As the Deputy said, I was down in Cork before the summer and saw the great work that is done by members of An Garda Síochána in the Cork area. I am aware of the issue in respect of units. I hope the Deputy will forgive me if I do not throw myself into the middle of it. It is an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner. The last thing I want to do, as Minister for justice, is to start issuing operational diktats to a Commissioner. He is the expert on how to run An Garda Síochána. I set the policy but it is up t…

Notwithstanding the fact that the culprits on Eden Quay were using e-scooters and were wearing black clothing, I can assure Deputy McCormack that the strong likelihood is that they will be apprehended. The Garda has great success in apprehending people involved in those types of violent criminal attacks in the city centre. We saw that a suspect was arrested in respect of the injuries sustained by an English tourist on Saturday evening. I will give consideration to what the Deputy said. However, I know from An Garda…

I am conscious that at present, there are two live issues before the courts in respect of that investigation. One of the associates of the late Mr. Fitzgerald has pleaded guilty so there has to be an issue with regard to sentencing in respect of his plea. Second, another individual, I understand, has not yet made a plea so there could be a trial so I am not going to get involved in the detail of that. I would make one point. I have discussed this matter with both the former Commissioner and the current Commissioner…

At the outset, I should say that I have no difficulty meeting the family. I am happy to meet the family. In fact, I was down in Carrick-on-Shannon on 8 September last and Deputy Scanlon asked me to meet the family. I agreed to meet them on 8 September but unfortunately it did not suit them. There is no issue with me meeting them. I am due in front of the justice committee, chaired by the Deputy's colleague, Deputy Carthy, at 3.30 p.m. so it is going to be difficult for me to meet the Farrells today or right now but…

-----unless Deputy Carthy is happy to put back the committee meeting and I will meet the Farrells. I am conscious they are here but if Deputy Carthy cannot, I will not be able to meet them now.

I am conscious that everyone in this House has, to a large extent, contributed to the occupied territories Bill. As the Deputy knows, Deputy Lahart did an excellent job chairing the committee that did pre-legislative scrutiny on that Bill. The report is now being published. That was necessary in order that pre-legislative scrutiny would be done and for it to be progressed through the Houses of the Oireachtas. Notwithstanding the fact that it has not been enacted yet, it still has been extremely impactful in our neg…

I refer to what I said to Deputy Bacik earlier on in that there was a very informative report published by An Garda Síochána at the end of August, which showed that knife crime is down, knife seizures are up and knife injuries are down. However, that is of cold comfort to the 17-year-old young man who was injured over the weekend and indeed the 11-year-old. This is a more complex problem than simply amending criminal justice legislation. It is an educational issue. The Deputy is correct, regrettably, when she sugge…

As Deputy Hearne said, I had the pleasure of being in Ballymun to meet the integration forum there. A huge amount of excellent work is being done. I am alarmed by the statistic that Deputy Hearne has put onto the record of the House. It is frightening that men in Ballymun are 150% more likely to die in the circumstances he has outlined. Deputy Hearne wants more gardaí on the streets in Ballymun, and so do I. The way I need to do that is to recruit more gardaí. Then it is a matter for the Commissioner to decide wher…

The Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, and I very much welcome that we will have statements on migration this afternoon. With the permission of the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, will jointly open this debate with me. It is particularly welcome that we are discussing in this House the issue of migration. It is an extremely important national and international issue that requires policy decisions and the expression of values by political leaders such as ourselves in this House. When we…

I am disagreeing with you.

Thank you.

I thought that was a very worthwhile debate. I stayed for the whole debate and I listened to the 21 TDs who contributed. I took notes of what everyone said. In the limited time, I will not be able to go through what each Deputy said, but I listened very carefully. It is apparent that there are a couple of things that everyone in this House agrees on. It is worth emphasising that. There is a benefit in having this debate. If this Chamber does not debate contentious and divisive issues such as migration, then the wor…

I thank Deputy Gogarty and members of the Independent Technical Group for tabling this motion on antisocial behaviour. I am very aware of the impact that antisocial behaviour - many times it is criminal behaviour - has on individuals living in local communities. Regrettably, it appears to be the case that significant numbers of people who are engaged in antisocial behaviour, or the criminal behaviour I was talking about, are under the age of 18, which we refer to as children in our law. Notwithstanding that, the ef…

I do not get involved in allocating gardaí around the country-----

-----and it would be inappropriate for a Minister for justice to do so. The Garda Commissioner does take into account what the operational needs are in certain areas, and that is why he decides where the new recruits should be allocated. We will all work together to ensure we can get more gardaí into our communities. It is also important to point out that the 2025 budget provided an unprecedented allocation of over €2.48 billion to An Garda Síochána. This is a 27% increase since 2020. The funding allows for the con…

I thank Deputy Geoghegan for raising this extremely important matter. He started his contribution by referring to the greater Dublin drainage project, which is an absolutely critical project not just for the people in the constituencies we share but indeed for the whole Dublin area. Deputy Geoghegan's specific concern is what can be done to ensure unmeritorious judicial review applications brought before the courts can be prevented or short-circuited in some way to ensure the common good and public interest in such…

First, on the bespoke legislation in respect of the drainage project, obviously that would be legislation coming from a different Department to the Department of justice. I have not given consideration to it. I hear what the Taoiseach had to say on it but that is a matter that would obviously have to come from the Minister for housing in respect of bespoke legislation. As the Deputy will no doubt appreciate however, introducing a piece of legislation to, in effect, determine the outcome of litigation that is put be…

I thank Senators Ryan and Stephenson for tabling the amendment. I also thank Senator McDowell for his contribution in respect of it. When we are discussing the defamation Bill, as I have said before, we have to have at the centre of our focus and our discussion what are in effect two competing rights. On the one hand, we are trying, as Houses of the Oireachtas, to vindicate and protect the constitutional right that people have to their good name, as protected under Article 40 of Bunreacht na hÉireann. Separately, w…

I am conscious that we will not get to a vote but I will try to respond to the issues raised. Senator Stephenson asked me why I am proceeding with this diminution of rights. We have to be careful about the use of the term "right". There is a statutory provision under the Courts of Justice Act 1924 and the Defamation Act 2009 that states someone is entitled to a jury in the High Court so we are entitled to change the law. It is not like a right that comes from the Constitution or the ECHR. It is simply a statutory p…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to introduce this afternoon to Dáil Éireann the Proceeds of Crime and Related Matters Bill 2025. This Bill is a significant and necessary step forward in our efforts to ensure that Ireland's framework for tackling organised crime is robust and effective. The Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, Deputy Ardagh, will recall that 29 years ago last month, the very brave journalist Veronica Guerin was murdered. In the aftermath of her murder, there were very significant…