I thank Deputy Gannon for raising this issue. When there is a Topical Issue that is relevant to my Department, I will hope to be here. If I am available and not off elsewhere out of Dublin, I will be here for them. I thank Deputy Gannon for raising these issues, which are also of concern to me, not only as Minister for justice but as a TD for Dublin Bay South, which is just over the Liffey from the area he represents. Deputy Gannon is correct; there is increased Garda visibility in the city centre. As he did, I com…

I have.

I was there last Thursday.

The gardaí in the inner city are not just there for the commercial sector. In my constituency , and I am sure Deputy Gannon's is the same, there are many residential areas in the inner city. In my constituency there is Glovers Court, which is right beside Aungier Street, as well as York Street and Mercer House. People want to see gardaí in the area. One of the good things about Dublin, unlike capital cities like London, is that we still have communities living in the city centre. It is good that Dublin City Council…

We need to ensure there are as many gardaí as possible so they are around the country and on the streets.

I thank the Deputy for raising the Women's Aid report. At 11 o'clock this morning, I was down on Wood Quay and I launched that report. I commend Women's Aid on the excellent work it has done for 51 years in Ireland in identifying the unacceptable behaviour of abuse against women. The Deputy raised a number of issues, which Government is dealing with, and I will identify a few of them. She referred to the criminal justice system and how it needs to be adapted to ensure women can feel more confident about coming befo…

Domestic violence against women is taken extremely seriously by the Government. I outlined some of the measures in my response to the Deputy but more are ongoing. I did not mention the fact that we are going to amend the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, which will ensure greater rights for the families of children whose mother, generally, has been murdered by the father of the child. We need to ensure that the father does not retain exclusive responsibility after that. I also want the Deputy to know that a sign of…

I thank the Deputy. I never heard anyone say, "Ah, it’s only a domestic." I do not see how anyone could say that when reflecting on the level of violence, homicides and killings of women that, regrettably, have taken place on the island. It is simply an unacceptable aspect of violence in this country that a significant amount of the violence is targeted against women. Of course, what distinguishes violence against women from violence against men, predominantly, is that it is vastly the case in violence against wome…

I hope that some of the measures she called for are already being acted upon by me, such as the counselling notes, guardianship of infants and the issue in respect of a disclosure system to reveal individuals who have been convicted of domestic abuse previously. I have no difficulty with that. I will speak to the new Commissioner, and I have spoken to the current Commissioner as well, in respect of the issue of domestic and gender-based violence. It is something I am prioritising in my time as Minister. As I said, …

I express my condolences and those of the Government to the family of the disability campaigner, Jacqui Browne. I appreciate that the Deputy, as a man, has identified that this is predominantly a men's issue because violence against women is perpetrated by men. He is right in his identification that the influences on young men at present are considerably different from when he was a young man and certainly from when I was a young man. As I said earlier to Deputy Bacik, we do not see what is really happening online …

It is important to emphasise the role of Coimisiún na Meán. In October 2024, it adopted Ireland's first online safety code, which obliges designated platforms to protect people, especially children, from harmful video and associated content. People spend far too much of their lives looking at social media. We need to tell young people, and adults, that what they see on social media is not representative of the real world. It is a misrepresentative reflection of the world. As politicians and policymakers, we all nee…

I will answer Deputy O'Flynn's last question while it is fresh in my mind. Yes, anyone who comes in claiming international protection is fingerprinted and assessed against the Eurodac system.

That happens to anyone who arrives into a port. The Deputy raised issues with the passport system. We all want to speed up the passport system as much as possible so that people can get their passports quickly. The Deputy then raised the issue of people who seek citizenship through naturalisation. I had the great privilege of being down in Killarney on Monday when a judge was handing out citizenship. I was there to celebrate the citizenship of new Irish citizens. The Deputy would be surprised at the number of peopl…

I want the Deputy to know that Irish passports and citizenship are not granted easily. I am sure that if the Minister for foreign affairs were here, he would confirm that is true of passports. With regard to citizenship, many colleagues in this House ask me about citizenship applications. They criticise how long they take and ask why the process is so lengthy. The reason is that you have to do very significant vetting and testing before an individual is granted citizenship. That is done vigorously. The criticism I …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist. Is ceist an-tábhachtach í do mhuintir na tíre agus dá Dháilcheantar féin. I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I suspect there may be some people in the House who are not as aware of the private wires issue as Deputy Heneghan is. It is always good - he has spoken to me before about this - to have voices of experience here. For the benefit of those who understandably may not be aware of this, private wires refer to private individuals or undertakings run…

I think the Deputy said it is northside swimmers who are being affected. Southside swimmers are affected as well by E. coli. We are not immune to E. coli on the southside of Dublin. This is a complicated area. The North-South interconnector is a hugely important issue. Referring back to the North-South Ministerial Council last week, it was an issue that was raised there. There has been too much delay in respect of it, and I know the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is seeking to expedite it. As regards the issue the Deput…

That is not correct, and Sinn Féin does not have a monopoly when it comes to association with the heroes of 1916. Many of us in Fianna Fáil have a strong connection with those people who fought in 1916. The Deputy needs to accurately represent what was stated yesterday. It was stated that the GPO complex will be redeveloped as an ambitious flagship project, as a mixed-use development with a combination of cultural, retail and office components, befitting the national historical and cultural importance of the site. …

There is very little I can do about the US immigration system. I am trying to put rules on the Irish immigration system. I cannot control the US immigration system. It is regrettable that these new measures are being introduced by the United States. I welcome the fact that the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach have indicated that they think the measures are inappropriate. We will mention it to the US authorities. Hundreds of thousands - probably millions - of Irish people have a great time on J-1 visas. They are still doi…

The Minister, Deputy Foley, brought that report to Cabinet yesterday. It is important to note the report also acknowledges the positive and open engagement with Department officials over the past year. Officials in her Department have prepared an initial response to the recommendations alongside a commitment to continue engaging positively with the special advocate in relation to the issues raised. The Minister is engaging with the Attorney General to assess what can be done regarding religious orders that are not …

I agree with the Deputy. What is happening in Gaza is reprehensible and shocking. A concern the Government and I have is that because attention is now focused on Israel's war with Iran, it is off Gaza. We cannot allow that to happen. In fairness, no government in Europe has done more than the Irish Government in seeking to advance the protection and cause of the Palestinian people in Gaza. We must recognise that the way we put pressure on Israel is not simply through small pieces of legislation but by trying to bri…