Catherine Ardagh

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion today. I thank the Before We Die campaign for leading this initiative. I am grateful to Lorraine Doyle, from Dublin South-Central, for having spoken to me. I met her in relation to the campaign. From my own experience, I know just how much energy it takes to advocate for someone you love. Believe me when I say that as a public represen…

This is a minor technical amendment to change paragraph (c) of the definition of the "biometric analysis" in section 43A to add the word "including". The definition of biometric analysis is intended to afford An Garda Síochána the ability to utilise automated recognition and categorisation of physical, physiological or behavioural human features of known and unknown persons for the purposes listed…

I thank Deputy Carthy for his support for this legislation. I also note the other issues he raised in relation to wider criminal justice and Garda issues. However, I will go back to discussing Deputy Kelly's amendment, tabled by Deputy Sheehan. The amendment made in the Seanad to section 43C(2) is to allow, where necessary and appropriate, An Garda Síochána, in the context of international co-oper…

Live FRT will be dealt with in separate legislation. I believe we have sufficient guardrails in place in this legislation. The amendments from the Seanad pull international co-operation into the purposes for which biometric analysis may be utilised. This means that where gardaí wish to utilise biometric analysis in the context of international co-operation, the safeguards in the Bill will apply, i…

I thank the Deputy for her question. The students, prospective students and teachers are in a very difficult situation. What is really important now is that we have a clear information stream going to the students so they know what is going on. The Department is aware of the current issues regarding Student Campus college in Limerick. Officials in my Department and the Department of Further and Hi…

I note the Deputy's points. We cannot allow profiteering on foot of students whose families have made huge sacrifices to send them to Ireland to learn English. The new TrustEd Ireland quality mark will hopefully provide a better regulated environment for providers so that when people are coming to Ireland they will be able to come here with the assurance that their college will be well accredited …

The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and allocation of Garda resources. We are assured by the Commissioner that, when allocating Garda resources, consideration is given to commitments and undertakings outlined in the annual policing plan. The requirements of all Garda divisions nationwide are also taken into account, which include local and national crime trends and workloads, …

Obviously, population trends are monitored on a continuous basis, but looking at what we are doing to ensure overall community safety in County Meath, the Department is pleased to secure €8 million in budget 2026 for the national office for community safety to ensure the office carries out its functions, including its support for local community partnerships and the work on the national developmen…

I take the opportunity to commend the gardaí on the street. We are seeing huge effort being put in gardaí, not just in Dublin city but on a nationwide basis. We can see the number of people going through Templemore and the standard of the gardaí coming out of Templemore is really noticeable. Population trends and community trends are always under review. We are using census data to ensure that pop…

The Deputy, the Minister and I all represent inner-city Dublin constituencies and we know very well the devastation the grooming of children into criminality has on all our communities. I have delegated responsibility for youth justice, and it has been a priority of mine since before my appointment to the Department of justice. I am very glad to take this question today. The Government’s Youth Ju…

As the Deputy knows, we are coming up to the end of our youth justice strategy and we will have a new strategy as of the end of 2027. The Greentown project has been extended. The extension of the programme has reduced the influence of criminal networks on children at risk of involvement in crime and improved the likelihood of pro-social outcomes for children who are already involved in criminal ne…

Sorry.

I agree with the Deputy. Words like "multidisciplinary" and "multidepartmental" are often used very flippantly but education has a piece, as do criminal justice and the HSE. We, as legislators, have a piece. Supporting our local community is a part of the puzzle. We all must play our part in it. On what we can do from a community point of view, I have been to many of the projects in Ballyfermot l…

I move: That Dáil Éireann resolves that sections 2 to 4, 6 to 12, 14 and 17 of the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 (No. 39 of 1998) shall continue in operation for the period beginning on 30th June, 2026 and ending on 29th June, 2027. The two motions before the House seek the approval of Dáil Éireann to continue in force provisions in the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Ac…

I am very grateful to the House for its consideration of these motions. I thank Deputies for their contributions, particularly those in support but also those who do not support the motion because their discourse is very important. Many issues have been raised. I know I have only eight minutes. For the benefit of the House and for those watching, the independent review group carried out a compreh…

I know Deputy Carthy raised the issue of Sallins. The establishment of a public inquiry is something we can only proceed with in accordance with the legislation governing inquiries. The most important requirement is that the matter be of urgent public importance requiring investigation. In light of developments since 1976, the Minister is satisfied that it is not warranted.

I move: That Dáil Éireann resolves that section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 (No. 32 of 2009) shall continue in operation for the period beginning on 30th June, 2026 and ending on 29th June, 2027.

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that in relation to Climate Action: — last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched its latest Ireland's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections 2025-2030, which show that we are moving in the right direction and improving our performance compared with the previous year; — for th…

I thank the Deputy very much for his amendment. I understand his concerns in relation to fundamental rights and countries not adhering to the rule of law as we might in Ireland. However, I regret that we cannot accept his proposed amendment. The e-evidence package provides for co-operation between member states of the EU. It does not allow any member state to unilaterally suspend its operation, a…

As we all know, we are members of the European Union and the Members opposite know well that we cannot include this provision. It is in breach of the treaties and our obligations as a member of the European Union. We all know that we have legal obligations in relation to this regulation and we simply cannot ignore that. If we were to enact the amendment, service providers would still remain obliga…

I thank the Deputy for his amendment. He sought information on the e-portal. Connection to the decentralised IT system for SMEs will be via a web portal and access will be provided to their nominated addressee. If the data being returned is less than 25 Mb it will be sent via the system, but if it is greater it will be sent via another secure means and the cost associated with this will be minimal…

The Department is not unsympathetic to small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the backbone of our economy. That is very much acknowledged. The web portal that will be used will have a minimal cost. The vast majority of orders in these cases will be directed to a small number of large service providers. However, where a small to medium-sized service provider is subject to an e-evidence order…

I thank Deputy Carthy for his amendments Nos. 4 and 5. I thank Deputy Ward for his comments on my appointment. Regretfully, I cannot accept the amendments. The definition of "public authority" in section 17(4) is intended to cover those Irish public authorities that have a law enforcement role and that may need to seek a European production order in the context of a criminal investigation into ser…

On the Deputy's specific question about the format of the liaison with the Data Protection Commission, there was a lot of interaction with it about the scheme of the Bill. I advise Deputies that my Department, in accordance with Article 36.4 of the GDPR and section 84(12) of the Data Protection Act 2018, the Data Protection Commission was consulted about the specifics of the drafting of the Bill t…

As I said, this legislation applies to criminal law enforcement bodies. We know that the Data Protection Commission is not one such body. We consulted the DPC about the general scheme and it commented on the benefit of information sharing with listed public authorities. An expert team from the DPC would have been in touch with my Department for detailed engagement on a written basis, which is not …