I did not say that.

Do not quote me incorrectly. Quote me correctly please.

Do not quote me incorrectly.

I did not say the women-----

I will try to respond by grouping. Many similar remarks have been made and there were not too many questions. I concluded my opening remarks by saying that intimidation, violence and acts of arson or incitement are not a legitimate form of protest and those responsible must be held accountable. While we disagree on plenty in this Chamber, we have all condemned these acts and are all clear this is not a legitimate form of protest. I agree with colleagues that the vast majority of people across the country have been …

The simple answer is that the service will continue to engage. The service has operated since 2008 to assist Oireachtas Members to make representations on behalf of their constituents in respect of individual immigration applications. Since its establishment, the service has dealt with almost 80,000 requests. Last year alone, it answered more than 6,600 queries with more than 90% of these queries answered within three days. There is a dedicated team in my Department tasked with answering these queries. The types of…

I thank the Deputy. A number of measures are in train to try to reduce any backlog. This is the concern that people have and why they come to us asking where their application is in the system. There are no plans to expand what is being responded to. The only other option is international protection. Under the 2015 Act, we cannot identify or provide information to somebody other than the applicant that may identify someone as a person who has applied for international protection. This is because we know many people…

We are continually investing in the overall immigration system. There has been a particular focus on the IPO because of the significant increase in the number of international protection applicants. We have almost doubled the number of staff. This has allowed us to improve the systems. I need to make sure that any of the other applications or routes do not suffer time-wise. This is why there is so much emphasis on moving to an online system. So many of these applications can be processed in a much quicker way witho…

I assure the Deputy that I am committed to ensuring that we not just have the required number of gardaí, but that they have the resources they need to protect us and themselves in order that Ireland is a safe and secure country. In 2024, I have provided a budget allocation of €2.35 billion to An Garda Síochána, an increase of 25% since 2020. This will allow for the recruitment of between 800 and 1,000 new garda recruits this year, with an ambition of between 200 and 250 per class. We had five intakes last year. Thi…

Of the 6,300 who recently applied.

The Deputy is right, in that the figures show that many gardaí from recent intakes have gone to Dublin, particularly when there has been a greater need. What we do not see in those figures is that transfers are now taking place, with some gardaí based in Dublin transferring out to other counties. The figures show one or two going directly from Templemore to those counties, but I understand that transfers have started to open up. This is positive. The more gardaí we have, the more we can have that flexibility within…

We always said that there would be five classes last year. The first class was slightly earlier than this year's class. While the December class came out a few weeks earlier, that was to ensure that we had a presence. It was always going to be before the end of the year, though. There were always going to be the five intakes, and we had factored that in from the beginning of the year. Starting this year, because the first new intake will not be until April, it will not be physically possible to have five intakes. T…

My Department and I are taking every necessary step to manage the international protection process as efficiently and effectively as we can while ensuring that the integrity of the process is maintained at all times. During 2023, the number of applications was 13,277. While this was a slight decrease of 3% on 2022, it still represented an increase of 177% on the number that was received pre Covid. The Deputy can appreciate that this was a significant increase to which to respond. Ensuring that applications are proc…

I agree with the Deputy's initial point. As a country, we have been and will continue to be extremely welcoming. All of us in this House should reject some of the commentary by and actions of certain individuals who want to send a different message. We need to ensure that we have a system that functions, that people get answers as quickly as possible and that those who do not have a right to be here are removed from the State or, in most instances and most effectively, are assisted to leave or to go back home. Many…

I assure the Deputy that this is on the agenda for all of the Justice and Home Affairs Council meetings that I attend. I will be at one again next week. I was at one only a couple of weeks ago. We have spent years debating and seeking to agree the new migration pact, which I am pleased to say has finally been agreed. The pact will allow an approach where we have a better, more transparent and more efficient system where we have better co-operation between member states. I am trying to make sure that if people have …

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I acknowledge he is passionate about it and wants to see reform in the area, especially when it relates to the impact relationships breaking down can have on children in families. As he will know, I have been leading a programme of family justice reform set out in the first Family Justice Strategy, which was published in November 2022. I set out ambitious visions for a family justice system of the future that will focus on the needs and rights of children, in particular, a…

Specifically on the concept of parental alienation, the report clearly showed that where there is a system that does not work as effectively as it should and where the structures are not as effective as they could be, it allows the potential for abuse to continue and particular abuses to continue in respect of parental alienation, even into the courts. That is the finding from much of the research by the representative groups and from families who contributed to the specific report we did. The main recommendations …

I thank the Deputy. Like him, this is an issue that has come to my door as a TD for many years, since I was first elected. Families will always come who are going through a very difficult situation. With these structural changes, I hope to provide a less adversarial approach and, where it is not possible to remove that, the structures to support families to get the right outcome so that children are not caught in the middle. It is about making sure children's voices are heard, that they are able to understand what …

The Government is committed to taking measures to combat and prevent fraud and cybercrime. As we know, this is a crime that is on the increase. The more technology we use, the more likely we are to be susceptible to it. The close co-operation across government on this issue, and between An Garda Síochána and the National Cyber Security Centre, is key in this regard. We are committed to ensuring the Garda has the resources it needs to fight crime. This is why €2.35 billion was allocated to the Garda last year, a 25%…

As part of our budget last year for 2024, there was an unprecedented allocation of €155 million specifically for digital capital investment and IT. This was coupled with the sustained increased investment in Garda numbers. The more members we have in the technical bureaus and the more investment we have in ICT, the more we can increase our capacity and capabilities to prevent, address and respond to these types of crimes. There is also engagement with our European and international partners. For the past several ye…