I do not propose to speak to amendment No. 2. The purpose of amendments Nos. 3 to 5, inclusive, is to delete the words "in that state" in section 4. The need for the amendment arises from the decision of the High Court in the case of the Minister for Justice and Equality v. Giedrius Gustas 2021. It was subject to an Article 267 reference in the Court of Justice of the European Union, ECJ. The High Court ultimately held that section 2(d) of the 2003 Act obliged it to refuse surrender on foot of a European arrest war…

The amendment provides for people who are arrested on foot of a trade and co-operation agreement arrest warrant issued by the United Kingdom. They are advised of their right to legal advice in the issuing state for the purpose of assisting their legal representatives here.

Amendments Nos. 13 to 16, inclusive, 24 to 27, inclusive, 29 to 32, inclusive, and 57 and 60 are grouped for discussion. They are amendments relating to optional grounds for refusal and the repeal of section 21A of the 2003 Act. Amendments Nos. 13 and 15 amend section 9, which amends section 15 of the 2003 Act. These amendments reflect the fact that there are not only mandatory grounds for refusal in Part 2 of the 2003 Act but also optional or discretionary grounds. Amendments Nos. 24, 26, 29 and 31 are administrat…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important question about probate. The Probate Office is an office of the High Court. Management of the courts is the responsibility of the Judiciary and the Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998. Probate functions are also carried out by county registrars at district probate registries in 14 provincial court offices. A total of 21,531 applications for probate were received in 2023, while 19,245 were deeded. The Court…

I certainly hear the Senator's concerns. What we have sought to do is amend section 10 to tighten up the wording in order that the relevant arrest warrant relates to the state which intends to prosecute for offences. We probably feel it is as far as we can go considering the CJEU decisions. We have certainly sought to tighten it up as much as possible to address the Senator's genuine concerns.

The public-facing portal will act as a single point of contact for users to submit and track their applications through the entire process. That will speed matters up and will also bring transparency as to where applications are at. The electronic submission of applications through the online portal, combined with automated validation of key information at submission time, will enable faster and more efficient processing of applications, with the aim of reducing waiting times. At the same time, the Courts Service i…

I thank the Deputy. The public roll-out of the launch is expected in the first half of 2025. In the meantime, some public-facing elements are being reopened. The Courts Service is prioritising the hiring of staff. The timeline is as quickly as possible. This type of staff can be difficult to recruit and there is a particular expertise required. In addition, we are in a market where it is difficult to get staff. An official probate office might only have two staff members. If one of those retires suddenly, waiting t…

I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin for raising this important matter. Regarding the figures on prison capacity and overcrowding over the past 12 months, I can inform the Deputy that the courts committed 7,946 people to prison in 2023. This represents an increase of 13% on the equivalent figure of 7,043 in 2022 and 30% on the 2021 figure of 6,133. The overall daily average number of prisoners in custody in 2023 was 4,583. Overall, this represents an 11% increase when compared to 2022 and is 15.4% higher than the pre-Covid be…

I fundamentally disagree that we do not care about those in prison. One only has to look at some of the progress on the work that has been done by this Government over the past four years. We have a very progressive head of the Irish Prison Service in Caron McCaffrey. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, organised a mental health task force jointly with the Department of Health and significant steps have been put in place regarding its recommendations. Along with the Minister, Deputy Harris, I am involved in the prison ed…

It is absolutely recognised that there is a need for additional prison spaces. The aim is that those who deserve to be in prison will be sent to prison and those who can be diverted will be diverted. Regarding mental health, the Minister led a very important task force which came up with real markers which are being implemented to help those who are in prison to get the mental health supports they need. There is a pilot programme in Limerick, along with the HSE, to work with people who are dealing with addiction an…

I understand the point of the Senator's amendment is to formally inform the person concerned of their relevant rights after a section 18 postponement, as that is when they will most likely be at issue. There is a danger here of being overly prescriptive. The courts routinely provide this information at the point that is relevant to the person. Of course, the person is also almost always legally represented and advised that legal aid is available. In these circumstances, I cannot accept the amendment. While I am on …

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter regarding the number of Garda members assigned to the Carlow district. It is an issue she consistently raises in respect of Carlow and Kilkenny. The unprecedented allocation of more than €2.35 billion for 2024 to An Garda Síochána demonstrates the Government's commitment to ensuring An Garda Síochána has provision for the equipment, technology, facilities, fleet and personnel it needs to carry out vital policing work. This funding allows for the continued recruit…

The Deputy deserves to be commended on continuing to fight the good cause for more Garda members for County Carlow. As I said, it is a matter for the Garda Commissioner, but I can say on behalf of the Government, the Department of Justice and the Minister that record funding is being provided and training to the maximum extent is being undertaken in Templemore. More gardaí are being recruited and as they graduate, they will be dispersed throughout the country. It is a matter for the Garda Commissioner but I have no…

These amendments would have the effect of deleting the words "without delay" in places where they appear in the Bill. As the Senator will be aware, the EAW framework decision imposes certain time limits on where it has not been possible for Ireland, as the executing judicial authority, to comply with those time limits. In EAW proceedings the framework decision provides that the executing judicial authority shall inform the issuing judicial authority immediately of certain matters. It is clear to me that there must …

It is recognised that more gardaí are needed across the country. That is why there is a significant recruitment campaign taking place and why record levels of funding have been provided for to recruit gardaí and additional civilian staff to allow for the freeing up of more officers. It is important to point out that probationary gardaí are not the only ones who go into counties. In some cases, a county may get very few probationary gardaí because additional experienced gardaí are being transferred in. We have to lo…

Amendments Nos. 19 and 34 provide for amendment to section 9, which amends section 15 of the 2003 Act, and for the amendment of section 10, which amends section 16 of the 2003 Act. Where a member state is unable to surrender a person within the time limits required, and that failure is due to circumstances beyond the control of that member or the issuing state, the 2003 Act provides that a new date for surrender is agreed and the requested person is detained in custody pending that surrender. Where the failure to e…

On amendment No. 23, the Commission has noted that the lack of a mandatory observance of certain time limits in the framework decision is particularly evident from "may" provisions in sections of the 2003 Act for which discretion for the High Court is not otherwise required in the framework decision. As the Senator will be aware, this legislation transposing the framework decision is the subject of ongoing infringement proceedings in which the observance of time limits has been raised and for those reasons I cannot…

Amendments Nos. 37 to 42, inclusive, amend this section, which inserts a new section16(a) into the 2003 Act. This new section provides that where the prescribed time limits are not met, that failure does not constitute a ground to refuse surrender, does not prejudice the requirement for the court to make a decision as to whether to endorse an arrest warrant for execution and does not preclude the continued detention of the person under the 2003 Act. Following legal advice, the two provisions to be inserted in secti…

Amendment No. 45 relates to section 15. Where a person who has been surrendered to an issuing state and the issuing state wishes to prosecute the person for other offences, the consent of the High Court is required. If the conditions of the EAW framework decision are met and no grounds for non-execution apply, the High Court is obliged to give its consent. Section 15(a) substitutes section 22(7) of the 2003 Act to provide for this obligation, while amendment No. 46 would substitute section 16 of the Bill, which ame…

This amendment transposes a provision of the Schengen information system regulation in the field of police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters. Article 26(4)(b) of that regulation requires that prior authorisation to make an alert temporarily unavailable be granted by the competent judicial authority. The amendment sets out a procedure to do this.