I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Health pursuant to Standing Orders 103(2)( b ) and 188(1).

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure: Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union vis-à-vis the United Kingdom of…

I thank Deputies Carthy, McGuinness and Kelly for their contributions. Deputies Carthy and McGuinness expressed a concern about the use of Protocol 21 and a concern that this was in some way interfering with Ireland's sovereignty or autonomy. When it came to the Lisbon treaty, we agreed, and we got input into it, Protocol 21. That was for the benefit of Ireland. We wanted to leave outside of the agreement of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union issues in the area of justice, legal affairs and police …

I thank Deputy O'Reilly for putting down this important Topical Issue. If I am available for Topical Issues in the justice, home affairs and migration area, I will do them. I am happy to be here to respond to the Deputy's query. It is repeatedly the case - and it is very fair - that Deputies want more gardaí in their communities and constituencies. That is a good sign. It shows the constituencies and people of Ireland have faith in and are supportive of An Garda Síochána. That is not universal throughout the world.…

Ciara's petition is probably trying to do what many other communities seek to do as well. In effect, she and the Deputy are looking for a formal assessment of the policing needs of the Rush area. I want the Deputy to know, however, that when the Commissioner sits down to decide where the new gardaí coming out of Templemore should go, he does it on the basis of a particular plan. In the past year, it has been for the purpose of achieving high-visibility policing, predominantly in the cities of Dublin, Cork and Limer…

I thank Deputy Ward for raising this very important issue. Obviously there is a complexity to how society should respond to criminality by people under 18 years of age but my starting point is looking at the impact it has upon victims. From the victim's point of view, as Deputy Ward has described, it is cold comfort that the person who is perpetrating the criminal act or the antisocial behaviour is, in fact, under 18 years of age. The impact of the offence or the antisocial behaviour on the individual is as signifi…

Obviously, the youth diversion programme does not mean that children cannot be arrested, convicted of offences or apprehended by gardaí. If gardaí come across youths who are involved in criminal behaviour or breaches of public order, they can apply the law in respect of them and it may be necessary at times for them to be arrested. The Deputy is right to say that this does result in further bureaucracy within a Garda station because arresting a child is treated differently to arresting an adult. That said, it still…

Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Teachta Ó Snodaigh as an mBille seo. Is Bille fíorthábhachtach é. An bhliain seo caite, bhí díospóireacht idir an Teachta Ó Snodaigh agus mé féin sa Dáil ar an gceist seo. Tar éis sin, chuaigh mé ar ais chuig an Roinn agus dúirt mé leis na hoifigigh gur mhaith liom Bille nua a fheiceáil go tapa. I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh and the other Deputies who have co-signed this Bill for their consistent work on this issue. Last year, Deputy Ó Snodaigh raised this in, I t…

I thank the Deputies who have contributed to this important topic. It is important again to state that there is agreement across the House that we should introduce a disregard scheme to ensure that the unfairness of these convictions that were imposed upon Irish men in the 20th century can be removed and disregarded. As has been indicated, the disregard scheme is different from a pardon. In effect, it means that there should never have been convictions at all. While I accept what Deputy O'Gorman has said, I am very…

I am pleased to introduce to the Senate the Proceeds of Crime and Related Matters Bill. As we all know, organised crime inflicts a huge amount of damage on communities and preys on vulnerable people. Behind it all is the fuelling of a ruthless drug trade. Too often, criminals blatantly flaunt their illicit wealth on our streets and that creates a corrosive culture where hard-working, law-abiding citizens feel the system is failing them while criminals operate beyond the reach of the law. We know, on the basis of th…

I am everywhere.

I thank all Senators for their contributions and, more importantly, for their support. It is my job to be here when I am bringing legislation through the Houses, so it is important that I am here. I have great support from my two Ministers of State, Deputies Colm Brophy and Niall Collins. It is a fundamental requirement for all the members of the Government to attend the Houses of the Oireachtas because they are the lawmaking entity under the Constitution. I will deal with some of the very useful contributions that…

Before we start the debate on the amendments on the cream list, I draw attention to four errors of a formal or typographical nature that have been identified in the Bill following its passage through the Houses. Pursuant to Standing Order 203, I ask that the Leas-Cheann Comhairle direct the Clerk to make the following corrections of a formal nature to the Bill. I will set out those four minor changes. First, in respect of section 117 of the Bill version as passed by Dáil Éireann, in page 97, line 30, I ask that the…

I propose that amendments Nos. 1, 6 to 8, inclusive, 18 to 20, inclusive, 22, 23, 117, 141 to 145, inclusive, 147 and 148 be taken together. Those amendments relate to the introduction of legal counselling for applicants for international protection as is required by the Asylum Procedures Regulation and the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation. A key factor in creating a more effective international protection system is ensuring that from the earliest stages of the process applicants are sufficiently informed…

I want to thank the three Deputies for their contributions, which I listened to very carefully. At the outset, I wish to say that the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, and I realise this is extremely challenging and complicated legislation before the Houses. Nothing we can do can remove the complicated nature of the legislation. It just is the case that with the international protection system, the asylum system, that is operating not just in Ireland or in other EU countries but throughout the world where many asyl…

The current legislation is much shorter. In fact, I think Deputy Kelly was in government when the International Protection Act 2015 was enacted. If one looks at the judgments of the superior courts, there are endless judgments on the international protection system that operates in Ireland at present - people challenging it by way of judicial review and challenging the executive operation of it. It is a very litigious area because of the large number of people coming in and the very high proportion of refusals. The…

What we are doing here is putting in a definition of the Data Protection Act 2018. As I indicated, some of these are very minor technical amendments. The main amendment in this group is amendment No. 230, which proposes the insertion of a new section 224 to provide for the sharing of information by relevant bodies. The purpose of the new section is to make clear provision for the sharing of information, including personal data by public bodies for the purpose of carrying out functions under this Bill. Provision is …

I thank the Deputy very much for his question. Obviously, in the first instance, when people arrive into Ireland claiming international protection, they are checked on Eurodac and they are screened. In respect of those processes, they are required to give biometric data. They get their fingerprints taken, they get their faces photographed and other information is taken in respect of them. They set out where they have come from. That is their objective. They have to say where they have come from. They have to set ou…

The Deputies have accurately summarised the basis on which we think that 90% of applicants come in over the Border with Northern Ireland. These are people who apply at the office and do not apply at our ports. It is, therefore, a reasonable assumption that a significant majority are coming over the Border. Deputy Carthy makes the point that individuals who were given work visas to come here might then subsequently claim international protection. That is correct. It is important to point out, obviously, that the Sta…

To fly from a country outside the EU into the UK, you would need a visa to enter the UK. If you are coming, say, from an Asian or African country, where there are a lot of international protection applicants, in general, you will need a visa. There are some countries for which the UK provides lots of visas. You can see that in our numbers. I am not going to start naming countries now because people will say I am picking on one country, but there are certain countries to which the UK readily gives out visas. The num…