Jim O'Callaghan

I move amendment No. 10: “11. Section 49 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3): “(3) The functions of the designated judge are to— (a) keep under review the operation of Parts 3, 6 and 6A in so far as each of them has come into operation, and (b) report to the Taoiseach from time to time and at least once every 12 months concer…

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for putting down this very important issue I accept that overcrowding is having an impact on the provision of services within the prison estate, and is having an impact on both prisoners and staff. A lot of outstanding work is ongoing within our prisons that probably does not get enough recognition. This morning, I spent two hours at Mountjoy and Dóchas. Three weeks ago,…

I am hoping, and it is intended, that we will start preparation works early next year in respect of the extension to Cork Prison. I am hoping and expecting that it will be completed in advance of 2031 and that it will be finished in the latter part of this decade. It is also important to point out that we have a good record in the Irish Prison Service in delivering extensions or new blocks on pris…

I move: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — family disputes can be difficult and traumatic for those involved, particularly for children and victims of domestic violence; — litigation to resolve those disputes can itself, despite the best efforts of judges, courts officials, and legal representatives, be very challenging for those involved; — …

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Health pursuant to Standing Orders 103(2)(b) and 188(1).

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure: P…

I thank Deputies Carthy, McGuinness and Kelly for their contributions. Deputies Carthy and McGuinness expressed a concern about the use of Protocol 21 and a concern that this was in some way interfering with Ireland's sovereignty or autonomy. When it came to the Lisbon treaty, we agreed, and we got input into it, Protocol 21. That was for the benefit of Ireland. We wanted to leave outside of the …

I thank Deputy O'Reilly for putting down this important Topical Issue. If I am available for Topical Issues in the justice, home affairs and migration area, I will do them. I am happy to be here to respond to the Deputy's query. It is repeatedly the case - and it is very fair - that Deputies want more gardaí in their communities and constituencies. That is a good sign. It shows the constituencies…

Ciara's petition is probably trying to do what many other communities seek to do as well. In effect, she and the Deputy are looking for a formal assessment of the policing needs of the Rush area. I want the Deputy to know, however, that when the Commissioner sits down to decide where the new gardaí coming out of Templemore should go, he does it on the basis of a particular plan. In the past year, …

I thank Deputy Ward for raising this very important issue. Obviously there is a complexity to how society should respond to criminality by people under 18 years of age but my starting point is looking at the impact it has upon victims. From the victim's point of view, as Deputy Ward has described, it is cold comfort that the person who is perpetrating the criminal act or the antisocial behaviour i…

Obviously, the youth diversion programme does not mean that children cannot be arrested, convicted of offences or apprehended by gardaí. If gardaí come across youths who are involved in criminal behaviour or breaches of public order, they can apply the law in respect of them and it may be necessary at times for them to be arrested. The Deputy is right to say that this does result in further bureau…

Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Teachta Ó Snodaigh as an mBille seo. Is Bille fíorthábhachtach é. An bhliain seo caite, bhí díospóireacht idir an Teachta Ó Snodaigh agus mé féin sa Dáil ar an gceist seo. Tar éis sin, chuaigh mé ar ais chuig an Roinn agus dúirt mé leis na hoifigigh gur mhaith liom Bille nua a fheiceáil go tapa. I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh and the other Deputie…

I thank the Deputies who have contributed to this important topic. It is important again to state that there is agreement across the House that we should introduce a disregard scheme to ensure that the unfairness of these convictions that were imposed upon Irish men in the 20th century can be removed and disregarded. As has been indicated, the disregard scheme is different from a pardon. In effect…

Before we start the debate on the amendments on the cream list, I draw attention to four errors of a formal or typographical nature that have been identified in the Bill following its passage through the Houses. Pursuant to Standing Order 203, I ask that the Leas-Cheann Comhairle direct the Clerk to make the following corrections of a formal nature to the Bill. I will set out those four minor chan…

I propose that amendments Nos. 1, 6 to 8, inclusive, 18 to 20, inclusive, 22, 23, 117, 141 to 145, inclusive, 147 and 148 be taken together. Those amendments relate to the introduction of legal counselling for applicants for international protection as is required by the Asylum Procedures Regulation and the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation. A key factor in creating a more effective inte…

I want to thank the three Deputies for their contributions, which I listened to very carefully. At the outset, I wish to say that the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, and I realise this is extremely challenging and complicated legislation before the Houses. Nothing we can do can remove the complicated nature of the legislation. It just is the case that with the international protection system, th…

The current legislation is much shorter. In fact, I think Deputy Kelly was in government when the International Protection Act 2015 was enacted. If one looks at the judgments of the superior courts, there are endless judgments on the international protection system that operates in Ireland at present - people challenging it by way of judicial review and challenging the executive operation of it. I…

What we are doing here is putting in a definition of the Data Protection Act 2018. As I indicated, some of these are very minor technical amendments. The main amendment in this group is amendment No. 230, which proposes the insertion of a new section 224 to provide for the sharing of information by relevant bodies. The purpose of the new section is to make clear provision for the sharing of inform…

I thank the Deputy very much for his question. Obviously, in the first instance, when people arrive into Ireland claiming international protection, they are checked on Eurodac and they are screened. In respect of those processes, they are required to give biometric data. They get their fingerprints taken, they get their faces photographed and other information is taken in respect of them. They set…

The Deputies have accurately summarised the basis on which we think that 90% of applicants come in over the Border with Northern Ireland. These are people who apply at the office and do not apply at our ports. It is, therefore, a reasonable assumption that a significant majority are coming over the Border. Deputy Carthy makes the point that individuals who were given work visas to come here might…

To fly from a country outside the EU into the UK, you would need a visa to enter the UK. If you are coming, say, from an Asian or African country, where there are a lot of international protection applicants, in general, you will need a visa. There are some countries for which the UK provides lots of visas. You can see that in our numbers. I am not going to start naming countries now because peopl…

I will deal with something Deputy Carthy said at the outset. He said we take at face value what applicants say. I am conscious that could be misrepresented. It is not correct. What people put down on their forms is part of the information processing, but we do not just accept, because they say they have come from Syria and are fleeing persecution, that they are fleeing persecution. The whole proce…

We know because there is a lot of information in the Department and for a wide variety of reasons. We know individually. If people have a visa application in Ireland, when they apply for international protection we will know they had a visa previously. We have access to the information, but what Deputy Carthy is asking us to do is to set up a process of collating all that information. There is a h…

I thought one thing Deputy Carthy and I agreed on was that the overwhelming majority of people who claim asylum in the Republic come through the common travel area. I thought we agreed on that. Yes, we do not have the exact specifics on it-----

I thought we agreed on it. Is he now saying that is not correct, that it is not the case that the majority of people come through the common travel area? We strongly believe it is. We do not have the data he is talking about collating. I will talk to senior officials in the Department about it but I suspect it will be a huge amount of effort to collate information which ultimately will not have a …