Section 58 under Part 5, as referred to in amendment No. 59, states, "The Minister may, before granting an application under subsection (1), invite or otherwise take into account submissions by the sentenced person, the administering state and such persons as the Minister considers appropriate." Where a transfer is concerned, would they include the Garda and victims' families? I am thinking about the UK, in particular. Will the same provisions apply to any proposed legislation when the UK part of this comes into pl…

Will there be a chance for a victim's family or a victim to appeal any of this?

I listened to what the Minister said about the Bill. It is understandable that there is some extra impetus behind it, given some of the recent assaults we have seen on rank and file gardaí. At the same time, doing so in a hurry creates a risk. The Minister's comments that everybody is entitled to go about their business without interference, and that everything should be proportionate, are interesting. Whenever I think of new legislation, I think of two cases from my previous work history. The first is when I was c…

I welcome Valerie O’Sullivan, who has travelled from Tralee to be here. She can only be described as someone who has survived her treatment in CAMHS. Some other children in County Kerry and their parents, with whom I have spoken, must have laughed when they heard rhetoric about cherishing all children of the nation equally after, for example, scrambling around looking for a bed for their daughter with a life-threatening eating disorder. We see the physical and mental damage caused by overprescribing and over-medica…

Over the past week or so, dozens of people have contacted my office about this joint venture with Gresham House and about the subsidisation, collaboration and corporate takeover by this UK equity fund. Many people who contacted me raised the sell-off of telecoms, housing and bins, the attempted sell-off of water, the sale of the national lottery and now the sale of our forestry. Some of them had lived abroad, such as in Germany and England, and had seen what had happened there following similar sell-offs to vulture…

Most of the staff in University Hospital Kerry are too busy dealing with a hospital that was built in 1984 to serve 120,000 people, when County Kerry now has a population of 160,000, to be out campaigning. There were glad when a review of the hospital was promised. A team visited the hospital and staff there were told a transformation team was needed. A review and interviews were carried out but in the past ten days or so, staff were told that that review has been shelved. Staff are back to square one. I will give …

It has been more than 50 years since five citizens were tried for their involvement in an attempted arms importation, although they were acquitted. The arms crisis had a long-lasting impact, particularly on Captain James Kelly, whom the Taoiseach spoke to before he died and whose family members I have been speaking to. Prior reviews have failed to include key source documentation, especially the unedited statement of his superior officer, Colonel Hefferon, which verified his testimony. The Taoiseach and I know Capt…

Rosemary Campbell is 88 years old. She is in failing health. She has been seeking truth and justice since 1977 when her husband, Joe Campbell of the RUC, was shot dead in Cushendall, County Antrim. Her family and I believe that elements of the security forces conspired with UVF killer Robin Jackson to kill her husband when he uncovered evidence of collusion with paramilitaries. The inquest has been put back until January and the PSNI is still not prepared. Forty boxes of material have been gathered. The coroner is …

Níl fadhb leis an mBille ná leis na leasuithe seo. Tá fadhb leis an próiseas áfach agus leis an easpa dualgais dháiríre atá ann. Níl aon dualgas ar dhochtúirí a rá láithreach go bhfuil ceart ag an othar i leith athbhreithniú Pháirt 5 maidir leis an diagnóis. Ba chóir go mbeadh córas tríd an chlárlann ailse a thugann eolas do dhaoine go bhfuil an ceart acu ag an bpointe seo. Ní thugann sé cumhachtaí don Aire. Léiríonn sé conas an t-athbhreithniú a dhéanamh. Tá sé cosúil le self-regulation. Ní chuireann sé an sampla …

I will start with a procedural point. This Bill was announced as being approved by the Cabinet on 15 November, yet it took a full two weeks for a copy to materialise. We had pre-legislative scrutiny on detailed heads of the Bill but as we all know, the final version of a Bill can be much different. It would be better if the Government only announced Bills as being ready for approval when a full version can accompany that announcement. It would give staff time to prepare to consult stakeholders and so on. We would a…

Will the Minister provide an update on any plans the Department has to remedy the crisis in garda retention? There has been a significant issue with garda recruitment and retention for some time but it is getting increasingly worse. I am concerned that if this continues, we will be left with a significant shortage of gardaí, particularly in Dublin where numbers have reduced by 18% since 2009. My colleague Deputy Martin Kenny recently discussed the issue with the Garda Commissioner. Does the Minister have any plans …

I agree it is challenging work and many of the newer recruits look forward to that. However, we see that large numbers of the resignations are coming from those who were recruited since 2015. It was usual for six to eight recruits to leave per year but we are now in a situation where that number of gardaí are resigning every few months. Increasingly, gardaí tell me the job does not meet their expectations. They find there are layers of bureaucracy. For example, if they are involved in investigating a minor case, th…

That is an interesting statistic the Minister has given. On a rough sketch of the numbers an increase from 0.5 % to 0.7% means an additional 280 gardaí retiring if the overall number is 14,000. Figures available from An Garda Síochána state that approximately 400 to 450 retire yearly and the number of new recruits is simply not covering the number of gardaí retiring. Furthermore, we have a significant issue in retention. While six to eight gardaí used to leave per year, those numbers are leaving every few months. I…

Will the Minister for Justice provide an update on the establishment of an independent parole board?

One of the objectives in the programme for Government was the establishment of the independent Parole Board, and I welcome the steps that were taken recently. I note that according to Radio Kerry the chairperson is a Kerrywoman. The process will now give a statutory right for the voice of victims of crime to be heard. This was desperately needed and is welcome. We cannot underestimate the power and strength it gives to a victim of crime to have an input into the future of someone who has changed, and sometimes dest…

Given the acknowledged delays that are taking place, will the Minister of State consider providing extra resources in order to clear the backlog and address the meetings and speed things up? As the Minister of State said, they will meet more regularly to help clear any difficulties because the ultimate focus is that the wait facing the victim could have further impacts on a person's mental health while they await a parole hearing where they intend to open up to the board about the effect that the crime had on them.…

Last year, there were 7,000 call-outs of gardaí to deal with mental health crises around the State. In effect, gardaí are managing mental health patients outside office hours. That is 340 per Garda division or almost one per day. The Mental Health Commission recently referred to a 2009 report recommending 24-7 social work services and enhanced training for Garda members. Will the Taoiseach implement the report and improve services, especially in the larger towns on a 24-7 basis, and expand the pilot project in Lime…

I move amendment No. 39: In page 45, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following: " Duties to the whole community of the island of Ireland 9. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 39: " Duties to the whole community of the island of Ireland 39A . The Commission shall prepare and publish a report no later than one year following its establishment proposing potential recommendations for how all RTÉ, Teilifís na Gaeilge, and holders of television broadcasting licence…

I move amendment No. 40: In page 45, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following: “Duties to the whole community of the island of Ireland 9. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 39: “Duties to the whole community of the island of Ireland 39A. RTÉ and Teilifís na Gaeilge, as national public service broadcasters with a duty to the whole community of the island of Ireland, shall endeavour to ensure that in the event of any graphic or pictorial representation or map …

I move amendment No. 41: In page 45, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following: “Duties in the broadcasting of sport and interactive games and polls 9. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 39: “Duties in the broadcasting of sport and interactive games and polls 39A. (1) Coimisiún na Meán shall prepare and publish a report no later than one year following its establishment proposing recommendations on how the State could work to ensure that— (a) enjoyment of liv…