Jim O'Callaghan

Every day of the week we read in our newspapers about people - men - being convicted of rape and serious sexual offences. That is happening consistently within the criminal justice system. Part of the consequence of that is that it should provide, and I hope it does, strength to other survivors and victims of sexual offences to know that if they come forward, they will get justice. I also know tha…

-----who was being prosecuted, she would be the first to criticise conditions that made a fair trial not possible.

I thank the Deputy for her question and would appreciate it if she would send on the details of the case because I was not able to identify the issues on the basis of the question. It is a complicated issue and I just want to give the Deputy the following reply. Under the Irish legal system, a person’s name is the name by which they are known or which they commonly use. For most people, evidence …

If the Deputy sends me the details, I will be able to look at the issue. The naturalisation process is different from the process, say, for obtaining a marriage certificate. At the heart of naturalisation is the need for the Department to be able to identify the person who is seeking Irish citizenship. It is an essential part of the naturalisation process that people in my Department go back and e…

The use and repute test is used across the board in the Department. It is not targeting any particular group of individuals. It is not too much to expect, when it comes to assessing identification, that people are able to satisfy the Department that their name is the name they have used for two years and how they have been known by repute for the same period. As I said, I will have a look at this …

I acknowledge this is an issue of concern to the Deputy. I understand the flooding that occurred at Drogheda Courthouse on 13 January 2025 resulted from burst pipes. Following the completion of initial repair works, a walk-through inspection of the facility was carried out during the week commencing 20 January 2025. It was agreed at the time that the facility could reopen to the public on 28 Janua…

I am disappointed to hear buckets are being used in Drogheda Courthouse. As already noted, it was built in 2017 on a landmark town centre site. If there are defects in the building, the owner or the constructor is liable for those defects. There is a recognition that any defects in the building must be fixed by the PPP company. It has done that and has paid for those works. If there are ongoing di…

The courthouses of Ireland are very interesting buildings. Last Friday, I was in the courthouse in Armagh, which is very similar to the other courthouses we inherited from the British around the country. Some of them, because of their antiquity, are in need of significant work, but their antiquity means most are protected structures. I know Dundalk Courthouse well. It is a very fine building in th…

I thank Deputy Ó Murchú for his question. I certainly do not believe that there will be an exodus of our criminal law practitioners from the legal aid sphere as a result of the reforms I am introducing. As I said earlier, it is a very competitive sector. There are highly efficient and professional solicitors providing services to persons accused of criminal offences. I believe that will continue. …

There are obviously a variety of reasons for adjournments of a criminal trial in the District Court. What is concerning me is the fact that if we have short adjournments, they have a very negative impact on the efficiency of the system because cases are listed every two weeks, every three weeks or however long it is on a continuing basis. If we are paying a person per the number of appearances, th…

That is correct. There was a detailed review carried out by my Department and what it established was that there were a number of structural issues which needed to be addressed: first, payment per appearance incentives adjournments; second, multiple certificates were granted for related cases which will increase costs and complexity; third, multiple solicitors assigned in the same firm for related…

I thank Deputy Coppinger for her question. As she will be aware, the law was recently changed in this area in respect of sexual offences. Under section 14 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Trafficking) Act 2024, it is now the case that people who want to give character evidence about a person convicted of a sexual offence have to do so either by affidavit or in the witness box. It has to be…

I agree with Deputy Coppinger when she says abusers and people responsible for gender-based violence are manipulative. I met Naomi Long last Friday. She is the justice minister for Northern Ireland. She asked me to read the report about Katie Simpson's murder. I read it. It is a harrowing example of someone - the person responsible for her murder - who fooled the PSNI. It showed the level of manip…

The Deputy may want to live in a country where guilt by association operates, but, fortunately, we do not live in such a country. If somebody the Deputy knew did something inappropriate or improper-----

-----I would not hold her responsible for it.

We do not live in a country where there is guilt by association. To answer the question, the reason persons did not get into the witness box in the past is because the law has now been changed. If you want to give character evidence in respect of a person convicted of a sexual offence, you now have to do it by going into the witness box or on affidavit. The benefit of doing it that way is you can …

I have read the report from the Law Reform Commission and the Deputy will be pleased to note I have already changed the criminal injuries compensation scheme. The change I have introduced is to remove the prohibition on damages being paid in respect of pain and suffering. That was recommended within the report of Mr. Justice Clarke but also in the ruling of the Blanco judgment from the Court of Ju…

I thank Deputy Carthy for these two amendments. We had an opportunity on Committee Stage to have a discussion on these amendments as well, but the Deputy is perfectly entitled to submit them again. As the Leas-Ceann Comhairle will be aware, the purpose of this legislation is to provide a facility for An Garda Síochána to engage in retrospective biometric analysis in terms of the work that it does…

As Deputy Carthy will be aware, under section 3 of the 2023 Act, there is a provision that enables me to make regulations in respect of provisions contained within the legislation. Obviously, I cannot make regulations now in respect of an amendment that is not yet part of the legislation. Nonetheless, I am aware of the powers that I have under section 3. It is a matter that I will give considerati…

I thank Deputy Carthy for his amendment and Deputy Gannon for his contribution. As I said at the outset, the purpose of this legislation is to provide an additional tool to An Garda Síochána in order to expedite its investigations. This is not a tool that will be used for the purpose of putting evidence before a court to convict a person of a criminal offence. It is an instrument that will be of b…

I just want to clarify. I am certainly not suggesting that any of the Deputies here are highlighting issues for the purpose of obstructing the legislation or, indeed, trying to obstruct the work of An Garda Síochána. Deputies are highlighting issues that are of concern to them. Similarly, however, in responding to them I have to be able to say be able to say how I think in practice the amendment, …

I thank Deputy Carthy for this amendment. As the subheading to it indicates, it is a processing amendment. I want to point out, however, that a processing provision is already provided for and the wording proposed for this section will be governed by the code of practice. The provisions of the recording devices Act are without prejudice to the requirements of the Data Protection Acts. The general …

I did look at it and I am opposed to the amendment for the following reason. I am conscious that the Deputy wants to make it a criminal offence if a garda should access or use biometric analysis other than in accordance with the legislation. That would mean that a garda could be prosecuted in circumstances where the mistake was inadvertent or where something was done which did not reach the culpab…

I thank Deputy Carthy for his amendment. As he indicated, he wants to put into legislation that a pilot programme should be carried out before biometric analysis is commenced by An Garda Síochána. As I mentioned on Committee Stage, the putting in place of a pilot scheme for the roll-out of any new technology is an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner and is not appropriate to this Bill. F…

I thank Deputy Carthy for tabling these three amendments. One of the things that is noticeable when looking at this type of legislation, which involves data, is that there is a huge amount of legislation in place at present outside of the recording devices Act of 2023. I am referring in particular to the Data Protection Acts. Those Acts contain prohibitions on mass surveillance, indiscriminate sea…