I am pleased to bring the Criminal Procedure Bill 2021 before the Seanad today. This is a relatively short Bill whose primary purpose is the introduction of preliminary trial hearings. The need for these hearings has been agreed for many years and is a priority action in the programme for Government and my Department's justice plan. A number of reports have highlighted the benefits of such hearings, including the report of the expert group on Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights, or the McDermott r…

I thank the Senators for their important contributions to this debate. I note some of the points made. On the point Senator Ward made about the exact wording around no previous hearings, it is only to say that the prosecution or the defence is entitled to a preliminary trial hearing for a relevant offence if there has not been one but it does not preclude it from having a second one. Again, the court would have to decide whether that is suitable or not. On the second point made by the Senator, and Senator McDowell …

No.

No.

I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, line 21, to delete "another child" and substitute "another child who is alive". The amendments to subsections (1A) and (1B) are basically technical and are to make it clear beyond doubt that any restrictions on publication only relate to the protection of the interests of living children. They are being proposed following a careful review of the drafting and to provide for a scenario in subsection (1A) where there might be two deceased children and in subsection (1B) where there m…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 4, to delete line 1 and substitute “child and is alive, or”.

I move amendment No. 3: In page 4, to delete lines 8 to 18 and substitute the following: “and (c) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2): “(2) The court— (a) shall, subject to such conditions (if any) as it considers appropriate, dispense with the requirements of subsection (1) in relation to a child referred to in that subsection where the proceedings concerned relate to the death of that child unless it is satisfied that to do so would— (i) not be in the best interests of another child…

I will respond specifically to the points raised by Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I am very sympathetic to the points she has raised. On foot of her raising that the last time we spoke in the Dáil, I asked my officials to engage with her and explore this potential change. What became very apparent, as the Deputy outlined, was that this is quite a complex area. In some cases, it goes outside the scope of section 252. The intention of the Bill is try to restore the thought that existed before the case in October last year…

I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising this extremely important issue. First, let me stress that I recognise the crucial role all healthcare workers, including those who are non-EEA nationals, continue to play in this ongoing pandemic in responding to the threat of Covid-19. Their exceptional commitment has been particularly clear throughout the pandemic, during which they have in no small way played a part in preventing the spread of Covid-19. First and foremost, I want to acknowledge the significant, vital and im…

Irrespective of whether we are assessing asylum applications or citizen applications, it is important that we have a fair system that acknowledges that everybody who has applied is making some contribution, be it working in healthcare or in other settings. The most important thing is to have a system that goes through the application process as quickly as possible and that nobody is waiting for years on end. I know that a backlog has emerged, particularly over the last year which has meant that waiting times are mu…

I thank Senator Ó Donnghaile for raising this issue. First, let me start with the payments and fees, as outlined by the Senator. These are governed by the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Regulations 2011. The fees are paid in two parts. The current application fee is €175, which is payable when an application for naturalisation is lodged. A certification fee is payable when a certificate of naturalisation is issued, that is, only when a certificate is issued and not prior to that or where a cert…

I will certainly take that recommendation on board. This is about making sure we have a streamlined process. To refer to a previous Commencement matter I addressed today, we are investing in ICT to move systems in these structures and in the Department of Justice away from what are, unfortunately, mainly paper-based systems towards an online system which would make it much easier for people to apply and which would be much easier to navigate. That will help speed up all of these processing times. A great deal of in…

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. In response to his last point, as Minister I can inform him that the Department of Justice is working with the Garda Commissioner and the OPW, which has responsibility for rolling out many of these projects. I reassure him that we are committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána is supported in the work it does by providing the resources it needs. That includes the development of new Garda stations and the refurbishment of older Garda stations. That is a clear commitment …

It is extremely important that we provide the resources and capital infrastructure for An Garda Síochána to do its work. I am particularly pleased to note the increase in Garda resources in Tipperary in recent years. There are now 411 gardaí assigned to that division, which represents an increase of 16% since 2015 when there were 354. They are also supported by 84 civilian staff, which represents an increase of 162% since 2015. I am also informed that since the reopening of the Garda Training College in 2014, a tot…

If that is okay, I will speak as quickly as I can. I acknowledge the work done by Senator Bacik and her Labour Party colleagues and thank them for it. Since we last discussed this Bill, I have had a good engagement with the Senator on a number of citizenship issues. I thank her for that ongoing engagement. During our previous debate on Committee Stage in December, I committed to reviewing the Bill. Further to that, I brought a memo to the Government at a Cabinet meeting earlier this week setting forth plans to amen…

First, I thank Deputy Denis Naughten and his colleagues in the Regional Independent Group for highlighting the issue with which the Bill deals. I acknowledge the spirit in which the Bill has been brought forward. I also thank those Members who have participated so far in the debate. As the Minister of State outlined, there is much common ground between this Bill and the Government's action plan for insurance reform. I acknowledge the various points that have been expressed by Deputies about the high cost of insuran…

I thank the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, and the team in his Department for facilitating the introduction of these amendments. I also thank Senators and, of course, colleagues in the Dáil. There are five Government amendments from the Department of Justice to the Bill. They have, essentially, the overall purpose of making suitable legislative provision in relation to the operation by the courts and by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, of th…

I reiterate my thanks for the facilitation of these amendments. I appreciate it is not the ideal way to introduce amendments. As Senator Bacik outlined, this is the quickest way to make sure the new personal injuries guidelines could be applied as soon as possible and, most importantly, that people would start to see the benefits of these reductions. Of course, where people have genuine cases and where they have been wronged, they are entitled to damages and they will still get those. Although it is outside my scop…

On that issue, following on from the publication of the O'Malley report last year we have published an implementation plan, part of which is supporting a victim's journey. The key focus is to make sure that we support victims through what is an extremely difficult and traumatic experience, as outlined by the Deputy. There are a number of recommendations and actions, one of which is engagement with An Garda Síochána and the HSE to look at the process around counselling records and to make sure it is done in the most…

I apologise for not being here at the start of the debate; the previous Bill moved faster than I expected. I thank the Deputies for putting forward this amendment. This legislation is being introduced for a number of reasons, the first being to create greater efficiencies, particularly for jury trials. It is to create greater efficiencies in the swearing in of juries and the process and challenges that entails. It is to ensure, as recommended in the Hamilton report, greater efficiencies for trials around economic c…