I absolutely agree. Unfortunately, when it gets to a court setting, there are situations where the process has most likely become adversarial, and in many cases - although, not always - other avenues, such as mediation, have been tried. Before Covid, people would sit across from one another in tight spaces, and many of them would be waiting all day for their case to be heard. At the end of the day, the case may be adjourned. Therefore, it is really important we have specific sittings, potentially in a different bui…

On the Deputy's final point, and it is a significant point, we need to make sure that the system is well resourced. We can introduce legislation, but we also need to ensure that the structures and the judges are in place. I believe that in the Deputy's own county recently, a number of sittings had to be cancelled simply because the judge was sick. We need to ensure that through the separate process that is currently under way to look at judicial numbers, the system is resourced in the way that it needs to be. Separ…

I thank the Deputy for raising the question. I assure him that, along with the Government, I am particularly committed to ensuring there is strong, visible policing throughout the country. The budget provided by the Government to the Garda this year is the largest to date, with an allocation of more than €2 billion for 2022.  I have just come from an event in the Gresham Hotel to commemorate the establishment of the Civic Guard, which then became An Garda Síochána. The event focused on policing over the 100 years o…

The premise of the Deputy's question is how we can have more Garda visibility within our communities. This is number one about ensuring that we have more gardaí and, obviously, the more we have, the more we have in our communities, towns and villages, be it behind the desk, on front-line duties, working in the specialist units that are being developed, economic crime, online fraud, the new types of crimes that are being committed, domestic violence and, obviously, community engagement as well. There are other ways …

I agree with the Deputy that we need to protect the gardaí and that when they go about their business and actively put themselves in harm's way to protect us, they need to be supported. We can do that in many ways. We can ensure that they have the stations and the areas to work in appropriately, that they have the technology and equipment they need, that they have the cars and the appropriate training, which the unions have raised with me on quite a few occasions, and in respect of the capital budget which I will b…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As the Deputy will be aware, the retired judge, 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 investigation or inquiry beyond those already carried out is necessary and, if so, to advise on the form of such investigation or inquiry and its terms of reference. I am informed that the judge is on the verge of completing the sco…

I thank the Deputy for her contribution. The very fact that this is an independent inquiry and that the retired judge, Judge Haughton, is independent in the work that he is doing means that I am not able to give the Deputy the timeframe because I do not have it. I know, however, that the report is at its final stages. I am aware that this may not be much comfort at the moment without having a set timeframe. What I have seen since coming into the Department is that the other section 42 inquiries are taking longer th…

I want to place on the record again that, as Minister, I have absolutely no objection to a full public inquiry, nor does my Department. The Taoiseach has put on the record that he has no objection on behalf of the Government to such an inquiry. I have not seen the work done to date and I do not know what is in the report. I have not begun any scoping exercise because I have not seen the report and I do not want to pre-empt what is in it. It may recommend a public inquiry or it may not. I do not know. It is importan…

This is an area I have prioritised and in respect of which I have been doing a huge amount of work, in conjunction with a large number of agencies, front-line workers and colleagues across the House, to try to improve the services and supports and put victims at the very centre of everything we do. An Garda Síochána plays a vital role in all of that. Gardaí are hugely important in making sure people are supported when they come forward and as they go through the criminal justice process. We have taken a number of s…

I agree that it is about improving the criminal justice system, providing resources for the Garda and making sure we have stronger laws, but there also are educational and information aspects. For the Deputy's daughter or anybody else going out, it is about knowing who one can turn to and the resources and supports that are available. Knowing the Garda is there to support people is hugely important. A major part of the domestic violence strategy that will be published in the coming weeks will be a focus on educatio…

We all know the local gardaí in our community. We have probably, over the past couple of years, gotten to know some of the members of the DPSUs and those who deal with very difficult and quite severe cases on a day-to-day basis. However, that is not necessarily the first place that a person will go. It is making sure that people know that the garda in the local station is there to support them and that the garda has a certain level of training. While there is specific, in-person training for the people of the DPSUs…

The recommendations contained in the Garda Síochána Inspectorate report, Countering the Threat of Internal Corruption – A review of counter-corruption structures, strategies and processes in the Garda Síochána, are extremely important. They are positive recommendations which have the potential to greatly strengthen how the threat of corruption is dealt with in An Garda Síochána and to develop a shared understanding of the threat of corruption across the broader criminal justice sector. The Deputy will be aware that…

The role of the inspectorate is to benchmark overall policing performance of the gardaí. It is not just the work they do in the community and how they engage with people, but it is also about looking at the structure to see where there is need for improvement and to make sure the core operations and how they carry out their work are improved. As I mentioned earlier, I just came from an event where the Garda Commissioner said that, over the last 100 years, gardaí have not always got it right. They have made mistakes…

It is important to be clear that if people sign up to become members of An Garda Síochána, they have signed up to the rules and regulations and have to adhere to them. The Garda Commissioner has been clear about making sure all members of An Garda Síochána understand and adhere to them. If people retire, they are entitled, within the law, to continue working or engaging in an area that they have spent their entire lives working in, in the same way as the Deputy or I would be if we retired. When people retire, the v…

The Garda Síochána Inspectorate was established in 2006 and is supported by the Department to ensure that adequate financial resources are provided each year through the Estimates process.  The inspectorate is entirely independent in the performance of its functions and the three inspectors are supported by a small team seconded from my Department.  The budget allocation in 2022 is €1.362 million and there are nine staff members currently seconded. The mechanisms by which my Department monitors and appraises the pe…

I will outline how it was developed and that might give an indication of where changes were more focused this year. An Garda Síochána took account of a broad spectrum of views in the formulation of the strategy statement. Focus groups were held with nine ethnic and culturally diverse groups from within our communities, including the Laois African Support Group, the LGBTQ+ Sligo IT, the Father Peter McVerry Trust and the Ballinamore direct provision centre. We have formal correspondence seeking the views and input f…

Absolutely, the intention of the strategy and the fact that it is not a ten-year strategy but for a much shorter timeframe is so that it can respond to the needs and requirements of communities and the population more generally. I do not have the details in front of me but if the Deputy reads some of the previous strategies, there will be certain priorities that roll over and that are included on a continuous basis as issues arise. In more recent years there has been a particular focus on online fraud, what is refe…

Insurance reform is a key priority for this Government and for me. It is reflected in the programme for Government, the Government’s Action Plan for Insurance Reform, and in my own justice plan for 2022. This is a whole-of-government effort. My Department has responsibility or part responsibility for 34 of the 66 actions contained in the action plan, or approximately half. We have 26 that are now complete, including the introduction of the personal injuries guidelines, the enactment of the Criminal Justice (Perjury…

On the second point in respect of the second change in the standard, to clarify that where an occupier of the property has acted with reckless disregard for a visitor or customer, we are referring to the publican, shop owner or local council if it is a playground it owns. In a recent example given to me, a farmer is asked if a hunt can go across his or her land. The test previous to now had been of reasonable grounds, which left it very open for the occupier who perhaps had not done anything wrong or been reckless …

On the last point, only this weekend the son of somebody I know fell off the very top of a slide and fractured his arm. It is not possible to sue somebody because it is an accident that happened at home. Given how the law is written, even if there is a sign up in a playground, a "Floor wet" sign in a shop or a sign that states "Enter at your own risk", it does not seem to matter in the courts. It does not seem to be something that can be used to show a warning was given. What we are talking about here is rebalancin…