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have to be done. I need to ensure there are resources on the ground for private practitioners and solicitors working within the legal aid board offices around the country to facilitate them in providing for this greater level of work. I thank the former Chief Justice

that position has to go to three separate solicitors and get refusals before they can go back to the Legal Aid Board. Anecdotally at least, people simply give up and go back to the situation they were in. Does the Minister plan to revise or review the fees

earning areas. It is an issue we need to reflect on regarding what we can do to get solicitors recruited into legal advice boards or aid boards around the country

criminal legal aid fees, which has long been due and should have been restored a long time ago, has commenced as of today. As the Deputy knows, I said that would happen and it has happened as of today. It applies across the board, including in the Circuit … report. I want him to know that the report has been published on the gov.ie website today in the section with criminal legal aid. The Deputy’s concern is, I think, whether this is going to lead to an exodus of criminal law practitioners from the legal aid

certificates, I think he said. The solicitors across the board were on strike in July. The new data we have since the courts opened on 1 September show that about 1,430 new certificates for legal aid have issued since then and around 700 of them have issued

nearly 20 years ago to early on when the Personal Injuries Assessment Board was established, where did the attack come from to undermine that, which continues to this very day? It came from the legal profession. I do not say that with any joy, but that … reform to deal with personal injuries. From looking at the Department of justice’s review of the old system of criminal legal aid, which necessitated the reforms the Minister introduced, it appears to me that it raised serious issues. The review highlighted, for example, more appearances and longer

might not always be possible but striving to make it the norm is laudable. Tied in with this is the need for a legal aid and support fund so whistleblowers, and sometimes their families, can get representation, counselling and assistance. Speaking up should not mean financial ruin … motion should be tested with supporting additional legislation. Gagging clauses and non-disclosure agreements should be banned or hugely restricted. I take on board what the Minister of State said about section 15 of the existing Act but coercion and intimidation are currently very difficult to prove

departmental level and the development of comprehensive proposals, noting that it may be necessary to consider settings other than schools, to obtain comprehensive legal advice, to allow for engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including the education partners, management bodies and parent and student representatives … board of management to ensure they are in a position to effectively meet the care needs of pupils for whom SNA support has been allocated. There are many different training and upskilling opportunities currently available for school staff in the area of first aid and medical training. These

respect of the international protection accommodation services, IPAS, and reflects the use of additional appropriations-in-aid to make payments under the criminal legal aid scheme and to victims of crime who have received awards from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal. This technical adjustment increases the gross ceiling … allocation for the Property Services Regulatory Authority and the Property Services Appeals Board is transferring to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The gross allocation is €4.25 million with appropriations-in-aid resulting from fee income for licensing active of €2.4 million. Again, these functions

justice for people who really need it in sometimes very vulnerable situations. We are talking about cases that qualify for civil legal aid like family law cases, particularly domestic violence cases and domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. These are cases where people are often at the lowest … problem with it. There is a suggestion later in the report that there will be a differentiation between general recipients of civil legal aid and those in domestic violence situations. I do not have a problem with that and I will come back

training. In the case of section 481, public funding is legally conditional on the provision of quality employment and training. I know it is not the case with funding that is coming via the Irish Film Board. That is not written into law, as such … head, so the Minister can come back to me on this. My understanding is that the EU directives governing state aid to the audiovisual industry say that the state aid is conditional on the meeting of the industry test and the culture test. I am all for giving

only did we discredit those attempts to undermine UNRWA, but we were also there with money to support its core services and Palestinian aid in general. I also commend our decision to support the International Court of Justice, ICJ, process of evaluating Israel's actions in the occupied … certainly of concern. As the previous speaker said, we should try to do everything we can legally do to prevent any support. The important word is "legally". The Central Bank does not issue, sell, trade, list or oversee Israeli bonds. Its role is under EU regulation

remain immobilised until it ceases its war and compensates Ukraine for the damage it has caused. Work will continue on the technical and legal dimensions of establishing a reparations loan based on the cash balances associated with Russia’s immobilised assets. In line with our commitment to ensuring … Council Resolution 2803 on the establishment of the Board of Peace and of a temporary international stabilisation force. We called on all parties to implement the resolution in its entirety and in line with relevant international political and legal principles. The Council reiterated the European Union's commitment

breaches of rights and to inspect asylum border facilities. Part 12 will also establish an advisory board for the chief inspector. The advisory board’s purpose will be to consult, guide and advise the chief inspector in relation to his or her duties and the performance … movement, detention, alternatives to detention, special reception needs and labour market access. There will be amendments to make provision for legal counselling, legal advice and legal aid, as required under the asylum procedures regulation. I will introduce provisions on temporary protection, which will include expanded and clarified provisions

