-----in regard to the dispersal of gardaí around the country, that is a matter for the Garda Commissioner.

I thank the Deputies for their contributions and their welcome for the Bill. It is mostly administrative in nature and while the amendments may appear to be minor, they also make important changes, the majority of which, as Deputy Martin Kenny said, are positive. In particular, the Bill will help to modernise many of the areas around the administration of the courts. This will have a real impact because, as we know, delays in the court system cause great stress to people. A number of the elements of this legislatio…

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Justice pursuant to Standing Orders 95 and 181.

The Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and I would like to thank Deputies Ward, Mitchell and Kenny for introducing this Private Members' Bill, which is on Second Stage, and which highlights the serious issue of the involvement of children in criminal wrongdoing in respect of controlled drugs. The Bill seeks to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 to criminalise the use and coercion of children in drugs distribution by making it a criminal offence to cause a minor to be in possession of drugs for sale or supply. Th…

No.

On behalf of the Minister, Deputy McEntee, I thank Deputies for this interesting and constructive discussion on this important issue. In particular, I thank Deputies Mark Ward, Denise Mitchell and Martin Kenny for bringing their Bill forward for discussion. I acknowledge all the work involved in doing so. The Minister and I are concerned about children being lured into criminality from an early age. The Department of Justice has been carrying out significant work on the development of policy and practice in this ar…

I thank Deputy Carroll MacNeill for raising the very important and serious issue of domestic violence and the funding granted by the Government to deal with this very serious matter. As the Deputy is aware, earlier this year the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, launched Zero Tolerance, our third national strategy to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. It is an ambitious five-year programme of reform and a whole-of-society plan of action. It builds on the substantial progress made through the imp…

I again thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I do not have specific numbers with regard to the expansion of spaces in 2022 or details on the situation in Dún Laoghaire but I will get answers for the Deputy from the Department in that regard. I will also bring the Deputy's concerns with regard to expanding the availability of refuge spaces beyond emergency situations to victims who need to attend court at various stages in the criminal justice process. On behalf of the Minister, I thank the Deputy…

Before addressing the amendments, I will briefly address another issue raised in both Houses, namely, the reason this scheme was not extended to civilian staff of An Garda Síochána. Civilian staff are not included under the current provisions of the Acts 1941 to 1945, nor were they included in the provisions of this Bill. This was due to the fact that they are not engaged in front-line policing, which carries an increased risk of injury or death. However, with the increased civilianisation of certain Garda function…

The view was taken that they would not be part of this scheme because they are not on the front line. Nonetheless, considering the increased civilianisation, it will be looked at. However, because of existing schemes for civil servants - the occupational injuries scheme and ex gratia payments scheme - it would be very complicated and would slow up this Bill significantly. I give an undertaking to look at it but not in the context of this Bill.

I move amendment No 1: In page 13, to delete lines 6 to 11 and substitute the following: “Form and content of application for initial assessment 11. The Garda Commissioner may, from time to time, specify in writing the following with regard to applications for initial assessment: (a) the form of the applications; (b) the information to be contained in the applications; (c) the documents to accompany the applications, and he or she shall cause any such specifications to be published in electronic form.”. This is a t…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 18, line 30, to delete “prescribed” and substitute the following: “specified in writing from time to time by the Garda Commissioner, and he or she shall cause any such specifications to be published in electronic form”.

I thank my colleagues on the other side of the House, as well as Deputy James Lawless, Chair of the Joint Committee on Justice, and all the members of that committee for their work.

My colleague, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, has informed the House of the record justice budget for 2023, which prioritises community safety. The future of our communities lies with our young people and I warmly welcome the allocation of €24 million for youth justice, which is an increase of €2.5 million and over 11%. This will have a significant impact on individual young people, their families and their communities. I cannot emphasise strongly enough the importance of youth diversion projects and the …

On behalf of the Minister for Justice, I thank the Senator for raising this important matter and requesting that the Minister establish a new Garda station to serve the areas of Laytown and Bettystown. The Senator will appreciate that the Garda Commissioner is, by law, responsible for the management and administration of Garda business and for determining the deployment of gardaí throughout the State. The Minister is assured that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the con…

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I will bring her concerns to the attention of the Minister. I understand that as of 31 August 2022, the latest date for which figures are available, Laytown Garda station currently has a strength of one inspector, three sergeants and 15 gardaí, all of whom are uniformed personnel providing a front-line policing service to the Laytown, Bettystown and Mornington areas of east Meath. I am advised that on weekdays, the member from the district who opens the station…

I thank the Senator for raising the very important matter of community CCTV, in particular as it relates to Monaghan town and Carrickmacross, County Monaghan. On behalf of the Minister, I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I am acutely aware of the invaluable role played by community CCTV schemes throughout the country in providing vital reassurance to local communities and helping people to feel safer in their neighbourhoods. It is a priority of the Minister for Justice and her Department to ensure that lo…

I thank the Senator for raising this most important matter. I hear the Senator's frustration in relation to the application process for the Monaghan town and Carrickmacross CCTV schemes, which has been ongoing since 2017. I certainly will convey the Senator's frustration on the matter to the Cabinet Minister. Just as the Government's community safety policy recognises that community safety is a whole-of-government responsibility and not solely a concern for An Garda Síochána or the Department of Justice, the streng…

I move: That Dáil Éireann, noting that the Government agreed on 27th July, 2022, to propose, for the approval of Dáil Éireann, the reappointment of the persons concerned to be members of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority, and pursuant to sections 9 and 10 of the Legal Services Regulation Act, 2015, approves the reappointment of Sara Moorhead, Geraldine Clarke, Shane Galligan, Dermott Jewell and Síona Ryan, with effect from 1st October, 2022, by the Government to be members of the Legal Services Regulatory Aut…

I thank my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, on her statement on the renewal of the provisions in the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009, and I add my full support to the motion. We know the provisions in the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 were introduced as a response to the Omagh bombing in 1998. We will never forget this appalling and ruthless event, a bombing that resulted in the murder of 29 innocent victims and unto…