Gary Gannon

I said I did.

Does the Tánaiste recognise the scale of the chaos in our criminal justice system at the moment? Thousands of cases have been adjourned. Victims will await justice. Backlogs are building. We now have habeas corpus cases taking place in the High Court. The Minister referenced my flowery language. I am surprised that Fine Gael is giving the Minister for justice such free rein in relation to the chao…

The Government offered no analysis by which the decision was made. In recognition of the chaos in our courts, can the Tánaiste, as Minister for Finance and leader of Fine Gael, simply say he is willing to engage in a manner that the Minister is not?

He said he was not for turning.

I want to acknowledge Deputy Sherlock for her work in bringing forward this Bill. We in the Social Democrats will be supporting it. It is a shame that the Minister of State is not willing to engage further than to simply vote it down on the promise that a review will be released in an unspecified time. As somebody who believes in local government and local elected representatives, I want to acknow…

Hear, hear.

The Social Democrats will be opposing this motion and the amendment. The motion is not simply an administrative change, but a decision to reduce the accommodation recognition payment from €600 to €400 per month. I believe that is the wrong decision, not because this scheme should exist forever, but because reducing the payment now will make an already difficult situation significantly worse for pe…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, line 24, to delete “convicted on indictment” and substitute “convicted, whether on indictment or summarily,”. I welcome Jennie's family. It is an honour for us to have you here. My amendment relates to section 1. This amendment is straightforward but important. As drafted, the Bill excludes convictions dealt with summarily in the District Court yet many domesti…

I vehemently support this Bill, but we cannot ignore the fact that, as matters currently stand, there are cases involving coercive control, assault causing harm and breaches of protection orders that can come before the District Court and that can be prosecuted summarily or upon indictment. The despicable people who engage in such behaviour and who are found guilty in an Irish court will not featu…

I will equally be supporting Deputy Carthy's amendments. My amendment seeks to recognise that, where a victim has tragically died, he or she can no longer express a view on whether a judgment should appear on the register. The Bill currently leaves that decision entirely to the court. Our amendment simply requires the court, where appropriate, to consult the victim's family before reaching that de…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 4, lines 5 to 7, to delete all words from and including “it” in line 5 down to and including line 7 and substitute the following: “the court shall, after consultation with the family of the victim where appropriate, determine whether a judgment is to be included in the Register.”.

I had not intended to speak but I fully support Deputy Carthy's amendment. When the Minister mentioned the possibility of rehabilitation, it raised my antennae because I am somebody who fundamentally believes in rehabilitation. We talk about it in this House all the time. I do not believe going onto this register is the punishment. Going onto this register is to send a warning to any potential par…

I move amendment No. 11: In page 5, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following: “(j) an offence under section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997 (harassment and stalking); (k) an offence under section 4 of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020; (l) an offence under section 33 of the Domestic Violence Act 2018.”.

I move amendment No. 13: In page 6, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “(c) is a dependant, including a child, of a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b).”. This amendment recognises a simple reality. Domestic abuse often extends beyond an intimate partner to children and other dependants. As drafted, the Bill only protects victims who are the spouse, former spouse or intimate…

I disagree with the Minister completely. I think perpetrators of domestic violence are callous. If someone seriously assaults or abuses their partner's child, that behaviour is highly relevant to whether future partners should know about their history. Without this amendment, those convictions could fall outside the register simply because the victim was a child rather than an adult partner. The M…

I move amendment No. 14: In page 6, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following: “(14) The Minister shall, not later than 3 years after the commencement of this section, conduct a review of the operation of the Register and lay a report of that review before each House of the Oireachtas, including anonymised information on the operation of the Register, applications for removal and the offen…

A couple of weeks back in this Chamber, when discussing the previous Stage of this Bill, I looked up the Gallery. In the Gallery there were campaigners who campaigned for decades, some of whom were friends of mine, for the removal of historical convictions for gay men. In another part of the Gallery were women who had to come before a committee and relive their trauma and ask for change when it co…

Today belongs to the survivors, to those remarkable people sitting in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery and to those who simply could not or chose not to be here today. This apology belongs to all of you. It is impossible not to reflect on the enormity of what you had to endure, not just as children but also as adults. The abuse stole your childhood but the pursuit of justice took decades of your…

I begin by welcoming this Bill. It is a really significant piece of legislation strengthening our law on sexual offences, introducing Operation Encompass and, most important, establishing Ireland's first domestic violence register. For that reason, the Social Democrats will be supporting its progression. Before discussing the legislation itself, I want to acknowledge the people who make this day …

Yesterday, I stood in the Chamber and talked about women being turned away from refuge spaces when they were fleeing violence. Today, we are back here again, talking, fighting and asking for something once more that citizens in this country should never have to go without. It is not just a safe home, but a place of sanctuary, a residence for some of the most vulnerable people in this State - adult…

Destroying the courts.

The Social Democrats support the motion. Ireland should absolutely opt in to this Council decision. The Istanbul Convention is one of the most important international agreements we have on preventing violence against women, and domestic violence, and Ireland should fully participate in its EU ratification. While it is important to reaffirm our commitment to the convention, we also have to ask ours…

I thank the Minister of State for joining us. Let me be clear. I am not looking for the State to intervene when it comes to planning decisions. That is not our purpose in coming in here today. However, we are conscious that the senior members of Government have made observations publicly on issues in Dublin city centre, most pointedly the dereliction and vacancy. Deputy Ennis and I want to bring f…

I thank the Minister of State for his response and his understanding of the situation. There is a frustration. We spend so much time talking vacancy and dereliction in Dublin Central that the potential for losing two businesses that have added to the vibrancy and improved the aesthetic quality is grating to the point that it is nonsensical. For a small independent cafe like Stay With Us, if it is…

2. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the position of his Department on the central recommendation of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drugs Use that the offence of personal possession of drugs be repealed; his views on whether the Government’s stated commitment to a health-led approach is inconsistent with the continued criminalisation of people who use…