motion; I will not go through them again. Suffice it to say, there has been a record number of calls to Women's Aid and a shocking increase in the number of calls to the Garda, something that emerged in replies to parliamentary questions to the Minister. There … trouble of reporting the most personal injury to themselves, and find the second trauma is the court and legal system. I ask him to take that on board and listen to what people are saying. One of the most positive developments we have seen in the past year

violence in childhood or adulthood; — 35 per cent of women, have experienced psychological, physical and/or sexual abuse from an intimate partner; — ... Women's Aid ... [were told of over 40,000] disclosures of abuse [in 2023]; — Gardaí responded to over 65,000 domestic abuse incidents … really worrying and really depressing. The time for talking has long since gone; we obviously need action immediately. As Deputy Coppinger said, the legal and courts system creates huge difficulties for victims in this situation. It effectively retraumatises them and feeds into a situation where only

securing of a new mandate from the Government to continue funding at an enhanced level while ensuring an adequate legal basis and compliance with state aid rules. In due course, I will seek the Government's approval to progress legislation to affect the funding to provide certainty … service and the post office network. Decisions relating to the network, including decisions relating to specific post offices are operational matters for the board and management of the company and are not ones in which I, as Minister, have any function. Similarly, the terms of the postmasters’ contract

reform. There is a need for inclusion of human resources, trade union affairs and governance and risk as relevant areas of expertise on boards, noting that the tradition of appointing persons with industrial relations backgrounds has been diminished. RTÉ welcomed the transition to multi-annual funding, which … specific recognition afforded to the community media sector in the revised general scheme. CTA and CRAOL stated that community media has a distinct legal status and that references to local and regional media in the Bill may be understood in a way that excludes community media from supports

board. We know that Israel has no bottom line - anything goes, basically - and that, previously, it killed nine people on board a humanitarian aid flotilla, so we must act immediately. Over 20 years ago, I experienced the hospitality of the people of Gaza and the West Bank … citizens, do all we can to get the humanitarian aid into Gaza and enact the occupied territories Bill in full as well as pushing for every form of international sanction that is possible and that we can legally do against this psychotic entity that calls itself Israel

these tools are used responsibly and strategically. One of the central features of this Bill is the creation of a new environmental protection aid grant category. On the face of it, this is a positive development. The Industrial Development Act 1986 does not provide a dedicated mechanism … left to administrative discretion. We need clarity to avoid subsidising compliance. What is the scale of the funding envisaged? The Bill creates the legal basis for environmental grants but it does not commit resources. Without adequate funding, this provision risks being symbolic rather than transformative. The Minister

pressurised and legally put on a statutory footing in order to talk to each other because common sense would say that to combat a problem everybody should be brought to the table. We had that in Drogheda. We had the Drogheda implementation board from 2021 until December … Cúan in place, we have seen how effective they can be and how they reach out to the different organisations. Indeed, Women's Aid Dundalk recently received €6.5 million for new beds. That is hugely welcome. It shows that when there is a committee or an agency with

established democratic principles and international law. We have also been clear, along with our EU partners, in communicating our commitment to the international legal order. I communicated that to my Danish colleague this morning. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of states is a fundamental principle of the United … discuss efforts to progress implementation of the comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict, and to assess the situation regarding provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza. I have welcomed the announcement of the beginning of the second phase of the comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict

competition for foreign direct investment, FDI, intensifies, Ireland need to say agile and ambitious to win investment. This Bill introduces a dedicated environmental aid grant, allowing the agencies for the first time to assess projects on solely carbon emissions criteria under the grant powers of the Industrial Development … financially, enterprises in the DSR sphere as with other parts of the economy, subject to compliance with all existing controls and legal obligations governing the sector, including rigorous project appraisal, the export controls regime, ministerial powers and Government oversight and the defence procurement safeguards. It does not affect

need to be fully compliant with the directive. While there is free legal advice and counselling available, the lack of free legal aid is a major flaw. It should be brought in straight away. The cap on compensation for whistleblowers under the protected disclosures Act should be removed … changed to ensure that cannot happen. There needs to be a legal requirement to act on useful and verifiable information from anonymous sources. Some public bodies do that, but it is not taking place across the board and has to happen. The Act does not oblige recipients

created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory"; and — the ICJ further found that all states are "under an obligation not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory"; recalls that: — on 24th January, 2018, Senator … Gael, in the aftermath of the election; — on 22nd October, 2024, then Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin TD, having received legal advice in relation to the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018, welcomed that the advisory opinion of the ICJ stated that states