Jim O'Callaghan

I have.

I was there last Thursday.

The gardaí in the inner city are not just there for the commercial sector. In my constituency , and I am sure Deputy Gannon's is the same, there are many residential areas in the inner city. In my constituency there is Glovers Court, which is right beside Aungier Street, as well as York Street and Mercer House. People want to see gardaí in the area. One of the good things about Dublin, unlike capi…

We need to ensure there are as many gardaí as possible so they are around the country and on the streets.

I thank the Deputy for raising the Women's Aid report. At 11 o'clock this morning, I was down on Wood Quay and I launched that report. I commend Women's Aid on the excellent work it has done for 51 years in Ireland in identifying the unacceptable behaviour of abuse against women. The Deputy raised a number of issues, which Government is dealing with, and I will identify a few of them. She referre…

Domestic violence against women is taken extremely seriously by the Government. I outlined some of the measures in my response to the Deputy but more are ongoing. I did not mention the fact that we are going to amend the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, which will ensure greater rights for the families of children whose mother, generally, has been murdered by the father of the child. We need to e…

I thank the Deputy. I never heard anyone say, "Ah, it’s only a domestic." I do not see how anyone could say that when reflecting on the level of violence, homicides and killings of women that, regrettably, have taken place on the island. It is simply an unacceptable aspect of violence in this country that a significant amount of the violence is targeted against women. Of course, what distinguishes…

I hope that some of the measures she called for are already being acted upon by me, such as the counselling notes, guardianship of infants and the issue in respect of a disclosure system to reveal individuals who have been convicted of domestic abuse previously. I have no difficulty with that. I will speak to the new Commissioner, and I have spoken to the current Commissioner as well, in respect o…

I express my condolences and those of the Government to the family of the disability campaigner, Jacqui Browne. I appreciate that the Deputy, as a man, has identified that this is predominantly a men's issue because violence against women is perpetrated by men. He is right in his identification that the influences on young men at present are considerably different from when he was a young man and…

It is important to emphasise the role of Coimisiún na Meán. In October 2024, it adopted Ireland's first online safety code, which obliges designated platforms to protect people, especially children, from harmful video and associated content. People spend far too much of their lives looking at social media. We need to tell young people, and adults, that what they see on social media is not represe…

I will answer Deputy O'Flynn's last question while it is fresh in my mind. Yes, anyone who comes in claiming international protection is fingerprinted and assessed against the Eurodac system.

That happens to anyone who arrives into a port. The Deputy raised issues with the passport system. We all want to speed up the passport system as much as possible so that people can get their passports quickly. The Deputy then raised the issue of people who seek citizenship through naturalisation. I had the great privilege of being down in Killarney on Monday when a judge was handing out citizensh…

I want the Deputy to know that Irish passports and citizenship are not granted easily. I am sure that if the Minister for foreign affairs were here, he would confirm that is true of passports. With regard to citizenship, many colleagues in this House ask me about citizenship applications. They criticise how long they take and ask why the process is so lengthy. The reason is that you have to do ver…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist. Is ceist an-tábhachtach í do mhuintir na tíre agus dá Dháilcheantar féin. I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I suspect there may be some people in the House who are not as aware of the private wires issue as Deputy Heneghan is. It is always good - he has spoken to me before about this - to have voices of experience here. For the bene…

I think the Deputy said it is northside swimmers who are being affected. Southside swimmers are affected as well by E. coli. We are not immune to E. coli on the southside of Dublin. This is a complicated area. The North-South interconnector is a hugely important issue. Referring back to the North-South Ministerial Council last week, it was an issue that was raised there. There has been too much d…

That is not correct, and Sinn Féin does not have a monopoly when it comes to association with the heroes of 1916. Many of us in Fianna Fáil have a strong connection with those people who fought in 1916. The Deputy needs to accurately represent what was stated yesterday. It was stated that the GPO complex will be redeveloped as an ambitious flagship project, as a mixed-use development with a combin…

There is very little I can do about the US immigration system. I am trying to put rules on the Irish immigration system. I cannot control the US immigration system. It is regrettable that these new measures are being introduced by the United States. I welcome the fact that the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach have indicated that they think the measures are inappropriate. We will mention it to the US aut…

The Minister, Deputy Foley, brought that report to Cabinet yesterday. It is important to note the report also acknowledges the positive and open engagement with Department officials over the past year. Officials in her Department have prepared an initial response to the recommendations alongside a commitment to continue engaging positively with the special advocate in relation to the issues raised…

I agree with the Deputy. What is happening in Gaza is reprehensible and shocking. A concern the Government and I have is that because attention is now focused on Israel's war with Iran, it is off Gaza. We cannot allow that to happen. In fairness, no government in Europe has done more than the Irish Government in seeking to advance the protection and cause of the Palestinian people in Gaza. We must…

Garda Tom Flavin was acquitted of all charges against him. It must have been a significant strain on him and his family. It took seven years, which is far too long for a criminal prosecution. Unfortunately, criminal prosecutions can take a lengthy period of time. It is not always the case the delay is a result of the Garda investigation. It goes to the DPP and through the courts, and processes can…

At Cabinet yesterday, the Minister for agriculture, Deputy Heydon, gave a detailed and informative account of bovine TB and his strategy to combat it, approved by Government. It is a serious issue from the point of view of Irish agriculture. If it became prevalent or widespread in Ireland, we would have a significant problem. Having listened to the Minister yesterday, he is on top of the issue. A …

I thank Deputy Feighan for bringing this issue forward and the presentation from the NWRA. The north-west region has been identified in the programme for Government as an area that needs further investment. I am sure when it comes to the national development plan, each Minister will seek to advance capital projects in the region.

We are aware of the issue regarding the Oireachtas broadcasters. It cannot be an easy job. As a party, Fianna Fáil supports what they seek. We have written to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. It is ultimately a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission to respond to these issues. I believe the commission will engage with them. I thank the Deputy for raising this issue.

I thank the Deputy. I agree with her there are more gardaí on the streets of Dublin city centre and it has had a very positive impact. It is not the intention and I hope it is not the effect that gardaí are taken from different areas. I do not think that is the case. The Commissioner has made a decision that a significant number of new recruits coming out will be put in Dublin in the first instanc…

I thank the Deputy for raising that issue. I agree school secretaries and caretakers play an absolutely essential and invaluable role in schools. Many of us know schools that simply could not operate without the school secretary or indeed the caretaker. I note the assimilation of school secretaries to a payroll administered by the Department has provided significant benefits where pay and access t…