The Joint Committee on Justice is conducting pre-legislative scrutiny, as the Deputy said, on the policing, security and community safety Bill. I am aware of the Commissioner's comments at the committee meeting yesterday. As the Commissioner explained, we have had good engagement. I have discussed this with the Commissioner. He has come into the Department and we have had a good engagement. There have been ongoing discussions between my Department and the Commissioner during this process. We had another meeting rec…

The Deputy will acknowledge that there has been much reform in An Garda Síochána over recent years. I acknowledge that. It is important we engage with the relevant bodies, as I said to the Deputy. We need to work with the Garda Síochána because it is the superintendents, the chief superintendents, the commissioners and everybody else in the Garda Síochána who will have to help us implement these changes. Change is not easy, and I accept that, but it is important there is engagement. There has been engagement and, a…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am aware that she is particularly interested in it. The Government is committed to tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in all its forms and to supporting victims of this heinous crime. My Department provides funding to support the work of An Garda Síochána to combat such violence. It also provides funding to promote and assist the development of specific support services for victims of crime within the criminal justice system, which includes victims of do…

As I stated, we have secured increased funding under budget 2022 to continue the progress made in our work to support the victims of crime and to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. In the past year, we have already delivered several key actions to make the criminal justice system more victim-centred and to improve how we support and protect vulnerable victims, including the introduction of preliminary trial hearings and the roll-out of the divisional protective services unit. The Garda has told me t…

The Deputy is correct that we need everybody to work together. That is what makes a difference and provides results. As regards a refuge centre for Carlow-Kilkenny, the accommodation review that I understand Tusla is finalising has examined the current level of refuge provision, evidence of demand for services and unmet need. It has also done an analysis of proximity to refuges by local communities. The findings of the review and the recommendations of the monitoring committee of the second national strategy on dom…

I thank Deputy O'Dowd for raising the matter. I know he has put a huge amount of work into it. As the Deputy will be aware, the publication and implementation of the recommendations of the Drogheda scoping report are key actions in my Department's justice plan 2021. I am grateful to the former director of the Probation Service, Mr. Vivian Geiran, who made over 70 recommendations in his scoping report on short- and long-term responses to challenges the community faces in Drogheda. This includes measures around crime…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I am disappointed to hear the HSE is not engaging with the Red Door Project. Grants have been provided to the Red Door Project. My Department is engaging with the HSE on the provision of funding to the family addiction support network. I wish to assure the House that the whole of Government is committed to supporting the implementation of the plan for Drogheda. I will raise the matter with the Minister for Health, as I am sure the Deputy will, because we want to see progres…

I thank both Deputies for raising these issues. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, who will return on 1 November, is absolutely committed to this implementation plan for Drogheda. It is something on which she has worked very hard. I also acknowledge the work of Martin O'Brien, the CEO of Louth and Meath Education and Training Board. It has agreed to facilitate and support the implementation plan. The board is chaired by Michael Keogh, who is a former senior official in the Department of Education. The implementation boa…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue regarding safety at Hallowe'en. I am very aware of the distressing impact the improper use and misuse of fireworks has on our communities. Every year, as Hallowe'en approaches, my Department runs a safety awareness campaign aimed at highlighting to the public the very real dangers of illegal fireworks and bonfires. As the Deputy may be aware, I launched this year's campaign, in collaboration with the ISPCA, Dublin Fire Brigade and An Garda Síochána, at the Dublin Fire Briga…

I thank the Deputy. I know the Garda works closely with communities. Operation Tombola is directly targeted at delivering a range of initiatives to tackle the sale of fireworks and to prevent associated public disorder and antisocial behaviour through the incremental deployment of Garda resources. It engages with communities and through the various fora. It will encourage people not to engage in this type of activity. Fireworks in the wrong hands could possibly mean no hands because they do terrible damage. In Coun…

I agree with the Deputy. The local government sector messages on Hallowe'en, working with the Garda Síochána, place emphasis on fire safety issues with fireworks and encouraging the public to report if they are aware of people gathering pallets or other materials for bonfires in order that they can be safely removed before Hallowe'en, emphasising the environmental damage and the damage to the landscape that bonfires can cause, and the huge distress it causes for dogs and other animals. It is terrible to hear firewo…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. While the Garda is committed to ensuring that all victims of crime receive information, protection and support throughout the criminal justice process, responsibility for notifying victims of crime of the release of a perpetrator from prison rests with the victim liaison office in the Irish Prison Service. The information currently provided by the service covers the obligations under Part 2 of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act 2017 and is a key element of the vi…

I thank the Deputy Tully for raising this issue because it is only through open discussion that we get the message out there to people that those supports are there. Ensuring that victims are better supported by the criminal justice system, including by ensuring that they are fully informed of their rights, is a priority for the Government. A significant part of the work to implement supporting a victim's journey focuses on this. My officials are working on promoting and policing the rights that victims of crime ha…

I thank the Acting Chairman. Under budget 2022, €4.9 million is being allocated to support victims of crime. The contact that the victim of crime really needs to make is with the victim liaison office. This can be done by telephone, email or online via the Irish Prison Service website. I agree with the Deputy that it is no harm to do an awareness campaign around this so that people know exactly who they can contact. If they cannot do it themselves, an immediate family member or a person who has a close relationship…

I thank the Deputy again for raising this issue. I wish to assure the Deputy that I also, as do others in this House, recognise the ongoing pain and anguish of the O'Farrell family on the tragic death of Shane and I deeply sympathise with them on their loss. As the Deputy will be aware, a highly respected retired judge, Gerard Haughton, has been conducting a scoping exercise into the tragic circumstances surrounding Shane O'Farrell's death. The purpose of this exercise is to advise as to whether any further investi…

I thank the Deputy for his question and thank him also for the work that he has done on this issue. It is, of course, open to the judge to recommend the establishment of a statutory or non-statutory inquiry. I will await the recommendation of Judge Haughton in his final report before making any decision on further inquiries into this matter. I do not wish to pre-empt any advice which the judge considers appropriate in the circumstances following the scoping exercise. To be clear, the Government is not opposed to th…

I will read this answer for the Deputy but his assumption is wrong. The LIS supports the improvement of rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities and represents a vital piece of infrastructure for rural communities. The funding can be a lifeline for such communities, directly improving access to family farms and supporting economic activity. Over €80 million has already been provided for works on roads since the scheme was relaunched in 2017. As part of Our Rural Future, the Gov…

I will make this clear for the Deputy. The reason I was able to put extra money into the LIS was because savings had emerged during the year and local authorities had to spend the money before the end of the year. Each local authority was asked what it could deliver. It is not my problem if Cork cannot deliver, but Limerick is very good. It is just beside Cork and it got the largest allocation in the country. It got more than any other county or area. It got its act together, put its application in and got an alloc…

I understand that Cork is a large county and we want to see everything distributed fairly, which is what we are doing. With this fund, local authorities had to spend money by the end of the year. There was no point in my giving Cork twice what it asked for. Like everywhere else, it got 70% of what it asked for. Limerick got €1.1 million because it asked for a large allocation. It said it could get the roads done, so it got the money. I moved more money into the LIS because I knew there were long lists across the co…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Deputy will be aware that, last week, the renewed National Development Plan 2021-2030 was launched. It is the largest NDP in the history of the State, amounting to €165 billion, with a focus on funding solutions to strengthen housing, climate ambitions, transport, healthcare, jobs growth in every region and economic renewal for the decade ahead. While the plan is a whole-of-government approach, Chapter 8: Strengthened Rural Economies and Communities sets out details th…