Jim O'Callaghan

I do listen

I do not wish to respond but I will take it on board. I listened to what Deputy Carthy had to say.

They are technical drafting amendments to improve the clarity of the text and correct cross-references and minor errors.

Amendment No. 5 defines the phrase "international protection guardian" for the purposes of section 2. Later proposed amendments to the Children First Act 2015 and the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 will rely on this definition. Amendments No. 13 and 14 are technical amendments that provide for updated cross-references within the Bill. Amendment No. 29 provides f…

Amendment No. 16 is a technical amendment that repeals section 20 of the International Protection Act 2015 which provides for the detention of applicants in certain limited circumstances. Following the commencement of this Bill, any applicants under that Act who are to be detained will be subject to the detention provisions of this Bill in accordance with the reception conditions directive. Theref…

It does generally mean that at present. I have indicated this to the Deputy before - or I do not know if it was him - but he knows this puts pressure on prisons. I have looked before but I am going to have to start trying to identify a secure location where detention takes place but which is exclusively for immigration. That may be something at which I have to look. I am not giving a commitment to…

If we do not have a system that allows us to detain people who are to be deported, we can never have deportation flights. I just have to be realistic about it. We could never have these flights because people are obviously not going to turn up and ask "What time is the flight leaving at?" The realistic situation is that in order to ensure that people can be subject to enforced deportations, you ha…

I hear what Deputy Gannon says. I am not going to repeat what I said earlier.

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that section 28 reflects the requirements of the reception conditions directive.

I thank Deputy Carthy for tabling his amendment to Seanad amendment No. 44. Section 50(a) of the Bill as passed by the Dáil provides for a regulation-making power that specifies the standards to be applied to representative organisations, provisional representative persons and representative persons. I do not believe this particular amendment is necessary. Moreover, section 50(b) provides that I, …

We are talking about the Deputy's amendment. I have given my response to the Deputy's amendment.

The purpose of Seanad amendment No. 58 is to give further effect to procedures regulation provisions relating to non-entry to the State of applicants subject to the asylum border procedure. Article 43.1 of that regulation provides that the asylum border procedure may be applied only where an applicant has not yet been authorised to enter the state. It is necessary to provide in the Bill for the di…

The proposed new Part 4 of the Bill gives effect to the reception conditions provisions of the reception conditions directive. Seanad amendment No. 63 provides for the definition section of Part 4 to include definitions of "accommodation centre", "clothing allowance", "daily expenses allowance", "family member", "house rules" and "material reception conditions". Seanad amendment No. 64 proposes t…

Where?

I thank Deputies Gannon and Carthy for their contributions. As an overview, when it comes to legislation like this, I, as Minister - I presume this is also the case for the House - have to try to balance conflicting rights. When dealing with international protection legislation, on one hand, we have to take into account the interests of the applicant claiming they are fleeing persecution or war to…

In terms of family reunification, on 4 September last year the UK on suspended refugee family reunification. They suspended it in the UK. An aspect of UK policy I have to be conscious of is that if something is changed in the UK which makes Ireland a more materially attractive place for persons to come, it is a factor I have to take into account. It may not sound virtuous, but I want to try to re…

I know, but it is a big obligation and it comes at a big cost. I am entitled to try to - and the Oireachtas is entitled to say that we are going t -, shift the balance slightly towards the State on those scales. It is also the case that for family members who are already here it does not apply, and, obviously, it does not apply for an unaccompanied minor who is granted status here. I will deal wi…

If it is the case that people in the House are going to say that we should stick with the reception conditions directive and should provide accommodation, it necessarily means that we are going to have to spend money on accommodation. I am trying to get State accommodation to provide it. I am actively cutting down costs. I have cut down the numbers of people who have come to Ireland claiming asylu…

I welcome the fact that I follow on from Independent Ireland to speak because I want to mention a group of Irish people -Irish men and women- that they never once mentioned. That is the men and women of An Garda Síochána-----

-----who stood by this State. I want to thank the gardaí who, over the past week showed outstanding professionalism, commitment and courage in guaranteeing the safety and security of the State and its citizens throughout the period of blockades of critical infrastructure. We all know in this House, on the Government's side, that in any liberal democracy the right to peaceful assembly, the right to…

An Garda Síochána, which Member's opposite should appreciate, has a proud record and history of defending and securing the people or Ireland and their democratic institutions from harm against those who have tried to undermine them. They did so again on this occasion and that is to be commended by everyone in this House. I am, however, concerned about the unacceptable levels of hatred and vitriol…

I have already spoken to the Commissioner about this and he has assured me that, where offences have been committed, prosecutions will follow. The work of this Government in the area of justice has just begun. It is vital that work continues. As such, I commend the motion of confidence before the House.

You should recognise and respect our Army. You respected another army for long enough.

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "recognises: — the crucial role played by An Garda Síochána in ensuring the security of the State, protecting and serving communities across Ireland through the maintenance of law and order, and upholding the principles of justice; — the commencement of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act…

I thank colleagues for their contributions to this debate. I acknowledge and welcome the fact that the majority of the House will be supporting the order to extend the ARP until 2027. It is important to acknowledge that this was a very innovative and successful mechanism, introduced back in July 2022, to respond to the fact that Ireland held itself out as a very welcoming place for Ukrainian peopl…