Jim O'Callaghan

That is for sexual offences.

It predated the legislation.

I presume that was because the offence in that case predated the new legislation brought in requiring oral evidence in respect of references in cases of sexual offences. As a result of the amendment, this provision will now cover all indictable offences.

Amendments Nos. 24 to 27, inclusive, have been grouped. They relate to Part 11 of the Bill, which concerns the International Criminal Court. They are of a minor and very technical nature.

These are the amendments in respect of the disregard section of the Bill, which is Part 15. Amendments Nos. 30 to 36, inclusive, and 39 to 41, inclusive, are minor textual amendments to make certain terms and references clearer and more precise. The purpose of the remaining amendments is to make the provisions relating to the revocation of a disregard clearer and more robust, including certain pro…

These amendments concern the use of electronic means. The main body of the amendments relate to passenger name records. I will briefly deal with amendments Nos. 43 to 45. These put in a new Part 17 relating to electronic technology in certain proceedings. Amendment No. 43 inserts a new section defining the types of proceedings in question. Amendments 44 and 45 insert two new sections to provide re…

Amendment No. 82 makes a number of technical amendments to the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020. It also repeals two redundant provisions of the 2020 Act. Amendment No. 83 amends the Criminal Justice (Perjury and Related Offences) Act 2021. It is a purely consequential amendment to take account of the proposed insertion in this Bill of a provision for statements of t…

I echo the remarks of the Taoiseach and every Deputy who has spoken in this debate this afternoon in acknowledging, first and foremost, the courage of the victims who have brought these failures of the State into the light. This report stands testament to the perseverance of both those who join us in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery this afternoon and those who have chosen to maintain their anon…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I welcome the opportunity to present the Domestic Violence Judgments Register Bill 2026 to Dáil Eireann. The genesis of this legislation is in October 2025, when the drafting of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences, Domestic Violence and International Instruments) Bill was approved by Government. In May this year, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on J…

I thank all Deputies for their contributions. I acknowledge the fact that, unusually, every person who has spoken in this debate is in support of the legislation. That is a very positive sign in respect of what we, as a House, are seeking to do in terms of changing the law. On many occasions, understandably and correctly, the legislative process is adversarial and people disagree with legislative …

I thank the Deputy for his question. I also thank him for organising the meeting of his committee yesterday and for inviting me to it. I thought it was a very useful and effective meeting. It gave me an opportunity to put out the reasons I am introducing this new scheme in respect of the District Court. Obviously, it also gave other persons whom the committee invited, members of the legal professi…

As I mentioned yesterday, I am not here to prioritise the interests of the legal profession and neither is the Deputy. My task is to focus on the administration of justice, people who are brought before the courts, people who are accused of criminal offences and the effective operation of the administration of justice in the criminal section of the District Court. That is my focus. If we look at t…

The basis upon which I referred to unethical practices is in the report that is now up on the website, gov.ie. In fairness to the Deputy, I do not believe he has seen it. It is in the criminal legal aid section of the website. I refer to the review of the criminal legal aid system in the District Court. The Deputy mentioned a whole series of cases, including custody cases. I have changed what was…

I thank the Deputy for his question and, indeed, for his work chairing the drugs committee and the work on its report. I have had an opportunity to read the report. A very significant amount of work went into it. There are 161 recommendations in it. I agree with very many of them. There are parts in the report that are excellent, especially the section that refers to sports, well-being, combating …

This is an interesting discussion. I am very happy to have a policy discussion with the Deputy. We obviously have different views. My concern is what happened in British Columbia. The Minister of Health there is a social democrat, a member of the New Democratic Party. British Columbia introduced decriminalisation about three years ago and is reversing out of it now because, it says, it has led to …

I am not in the slightest challenging the Deputy's bona fides or genuine beliefs. I just have a concern that a policy advanced by people who are legitimately motivated by the best intentions may have a negative consequence. There is one thing we agree on, namely, that there is and should be a health-led approach. Under the Government at present, there is a health-led approach to drugs. The health…

I thank the Deputy. Since the previous occasion that the Deputy and I engaged across the House on these questions, the International Protection Act has commenced. It commenced on 12 June. These are very early stages. We are not even three weeks into it but the statistics I am seeing show that the number of asylum applicants coming to Ireland is down considerably. I do not want it to be understood …

I will come back to it.

That is true.

There were examples where UK driving licences were found. The passports were not UK passports. The great benefit of the legislation, which, of course, transposed the pact, is that it does make returns much easier - not to the UK because we do not have an agreement with the UK but to other countries in the EU. That is the big advantage of it. Under the Dublin III regulation, as the Deputy is aware,…

No.

I do not believe it is pointless designating the UK a safe third country. That is what it is. The Deputy is aware of the politics of the United Kingdom probably just as well as anyone else in this House. There are considerable issues of sensitivity in the UK around accepting returns from other countries. The Deputy knows that. It is an issue of political sensitivity. I have spoken to the Home Secr…

I thank the Deputy for his question. There are fixed cameras, average speed cameras and GoSafe vans. That type of technology is vital in ensuring that we keep our roads safe. Road safety cameras are intended to be a tool to support safety, prevention and behaviour change across the road network. They are not about catching people out. They are about trying to ensure that we keep our roads safe. N…

It is hard for me to contest that the figures indicate there are aberrations in different parts of the country. When the figures were presented to me, I asked the Department why a greater number of fixed charge notices are being issued by two particular cameras and one list of cameras than by others. I do not have an answer for the Deputy at present but I have asked officials to inquire into it. M…

I assume people who receive fixed charge notices for speeding are speeding, - hear me out on this - but it may be the case that they are given insufficient time for the change of speed limit from one area coming into another area. I will look at that. I cannot give the Deputy a categoric answer about the reason for this at present but being frank, looking at the data, it seems unusual that two cam…