Again, I refer to the fact that it is only when the committee deems a project suitable for funding that the submission is made to me for final approval. What my Department must seek, and what I can benefit from, is the expertise that is available beyond my Department. That is why the structure is set up as it is. Obviously, the applicant is also subject to rigorous screening within my Department to examine the person's suitability for permission to enter and reside in the State. There is also an undertaking within …

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that the public health emergency has caused significant hardship and stress across our population, not least for parents and children, and acknowledges the issues raised by the #ExtendMaternityLeave2020 campaign established by mothers currently on maternity leave and by the National Women's Council of Ireland's support of the campaign; recognises that support for families, as we begin to reopen, is of paramount imp…

The five-week extension will be introduced over two budgets.

I move the following Revised Estimates: Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised) That a sum not exceeding €1,782,581,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2020, for the salaries and expenses of the Garda Síochána, including pensions, etc.; for the payment of certain witnesses' expenses, and for payment of certain grants. Vote 21 - Prison Service (Revised) That a sum not exceeding €383,211,000 be granted to defray the charge which wi…

I thank the Deputy for raising both of these issues. On the anti-racism committee, as the Deputy has rightly outlined, it was announced and formed in June by my predecessor, Deputy Flanagan. I thank him for his work in this role. Its terms of reference have a wide scope. It is there to review the current evidence on racial discrimination in Ireland, to examine international practice in combating racism, to hold stakeholder dialogues and to identify the views of wider civil society, members of the public, Members of…

I thank the Deputy for raising two very important points. The report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland underlines exactly what the Deputy spoke of regarding a human rights-based approach and also a community policing model whereby gardaí work on the ground and are visible and engaged with the community. Covid-19 gave a good glimpse of what that would look like, where gardaí engaged with the community to give support and protection and ensure that the health measures were implemented in full. Si…

I thank the Deputy for his contribution. It might be good for me to outline some of the work that has been done, particularly in the implementation of the commission recommendations and in A Policing Service for the Future, which is a four year plan to implement the report. An increase in garda numbers and ensuring that continues as well as ensuring training continues are extremely important. It is not, however, just about the garda numbers but it is also about ensuring the recommendations and the reform structures…

I will try to respond to a number of the questions. On the retirement age, as with many issues, this issue is highlighted in the commission's report. It provides that An Garda Síochána should reflect the diversity of Irish society and should, therefore, develop recruitment strategies to try to achieve a more diverse intake. These recommendations echo those of the Garda Inspectorate following its examination of entry routes into An Garda Síochána, part of which deals with a possible change in the retirement age from…

I thank the three Deputies for raising these issues. First, let me touch on the issue raised by Deputy Richmond, namely, the support for An Garda Síochána. The Deputy is correct that gardaí are often placed in very difficult circumstances and asked to respond to very challenging situations. They put themselves at risk every day of the week. We have seen this most recently with the unfortunate death of Detective Garda Colm Horkan. We need to make sure that we protect our gardaí and that services are in place for the…

The Deputy raised a number of matters. Whereas the separation of some elements of my Department is still under consideration, I absolutely assure the Deputy that I will work as closely as possible with the Minister with responsibility for children, disability, equality and integration, Deputy O'Gorman, on the range of matters where I feel the connection remains and where it is necessary. There is much work under way on family courts and the overall system, not least the family courts Bill. A memorandum for the Gove…

I congratulate the Cathaoirleach and I wish him well in his new role. I offer my warmest congratulations to all Senators, especially those who are taking up their seats for the first time. I wish them all well. I acknowledge the huge honour that it is for me to serve the State as Minister for Justice. It is a somewhat daunting task but it is one I am looking forward to and I hope to make a difference in an interesting Department of State. With the volume of legislation in my Department, it seems I am likely to be a…

I thank Senators for their time and for moving quickly given, as many have mentioned, we are close to the wire. I am very grateful to the House for its consideration of these two motions and I thank Senators on all sides for their contributions to the debate on both. Naturally, I welcome the support expressed by all of the speakers for continuing these provisions and I appreciate the shared commitment in the House to maintaining in place what is a robust legal framework for the Garda and the courts when dealing wit…

On this issue, as the Taoiseach outlined earlier, the Next Generation EU financing will be raised by temporarily increasing the ceiling on own resources to 2% of the EU gross national income. This will allow us to borrow the money. In terms of how we repay that, this is a debate that is still ongoing and on which there has been no agreement. Ireland's perspective has not changed. We have said - this is an agreement that has been reached by all member states - a tax on plastics is something that we would agree on. W…

Our position on this, as the Deputy mentioned, has been stated clearly by the Tánaiste. The long-standing support for a two-state solution has been part of our foreign policy for some time now and will continue to be part of our overall foreign policy. We would prefer to recognise-----

We would prefer to recognise the state of Palestine as part of a two-state solution. This is something the Tánaiste, in particular, has worked hard on over the past number of years. The issue of the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 has been raised a number of times but the position of the Attorney General has not changed. It goes beyond what any Government has an ability to do, in particular, if we look at this as a trading matter and an EU competence matter. The Bill would not be imple…

On our overall ask with Belgium in respect of Brexit and what that means for the MFF and the recovery fund, what we have consistently asked for is flexibility within the budget-----

We are still at that stage. This was the first time that EU leaders had an opportunity to meet since the presentation of the recovery fund and the new MFF proposals. The Taoiseach reiterated our position that there would need to be flexibility within the budget and raised the fact that, although we are talking about front-loading many of the funds and immediate funding is required, if any implications arise from Brexit, and to implement the farm-to-fork strategy or other climate action plans, the funding will be ne…

The figures suggest there is approximately €1.9 billion and €1 billion in loans and grants, but this is not something we consider acceptable. When the two funds are taken together, we are talking about paying more money than we had previously, while we are seeking less funding in the Common Agricultural Policy, which is a key priority for us, and receiving an overall fund that we consider inadequate. We have stressed the position, and the Taoiseach made it clear last Friday, that we support the Commission's overall…

For fisheries, "No" is the short answer. Michel Barnier was clear when he addressed the General Affairs Council on Tuesday that without a deal on fisheries, there would not be an overall trade agreement, and vice versa . The mandate is clear, therefore, and it has not changed.

We are still examining the proposals for the MFF and for the recovery fund, and nothing has yet been agreed. It is welcome that there are certain priorities for us where we have seen an increase in funding. In the MFF, there has been an increase in Pillar 1 and Pillar 2, while for the CAP in the recovery fund there has been an increase in Pillar 2 of €15 billion. While that amounts to €26 billion in total, we believe there needs to be more specifically in that area. There has been an increase in funding for Horizon…