I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
I am grateful for the opportunity to bring this important Bill before the House. Electronic evidence is now central to almost every criminal investigation. While data flows globally, law enforcement authorities across Europe are often in need of foreign-held evidence for domestic cases, including data held by service providers in this jurisdiction. Electronic data i…
TDs / Jim O'Callaghan
Jim O'Callaghan
Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
13
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
306,120
words spoken in the chamber
304,929 as a minister, 1,191 as a TD
360
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
8
topics asked about
Across 6 departments
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
What they ask about
The subject headings the Oireachtas filed their questions under.
Who they ask
The departments their questions were addressed to.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Questions asked 13 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 1,001 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 13 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 0 | 17 |
| March 2025 | 0 | 45 |
| April 2025 | 0 | 34 |
| May 2025 | 0 | 33 |
| June 2025 | 0 | 44 |
| July 2025 | 0 | 88 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 | 95 |
| October 2025 | 0 | 65 |
| November 2025 | 0 | 11 |
| December 2025 | 0 | 41 |
| January 2026 | 0 | 71 |
| February 2026 | 0 | 68 |
| March 2026 | 0 | 83 |
| April 2026 | 0 | 45 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 73 |
| June 2026 | 0 | 49 |
| July 2026 | 0 | 81 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 0 | 11 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 47 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 598 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
Not enough questions on record to compare.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Dublin Bay South 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister for Justice 23 January 2025 to 4 June 2025
- office Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration 5 June 2025 to now
I move:
That Standing Order 194 is modified in accordance with Standing Order 241(2) to provide that it be an instruction to the Committee to which the Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 may be recommitted in respect of certain amendments that it has the power to make amendments to the Bill which are outside the scope of the existing subject matter of the Bill in order to:
(a) …
Good. We are getting a lot done.
I thank all the Deputies for their contributions. I am not a very philosophical person, but one thing I do know is that ministerial careers come and go very quickly and as Deputy McAuliffe said-----
I am well aware of it.
I hope individuals in this House have the great privilege to be Ministers at some stage in the future-----
-----but it comes and goes-----
-----and the officials, with the greatest respect, are outstanding people but they will be there for many years. If you want to get something done as a politician-----
-----you have to push it through. I know people are, at one level, criticising me because this Bill contains a whole variety of different issues. It does. I have tried to squash as many issues as possible into this Bill because I want to get these provisions enacted for the benefit of people, such as men in Ireland who were convicted of homosexual offences prior to decriminalisation. In fact, it was Deputies Ó Snodai…
One of the criticisms that is regularly made is that I am not getting things done and I am sitting on things, as the Deputies are all perfectly entitled and obliged to say to me if things are not being done. I know they are not asking me to, but I am not going to apologise for trying to get important measures that are of benefit to the public enacted as quickly as possible. I think we all agree that the disregard sch…
I move amendment No. 1:
In page 7, line 23, after “2004,” to insert “the Criminal Justice Act 2006,”.
I will deal first with amendments Nos. 1, 21 and 32.
Amendment No. 1 amends the Long Title to include a reference to the Criminal Justice Act 2006.
Amendment No. 21 is a technical amendment to section 16(1)(b) to substitute a reference to the singular "subsection" with a reference to the plural "subsections".
Am…
I move amendment No. 2:
In page 7, line 32, after “trial;” to insert the following:
“to give effect to the ratification by the State of certain amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, to further enable authorities in the State to cooperate with the International Criminal Court, and for those and other related purposes to amend the International Criminal Court Act 2006;”.
I am pleased to…
I move amendment No. 3:
In page 8, line 6, after “2021;” to insert the following:
“to provide that the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration may, in respect of applications made to the Minister, issue to certain persons certificates of disregard in respect of certain historical convictions and other determinations relating to consensual sexual activity;”.
The amendments I am moving in this group are in …
Yes, certainly.
1962.
I am.
I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I will start with Deputy Ó Snodaigh. Like him and other Deputies, I should also commend people who are not Members of the Oireachtas but who really led the campaign to see this injustice righted, in particular, Karl Hayden and Kieran Rose. I commend them and acknowledge the excellent work they did.
Deputies Ó Snodaigh and Kelly have both asked why the Bill does not apply…
Yes. It could be the case that there are no records. The scheme is flexible enough to permit statements.
Another thing the Deputy mentioned was the friend. There is a very broad definition of a "relative", which is contained in the scheme and in section 42. This is going to apply in respect of a deceased person. There are mechanisms whereby it could be considered. The person may have nominated a person who is not a …
Judges were appointed by the Crown.
I move amendment No. 4:
In page 8, line 9, after “1997,” to insert “the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005,”.
Amendment No. 69 inserts a new section into the Bill to amend Schedule 5 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 in order to add the Courts Service to the Schedule. This will mean that the Courts Service will be a specified body for the purposes of specified provisions of the 2005 Act relating to th…
In fairness to Deputy Daly, it would be a bit rich of me if I objected to him raising a matter that is outside the scope of the Bill, since the Bill is so broad in any event.
I hear what Deputy Daly says. The scheme that is being brought in on 1 July is designed to improve efficiencies in the criminal legal aid scheme and the District Court. I fully appreciate the important role played by solicitors under that scheme. I have met the Law Society and Bar Council in respect of it. The system would be greatly improved and there will still be proper payment for solicitors in the very significa…
I am conscious that we have many amendments to get through.
If Deputy Gannon wants to table it as a Topical Issue matter, I am happy to come in. The scheme that operates at present means that people get €260 for the first appearance and €60 for every appearance after that. That incentivises inefficiencies. Research has been completed in the Department that shows that the hearing of criminal cases in the District Court which are governed by the criminal legal aid scheme moves …
I move amendment No. 5:
In page 8, line 11, to delete “and” and substitute “, the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023,”.
Amendments Nos. 70 and 71 are small technical amendments to both the Family Courts Act 2024 and the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 that are necessary ahead of the standing up of the first family courts next year. The amendments are to fix a legislative lacun…