I move amendment No. 2: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: ": - resolves that sections 2 to 4, 6 to 12, 14 and 17 of the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 (No. 39 of 1998) shall continue in operation for the period beginning on 30th June, 2024 and ending on 29th June, 2025; and - calls on the Minister for Justice to bring forward legislation to give effect to the recommendations of the Independent Review Group as soon as possible.". Is mian liom cúpla focal a rá mar…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: ": — resolves that section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 (No. 32 of 2009) shall continue in operation for the period beginning on 30th June, 2024 and ending on 29th June, 2025; and — calls on the Minister for Justice to bring forward legislation to give effect to the recommendations of the Independent Review Group as soon as possible.".

Does the Minister for Justice have any plans to reform the Garda vetting system and will she make a statement in that regard? We know the importance of the Garda vetting system. I have heard from many organisations about inconveniences relating to the system. Does the Minister have any plans to reform or change it?

I thank the Minister for the reply. I spoke to a person last year who told me she had to be Garda vetted five times, not only because of her involvement with sporting organisations but also as she moved job within the same organisation. She still had to be Garda vetted because she was moving to a different department. While we have to strike a balance in protecting vulnerable people and children, there is also an obligation to make the process as unbureaucratic and unburdensome as possible so that volunteers are no…

I received great assistance from the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers, OPLA, which suggested the card system in place in Scotland may not be appropriate here. However, I ask the Minister to take that register of general consents into consideration.

What restorative justice initiatives is the Minister's Department currently undertaking? Will she make a statement on the matter? From my time in the courts, I remember a case in which the person I was representing had been involved in a burglary in a certain part of Dublin. Communication with the victim of the crime was opened up at the door of the court, which alleviated the fear of the unknown in that the perpetrator and victim were able to talk to each other. Is the Minister considering putting any restorative …

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. The mission statement of An Garda Síochána is to reduce crime, the causes of crime and also the fear of crime. Restorative justice can tick all those boxes but a recent study demonstrated referral statistics for restorative justice remain at pre-pandemic levels, excluding restorative cautions which have been delivered by An Garda Síochána. This study was carried out by Dr. Ian Marder of Maynooth University's school of law and criminology, whom we worked with. Restorative…

Studies around the Commonwealth system in particular show restorative justice, where properly implemented, has a satisfaction rating for both sides of up to 90%. We all know in District Courts around the country there is an almost ad hoc system where solicitors get together with representatives of the other side and do it on a casual basis. If there was a formalised system in place to deal with cases before charge, during charge and before sentence, it would be a much better way to alleviate the pressure coming on …

Everything that is wrong with long-term nursing care in the State was brought home to me recently when a man from Kerry with complex needs who required a nursing home was refused acceptance by every private nursing home in the county. His son, who visited him for the 100 days he was in hospital, now has to drive one hour and 40 minutes if he wants to visit him at a nursing home in Cork. Seven or eight years ago, the discharge nurse at University Hospital Kerry told me that 70 extra beds in the county would solve th…

This is a welcome but delayed debate. The justice committee completed its report on the migration pact on 2 May but the Government postponed the debate until after the election. A response to a parliamentary question submitted in April confirmed the Government was in preparation for the implementation of the pact and it said that: While Ireland has not yet opted-into most of the Pact measures ... other Member States will be bound by them two years after they are adopted [and] Member States are beginning to prepare …

I thank the Social Democrats and Deputy Shortall for bringing this motion. It typifies the lack of attention and lack of care of the Minister that he is not here to address this. If I thought he was away negotiating with the HSE or working on a dental Bill, that would be one thing, but we can be sure that he is not. The state of dental services, particularly for children and the elderly, is a disgrace, and especially in County Kerry with an older and more vulnerable population and a high degree of peripherality, pr…

Probably 60% of the representations that we receive in our office have to do with housing. This week alone, I dealt with a woman from west Kerry who could not afford housing in Dingle because much of it costs approximately €350,000, a couple from Kerry whose rent had doubled over the past four years, a woman who had been on the housing list for 16 years and was living in a small room in her mother's house, and another person who was fleeing from domestic violence and who, because the council had been unable to cont…

It makes no sense that where an existing court building is in need of updated facilities, every opportunity to refurbish it is not used. The plan in Tralee for years was to take the plans for Letterkenny courthouse, which cost €19 million, and use them in the Denny site which was gifted to Tralee town council ten years ago and on which nothing has happened. Now an opportunity has arisen. The An Post site is for sale. All along the excuse was the existing building was shoehorned in. There is an opportunity to purcha…

Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur ort maidir le Teach Siamsa na Carraige in iarthar Chiarraí. Tá a fhios againn go bhfuil deacrachtaí airgeadais i Siamsa Tíre agus bhí bord Shiamsa Tíre chun é a dhíol. Teastaíonn ón bpobal i gCorca Dhuibhne é a choimeád i seilbh an phobail agus gan é a dhíol. Is achmhainn thábhachtach é don phobal in iarthar Chiarraí ó thaobh an Ghaelainn, an rince, an ceol, an amhránaíocht agus an drámaíocht a mhúineadh de agus bhí na céadta leanaí ag foghlaim na tradisiúin dúchais ann agus ag iarraidh …

I recall when I was on Kerry County Council there were some years, in and around 2017 and 2018, when one social housing unit was built and completed in the town of Tralee. In another year, there were three. Since the Government came into power all it has done is take the baton from those disastrous policies and continue with them, with overreliance on the private sector. It is no wonder there has not been an increase in social and affordable housing. The Government has missed its low targets for social housing by 1…

Before Deputy Gould takes the floor, I wish to note that this is an area in which he has done a lot of work. He had a Private Members' Bill on it. We all know that credit card gambling causes serious harm. All the groups we met that are concerned about gambling highlighted this issue. It allows people to run up serious debts and can lead to major gambling harm. We know 55,000 people in the State are seriously affected with a gambling difficulty.

Let us be clear that the target here is the large providers, particularly online, but there is a conflation here between fundraising and gambling. I have no doubt many of the Deputies here have been contacted by sporting officials, as I have been up to this afternoon, speaking about the potentially devastating impact on local clubs that are struggling for money, particularly with regard to their lotto fundraising. We all know that many clubs are under severe pressure after the winter we have had, when most pitches …

I was just getting to the hurling club in Kilgarvan, and the one in Killarney as well.

That was a long time ago.

Funding for cancer charities collapsed during Covid. They were not able to fundraise and Radio Kerry stepped in at the time to introduce the Radio Kerry bingo for four cancer charities. In the past couple of years, more than €330,000 has been raised for Recovery Haven, the Cork-Kerry cancer bus, which is essential, Comfort for Chemo Kerry and the hospice. These charities are concerned because the bingo prize stands at €15,000 at the moment. It is not always at that level, as it can go lower or higher. Those are the…