The fact of the matter is that there is no law against this at the moment, unfortunately. It is difficult to know the prevalence of it. I know in the UK a survey was conducted last year in which 40,000 women responded that they had found themselves in this position within a period of about three months. That is really an unbelievable figure and I do not know how it corresponds to our own situation here. There had been a suggestion that there could be a survey, perhaps through the Rental Tenancies Board, RTB, which …

As the Deputy has outlined, there is a huge amount of work going into our housing plan. This has been identified as a gap and something we need to address. I assure the Deputy and colleagues here that we are working to try to address this and to bring forward proposals as quickly as we possibly can.

I assure the Deputy that I recognise the pain and anguish the O'Farrell family has been going through because of the tragic death of their son Shane. I sincerely sympathise with them on their loss. As the Deputy will be aware, a highly respected retired judge has been conducting a scoping exercise into the tragic circumstances surrounding Shane's death. The purpose of this exercise is to advise as to whether any further action, investigation or inquiry beyond those already carried out is necessary and, if so, to ad…

No, it is not on my desk. The judge is independent in the work he is doing. It is important that I do not comment on, pre-empt or discuss what work he may be doing but I can say that any support required by him and his team has been provided. There is regular contact with the O’Farrell family. There are a few responses to be obtained. Once this is done, the judge will be able to produce the report. I appreciate that it is taking a lot longer than people would like. I would like to ensure the work done is thorough. …

As the Deputy has outlined, none of this is straightforward. I do not pretend to know the time the scoping exercise should or needs to take, but we must allow the judge to do the work he feels necessary in order to provide a clear, direct and pointed response to the questions asked, based on the terms of reference that have been set in this instance. I continue to support the work he is doing. He is engaging with the O’Farrell family to ensure constant contact and communication. I appreciate that the exercise is ta…

I reiterate that once it is brought to me, I will respond as quickly as I can.

Insurance reform is a key priority of the Government. It is reflected in the programme for Government, the Government’s action plan for insurance reform, which the Deputy has just mentioned, my justice plan for 2021 and my justice plan for 2022, which I will publish shortly. This is a whole-of-government effort. I am pleased to say that, of the 66 actions contained in the action plan, 51 have been now completed. Twenty-six were completed by my Department. Data from the Personal Injuries Assessment Board indicate th…

Of the 66 actions contained in the Government’s action plan for insurance reform, which includes four Departments, 26 have been completed by my Department. A major focus has been placed on insurance reform in the Department of Justice. We have already introduced legislation. While a number of deadlines have, perhaps, been missed, the focus has not been taken away from insurance. The focus been rightly on insurance in many other areas, as well as this. I do not intend to bring forward a separate bill, because I thin…

Having met and engaged with the Alliance for Insurance Reform, many members of it and, indeed, members of my community, I am very aware that there is no silver bullet and that a single action is not going to facilitate the changes we need. Of the 66 actions, 51 of which have been completed, we are starting to see changes in some, not all, areas. In the context of some of the larger items, such as the guidelines issued last year, it takes time for the changes to be seen and reflected in our pockets and for those in …

The Government and I are committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs. As I have said many times today, the unprecedented allocation provided, in budget 2022, of in excess of €2 billion reflects that. This includes funding for the recruitment of up to an additional 800 Garda members and up to 400 Garda staff. It should be noted that many of the Garda members to be recruited will be drawn from the Garda recruitment competition which opened last week. More than 800 Garda members have also b…

While they have a title, and it is important to acknowledge that the community gardaí and the specific work that they do, what we have seen throughout Covid-19 and the last two years is that every member of An Garda Síochána is essentially a community garda. The work they do is about responding to crime, needs and incidents as they arise, but it is also about outreach. It is about actively and proactively engaging with community at every level. It is important that we have gardaí specifically designated and designe…

The Deputy makes a valid point. In the past year, several close friends of mine have moved out of cities back home to rural areas. I refer to the work the Garda Commissioner is doing in considering resources, where they are needed and how there has been a change in the numbers in communities. That is reflected in how Garda numbers are deployed and redeployed. I have no doubt that when the 800 new recruits are deployed across the country, those changes in populations and demographics will be taken into account, as w…

In Justice Plan 2021 I committed to introducing legislation to provide for the introduction of body-worn cameras, in line with the recommendation of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland to which the Deputy refers. The commission in its report stated that policing organisations around the world have found that such devices can help improve front-line capability with the accurate recording of incidents, as well as expediting analysis, enhancing situational awareness and sometimes protecting police from…

The Deputy outlined two key issues, that is, we need to introduce this as quickly as possible, but we also need to ensure it is watertight and there are no challenges, particularly in the context of the GDPR rights of people. I am conscious we are probably one of the few countries that do not have these cameras yet. I am conscious this is not only important for protecting members of An Garda Síochána, but can also help them to do their job more effectively. In the context of domestic, sexual and gender-based violen…

The Garda Commissioner is constantly engaging with his colleagues and police services across Europe, but also internationally. As is the case with departments, governments and agencies, they work with each other to share information and ways in which they can progress their services. From a policy point of view and that of my Department, when introducing legislation we look at best practice and other common law jurisdictions, particularly the UK and others. We try to avoid any pitfalls or issues that may have been …

As the Deputy will be aware, I met a significant number of front-line and community organisations, some of which are already delivering refuge supports for people across the country. The report and the accommodation review published by Tusla clearly highlight the need that exists and the work that has to be done in delivering additional refuge spaces. It identified ten areas of 82 units on which we need to work and deliver immediately. Three of them are in Cork, as the Deputy noted. The work I am doing now is setti…

I join colleagues in thanking Senator Chambers on the passage of this Bill through the House. A great deal of effort has gone into developing it. I commend the Senator and also the co-sponsors of the Bill, Senators Fitzpatrick and McGreehan, on their work on it. I, too, want to acknowledge the outstanding work and extraordinary contributions of Eve McDowell and Una Ring, not only in their campaign to change the laws in place but also for recounting their lived experience and providing encouragement and support to m…

I am pleased to bring the Garda Síochána (Functions and Operational Areas) Bill 2021 before the House. The Bill facilitates the introduction of a new Garda Síochána operating model and provides for drug-testing of Garda members and civilian staff working within An Garda Síochána. The main aim of the legislation is to make the technical changes needed to allow the operating model to be fully rolled out. The new operating model will enhance the structure, processes and governance of An Garda Síochána, shifting a grea…

I thank Senators for their questions and also for their support for this Bill. As I said at the outset, it is quite technical. At the same time it is an important Bill in making sure that the many changes that are taking place across An Garda Síochána and the restructuring are rooted in the law, that gardaí are supported and enabled to do their work and that it is as effective as possible. Many of the concerns that Senators raised around the restructuring are that it would not impact community and local work on the…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for the chance to speak on this Bill. Obviously, I will not be opposing it on the next Stage. While there is undoubtedly work to be done on how best to implement the changes we are discussing here, Senator Chambers and I have a shared desire to see the law in this area strengthened, as do all of us in this House. We must do so as soon as possible in order that it can be a support and do what it is intended to do, which is to bring about justice for the many women who are impacted by this a…