I thought it appropriate to begin with a quote from the Government's website with regard to Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025. It states: While the term "rural Ireland" is widely used, there are many different perceptions of what "rural Ireland" means. The fact is that rural areas are not identical and every town, village and parish differs considerably in terms of its individual strengths, needs and possibilities. That is correct. The experiences of somebody living, for example, in an estate in …

The Bill is a welcome development, especially in light of the work done by my colleagues, Deputies Ward and Martin Kenny, in this area. The maximum sentence is somewhat lower than that proposed by Sinn Féin but we can examine this further on Committee Stage. It is becoming increasingly clear that the engagement of young people in serious and organised crime is a concern. We must be careful about scaremongering around crime but children are among the most vulnerable in our society. Traditionally, criminal law treats…

Can the Minister for Justice to outline the measures he is taking to remediate the current prison overcrowding crisis? The depth of the crisis was indicated to me recently when I spoke to a Garda regarding the proposed increased sentences for assaults. His response was quite cynical, in that he asked where we were going to put those who are convicted. In his experience, a lot of people are getting temporary release, the prisons are full and that it is almost pointless to increase sentences.

The situation in the female prison in Limerick is unsustainable. According to recent statistics, it is currently at 179% capacity. Overcrowding in the male and female prisons in Mountjoy means occupancy of 106% and 113%, respectively. That does not take into account the 87 prisoners currently on temporary release. A a few weeks ago the open prisons in Shelton Abbey and Loughan House were still more than 90% full. The crisis has been well flagged by bodies such as the Irish Penal Reform Trust, IPRT, and the Prison O…

I welcome some of the Minister's proposals, including a prison education task force. The problem will always be in the implementation of these plans, which sound great. I spoke recently to a former prison governor who outlined the difficulties in engaging with longer term prisoners and assessing them for re-engagement with their communities. The promises contained in previous plans were not being met. One prison in the State had two Merchant's Quay counsellors for 900 prisoners. In order to break what the Minister …

I ask the Minister of Justice his view on the current civil legal aid review and about any plans he has for the criminal legal aid sector and if he will make a statement on the matter. I should declare I was on the legal aid panel for many years.

Does the Minister of State have any idea of the date the review will be finalised? We all know from dealing with these issues over the years, that the sector focuses primarily on family law centres. Will it be expanding into employment, landlord and tenant or advocacy such as in the United Kingdom? Many of us have received emails from constituents on this issue. There has been an industrial action of sorts in the criminal legal aid sector, undertaken by barristers who want the reversal of the austerity cuts which w…

The reality is that many poor people, who are very vulnerable and often suffering from addiction or mental illness, need the buffer of representation to deal with the prosecution and the whole system, including the judges. Equality before the law is a very important right and legal aid helps to provide this. The impact on defendants’ rights by the reduction in the fees means it is not economically viable for many barristers and solicitors to take on legal aid work. There is a serious risk of inequality for defendan…

I think I speak for most in this House when I say that the requirement for the Oireachtas to approve measures and ensure oversight is overwhelmingly positive. I am equally sure that many will welcome the fact that this motion is one of the few remaining legacies on the Statute Book relating to the pandemic. On behalf of Sinn Féin, I moved a Private Member's Bill to strengthen parliamentary oversight of pandemic restrictions. The Health (Parliamentary Oversight of Certain Instruments Relating to Covid-19) Bill 2021 …

I compliment the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, his officials or whoever compiled the report I have before me. It is clear and raises several interesting questions in respect of how the Bill will be implemented. To begin at the end of the Bill, it provides for a number of miscellaneous matters, including that the assessment application may be made on behalf of a party to proceedings where such person is under the age of 18 or ill or has a disability. The Minister stated that an authorisation is made in that cont…

Is cuimhin liom nuair a bhí mé ar scoil i dTrá Lí. D'iarr an múinteoir tíreolaíochta ar an rang cé mhéad duine a raibh uncail, aint nó col ceathrair acu sna Stáit Aontaithe. Chuir gach aon duine sa rang a lámh in airde. Tuigim gur Éireannaigh muid agus tuigim an t-idirdhealú agus an imirce. We know what it is like to be an emigrant. We know what it is like to be discriminated against. We know what it is like to be alone and vulnerable in a foreign country. Most people in Ireland are welcoming when an international …

Even before the large increase in protection applicants and the activation of the Ukrainian temporary protection directive, the Government's implementation of the White Paper looked questionable with a focus, yet again, on rented accommodation and turnkey acquisition. Approved housing body, AHB, housing, which would have meant own-door and stable accommodation to aid integration and supports, was not prioritised and was eventually shelved. We have seen successful integration models around the country, none more so …

The Taoiseach stated there were not enough gardaí in Dublin to combat the violence we saw on Sandwith Street. The Minister may recollect he stated funding was in place to recruit an additional 1,000 members, but that is incorrect. If the Taoiseach checked, he would see that only 288 people entered Templemore this year. He should do the maths on that. The Garda Representative Association, GRA, has stated that numbers are decreasing and members of the Garda are resigning. Many feel burnt out, demoralised and lacking …

We welcome the CSO sexual violence survey. It is a sobering reminder of the importance of the third national strategy on DSGBV. The importance of a report such as this, based on diverse sources, cannot be overstated. The CSO is to be commended on the report which, despite its disturbing facts, is a welcome development. I was taken particularly by what the Minister, Deputy Harris, said about the statistics on the number of people who have been raped in this country, 18% of women and 3% of men. For so long, the bigge…

We have seen a growing trend of assaults inside prisons. There has been a 46% increase in assaults on prison officers and a 52% increase in assaults on prisoners by prisoners. There have also been revelations regarding prison conditions and overcrowding with more than 200 prisoners sleeping on mattresses. In a similar vein, last August, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions wrote to the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform telling him that its resources were str…

Unemployment rates in north Kerry are 9% higher than the national average. It is very high on the deprivation index. However, some organisations on the ground are working in the communities, such as the Listowel Family Resource Centre, which provides parenting classes, family supports and community education. The community centre in Listowel is building networks from Ballyheigue across to Knocknagoshel to address the intended rise in population where there will be double the number of people over the age of 65 and …

There is a loss.

I will speak on amendment No. 10 in this grouping on public order offences. When we consider these amendments, and No. 10 in particular, we should bear in mind that under section 20, the hatred shown against persons on account of their particular characteristics can be used as an aggravating factor in sentencing for certain offences which will include these public order type offences. While of course we are against hate crime and that is a given, having spoken to some criminal law practitioners and having had some …

The need for this motion to pass and for mortgage interest relief to be granted is clear because evictions, repossessions and mortgage arrears are all on the rise in Kerry, as they are across the State. County Kerry has a very high level of relative deprivation. Employment is often seasonal, part-time and low paid. Homeowners in the county are particularly susceptible to interest rate increases and rising household costs more generally. The recent revelation - this is not a joke - that exactly one affordable home w…

It is a reality in this State that crime and antisocial behaviour disproportionately affect communities with high deprivation and those where economic opportunities are most scarce. It is the decent, hard-working people who live in these communities who bear the brunt of the failure of successive Governments to bring criminals and organised gangs to justice. I realise these statements are on organised crime but let us consider for a comment the impact on some communities. Apart from the fact that they must deal wit…