is working. Migration numbers generally are down about 40% this year across Europe. A lot of Deputies opposite voted against the European Union asylum and migration pact. It is working and is effective, in particular in terms of returns. In response to Deputy Brabazon, the Minister indicated a commitment to changing legislation in respect of gardaí so that they would not lose their driving licence in the course of doing their duties or have their lives undermined by being dragged before the courts in the line of duty. That is a significant issue that the Minister is pursuing. Pursuit is dangerous and that is why gardaí need training. I acknowledge we need far more training than is in place. It is not today or yesterday that gardaí have been aware of these issues in terms of pursuing people. It is very dangerous because it can lead to further accidents and deaths. The training will happen. Further protocols are required. Deputy Shane Moynihan referred on Leaders' Questions to technology being deployed effectively. That is also very important. The Minister is considering a change in the law in respect of what Deputy Brabazon said in respect of protecting gardaí. I dealt with Deputy Cleere's issue in terms of better geographic spread around the country. Kilkenny is keen-----

And Carlow.

Tuigim, tuigim, tuigim. I have dealt with the issues in respect of Galway city. Deputy Mark Ward referred to pursuit training. It was a very good goal by Houghton in 1988. I take the Deputy's point. We must also be mindful of the fact that a lot has happened in the past four or five years in An Garda Síochána, in terms of recruitment activities and so on. There needs to be more focused training and so on, and there will be. Work is already under way with senior gardaí in colleges in the UK who are endeavouring to share expertise with UK police in terms of training and pursuit operations. Deputy Cahill provided a long list of Kerry towns that could do with gardaí. I will take on board what he said about Portmagee. The spiking of drinks is a horrendous and heinous crime and the Deputy is correct that there can be horrific consequences in terms of sexual assault. We would be supportive of a Private Members' Bill in that respect. The Deputy is pursuing that with Deputy McGrath. I will engage with the Minister.