We had asked last week for the Dáil to be reconvened to have a proper discussion on recent events. That was not agreed by the Government. We also asked for questions to the Minister for Justice, not statements. Our request in that regard was also not agreed. We ask for the Order of Business to be amended in order that the Minister can take questions. We have asked for accountability but there has not been any sign of it. People can see there is a lack of control. They need to feel safe, not only for themselves but …

Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom labhairt mar gheall ar gach aon duine a bhí gortaithe, na leanaí, an triúr laoch sin agus na daoine a chabhraigh leo, agus laoch eile, Leanne, a bhí ag obair ar Chearnóg Parnell Déardaoin seo caite lasmuigh de Ghaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire. Tá aithne agam ar an scoil sin mar bhí mo bhean chéile ag múineadh ann ar feadh deich mbliana, agus mo dheartháir chomh maith. I would like to mention those who were directly affected last Thursday in the stabbing incident at Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire. The…

Gardaí, particularly those who received training in Templemore, do not need to be told about their powers under the public order Act but they need to know that the organisation and the Government have their back because they feel that they do not. I ask for the Garda Reserve regulations to be implemented. We heard 20 minutes ago at the Joint Committee on Justice, where we have been calling for this for months, that An Garda Síochána will not be recruiting until at least Easter. I ask the Minister to sit with the re…

It is interesting to note that the Government's line in response to this motion is that there is no recruitment freeze or embargo. According to the amendment to the Sinn Féin motion, recruitment is continuing for graduate nurses and doctors in training and exemptions also apply in disability and a list of specified front-line and residential posts. However, senior people in University Hospital Kerry tell me they cannot recruit junior hospital doctors in non-training posts. They have sought clarification from the De…

I wish to raise the case of Mark Noonan and Glen Murphy, two young men, two cousins, who were not involved in any type of criminality and who were gunned down at Clearwater in Finglas 13 years ago this month. To date, nobody has been charged in connection with the double murder. While the family has received good contact from Finglas Garda station, they are frustrated at the seeming lack of progress in the investigation. I am asking that the Taoiseach or the Minister for Justice might speak with the gardaí in Fingl…

Briefly, to follow on from what Deputy Ó Ríordáin said, NGOs within the sector wanted the agency to have some more autonomy. We need accountability within the agency, so the Minister being directly responsible is not necessarily negative but we feel that this provides a good balance. We wish to support Deputy Ó Ríordáin's amendment.

On Committee Stage, we moved an amendment to section 41 after concerns were raised with us regarding the safeguarding of personal data of victims and survivors in the context of any information request made by the agency to a service provider under that section. In fairness to the Minister, she said she would check out the point. She contacted us to say she had received advice from the Attorney General which stated the proposed amendment was unecessary as it was not intended the agency would process such data and s…

I thank the Department for everything and thank the Minister for her own good work on the legislation. Obviously, when she took on the role as Minister for Justice she recognised, as we all recognise, the lacuna in services in this regard and she is trying to do something about it. Credit is due to the Minister and her team for the work that they are putting into it. It is not really something to be scoring political points on. I credit them all for the work they are doing and the support that will follow when we c…

Justice policy is an area where there is increasing harmonisation across member states. Ireland is one of only two common law jurisdictions in the EU, the other being Cyprus. As such, we need to examine proposals in depth given the unique application of the law in this State. While scrutiny of EU legislation is the remit of the justice committee, this debate is important. Before turning to the new proposals, it is worth outlining what the existing directive does. It establishes minimum standards on the rights of, s…

I support this motion. I condemn the Government, the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the leader of the Green Party for their reckless decision to underfund the health service in budget 2024. I have listened to what the Minister has said and it all sounds great. All the while, a new community hospital is opening up in Killarney that will not provide one extra bed because the other beds are being closed. I have heard what the Minister said in respect of GPs entering practice but how many of them are going to be working f…

Sinn Féin's amendment highlights Israel's brutal assault on the civilian population of Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 children. It also highlights the forced displacement of Palestinians, the cutting off of water, fuel, food and medical supplies, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. The unjustifiable acts of Hamas occurred against the intensification of the Israeli occupation in Palestine since 2022. From the beginning of this year, 700 people had been killed by Israel. Israel's col…

I compliment the O'Farrell family for their dignity and determination to find the truth about what happened to Shane and the lead up to those events. Having met Lucia, Hannah, Gemma and the rest of the family a number of times, I know the depth of their knowledge and insight is matched only by their commitment to their quest for justice. Last week, we attended a cross-party briefing facilitated by Deputy Carthy. Taken alone, many of the issues raised at that meeting pertaining to this case may not have been enough …

When will the Garda Reserve regulations be published, and will the Minister make a statement in that regard?

During the summer, when we met with some senior gardaí and there was a big issue with presence of gardaí, not only on the streets of Dublin but around the country, one of the issues the senior gardaí brought up was the absence of these regulations. It is good to hear they will meet this week, but I ask the Minister to push ahead with the regulations as quickly as she possibly can to get more people on the streets. As she said, communities need to feel safe. I have noticed that, with larger events, the public order …

I have just one question. How come this took so long? This issue was being flagged much earlier in the year. The Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland said the Garda Reserve is a cost-effective way to provide surge capacity for policing special events and can provide policing experience for those who may be interested in joining the force but may be undecided or wary about it. In new communities, particularly those from eastern Europe, maybe, there is a suspicion and a fear - they do not have the same rel…

This question gets down to police presence on the streets. Gardaí tell me that a lot of their time is taken up, apart from paperwork and inputting, doing non-police work. Five years ago, the Commission for the Future of Policing in Ireland suggested a lot of reform in non-core duties and taking gardaí of all levels away from non-core duties. What steps are being taken to implement that report?

I have a few points in relation to what the Minister said. I acknowledge the large amount in the budget and that the training allowance will be increased, which we called for. I also acknowledge that many civilian staff have been hired but the Department previously stated that, for every one civilian staff member hired, one garda could be deployed back to front-line duties. That has not happened. I know there has been some movement in relation to immigration but there is much more that can be done and there are man…

The report, which is five years old, was quite unequivocal and stated the absolute priority should be that front-line district police should have the resources to perform their core community safety duties. That was a constant theme in the report. The urgency of the situation has not been addressed. I acknowledge what the Minister has said, but when will the court presenting changes be implemented? Will there be extra staff in State solicitors' offices to perform these duties? When will gardaí be taken from juries?…

The first issue I want to mention before I go into other issues is the recruitment ban that is currently in place in University Hospital Kerry for clerical and administrative staff. There are currently 50 whole-time equivalent, WTE, vacancies in that hospital in an area that has been traditionally under-resourced for years and where the administrative staff are underpinning every service within the hospital. The duties of these clerical staff include plans of care, communicating with GPs, retrieving medical health …

If I could just come in on a similar issue.