In terms of international protection, Deputy Carthy is right about that. A significant number of people are seeking legal aid from the Legal Aid Board in respect of international protection. In fact, 11,689 applicants sought legal aid services in relation to international protection last year, which was an increase from nearly 10,000 the year before. That is hugely demanding for the Legal Aid Board. I am increasing the funding to the Legal Aid Board. The current budget allocation for the board for 2026 is €72 milli…

I thank the Deputy for his question. One of the great privileges of being Minister for justice is to attend passing out ceremonies in Templemore. I have been to four already this year. They are wonderful occasions for the new Garda recruits and their families. One thing that stands out for me is that the numbers are increasing each time I go to each passing out. At the recent one I was at with the Taoiseach, 194 new Garda recruits passed out. On the Deputy's question, overall 794 trainees entered the Garda College …

I am being told by the Garda it could put 1,000 people a year through Templemore, which is an extremely encouraging number. It can take up to 225, perhaps more, in each intake. When an intake is approaching, a huge amount of effort is put in by Garda HR to try to process applications faster. I am pleased there is a very efficient processing within An Garda Síochána now. Previously I had heard complaint about people having to wait a considerable time to get a response but now we are emphasising the urgency of this v…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist. Tá an ceart aige. Tá a lán Gaeilgeoirí sa Gharda Síochána. Beidh mé ag dul go dtí Dún na nGall inniu agus beidh mé ann amárach. Níl aon dabht ach go mbeidh mé ag labhairt Gaeilge leis na gardaí i dTír Chonaill. Tá scéim sa Gharda Síochána. Táimid ag lorg Gaeilgeoirí. Chuaigh mé go dtí Contae na Mí cúpla seachtain ó shin agus bhí mé ag labhairt Gaeilge le go leor gardaí. Tháinig siad isteach sa Gharda Síochána tríd an scéim Ghaeilge. Tá súil agam go mbeidh níos mó garda…

I thank Deputy Cahill for his very important question. As he will be aware, spiking is a crime that preys on vulnerability, undermines consent and can have devastating consequences for victims. I want him to know that as Minister, I am committed to the Government's zero-tolerance approach when it comes to all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Regrettably, it is the case that spiking incidents are generally accompanied by sexual offences as well. The programme for Government includes a commitment …

I agree with the Deputy. This is an extremely serious offence. It is an offence that is targeted predominately against women so that other serious sexual offences can be perpetrated against them. Gardaí inform me that incidents of spiking are more commonly reported alongside other primary offences. I also regret to say that it appears that the number of incidents of spiking is significant. I am informed by the Garda that of the 60 reported incidents in 2024, 28 were drink spiking, a needle was used in ten and the m…

I will raise with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, the protocols that are or could be put in place if someone presents at an emergency department who believes their drink may have been spiked or they may have been spiked. It is obviously important, if that occurred, for the purpose of the investigation that samples are taken so that proof can be provided that the spiking did, in fact, occur. It can be difficult for an individual, if it is left for a lengthy period of time, to prove that the spik…

It is an essential part of the Government strategy in respect of responding to domestic violence that we have in place appropriate refuges and safe houses throughout the country. Under the third national domestic, sexual and gender-based violence strategy, this Government has committed to doubling domestic violence safe accommodation capacity to 282 units by the end of next year. Cuan, the statutory body that has responsibility under my guidance for this, has been working to accelerate the delivery of safe accommod…

I thank Deputy Kerrane for her question. No doubt there will be an element of flexibility in respect of considering locations for refuges. It is essential that we have refuges spread geographically throughout the country. What I want to see is not necessarily a refuge in every county, because in some counties you may need two because of the size of them, but locations that are close to where people are and are equidistant from each other so that where there are higher population levels people will know that there i…

I should have pointed out that the refuge I visited on Monday was in Clonmel. I was extremely impressed by the service provided and the commitment of the staff. I was also at another event this week which is relevant to the discussion we are having about domestic violence. That was the launch of a report by an organised called Men Overcoming Violence, MOVE. We are never going to be really able to resolve or properly confront the scourge of domestic violence unless we engage with and try to give counselling and an a…

As the Deputy will be aware, this year we changed the payment under the accommodation recognition payment, ARP, from €800 per month to €600 per month. I know there were concerns about that change as to what impact it would have on those individuals being accommodated. I am pleased to say it has not had, in our opinion, a significantly detrimental impact and has not led to very many people who were being accommodated pursuant to that payment losing their accommodation. The accommodation recognition payment was a use…

I disagree that it was blatantly obvious at the time it was introduced that it was going to have an impact on the private rental sector. We are not even sure at present that it is having an impact. There may be issues in respect of it. It is hard to definitively establish that. We are ensuring it will not be able to affect the private rental sector because we are going to limit eligibility for the ARP to properties that are not rental properties. That will ensure it will not have any distorting impact on the privat…

I do not recall Sinn Féin objecting to the ARP when the previous Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, introduced it at the time temporary protection was granted.

It was a necessary measure for the purpose of providing accommodation to the large number of people from Ukraine who came here. The Deputy said the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, and I have not done anything but we have. We reduced it from €800 to €600. I would have thought it is clearly the case we are gradually trying to introduce further measures in respect of it. We are bringing forward legislation to ensure it cannot be used in respect of rental properties so that the issues about which the Deputy and I are…

I thank the Seanad for the efficiency with which it has dealt with this matter. We had a debate here last week on Second Stage and there were very useful contributions from many Senators. The support for the Bill is evident from the fact that there have been no amendments put down on Committee or Report Stages. I acknowledge the co-operation and support that has been given to the Bill by colleagues and party spokespersons across the House. As Senators will be aware, the purpose of this Bill is to provide, by amendm…

I thank the Senator for his question on what is contained within section 21. As he is aware, alternative dispute resolutions are mechanisms whereby people are encouraged to try to resolve their differences without having to go to a final determination by the courts. The Senator inquired as to whether defendants in defamation proceedings who were not members of the Press Council would be able to be subject to the statutory provisions set out in section 21. I believe they will be and, in fact, the Senator has answere…

There is another avenue available to parties before defamation proceedings in the courts, in that the terms of the Mediation Act will apply to them. I do not have that Act in front of me but its provisions could be something a court could rely on for the purpose of trying to encourage parties to engage in mediation. I note the Senator's point about the specified ADR procedures and how the provisions may be limited to members of the Press Council. Notwithstanding that, the court has the power, under the Mediation Ac…

I will look at this and take the Senator's points on board.

Like the Acting Chairman, I want to welcome the guests in the Gallery. I have to say that when I walked in, I thought I was appearing before a grand jury. I welcome them all. I wish them a successful day with Deputy Scanlon. I thank the Acting Chairman and his colleagues for facilitating these motions. This morning, the Government approved my request to seek the approval of this House to opt in to these EU Commission proposals. These proposals form part of the multi-annual financial framework, sometimes referred to…

I thank all the Senators for their contributions. Senator Byrne made a valid point. This is democracy in operation. Many Senators questioned whether we are giving away Irish sovereignty. This is the elected Upper House of the Irish people. We are debating proposals that have been put forward by the European Union. These Houses decide whether or not to go with those proposals. The Government decides whether to put them to these Houses for a vote or not. That is democracy in action. It shows that we are exercising so…