I will certainly take that away and look at it because I see the logic in what the Deputy is saying. The Garda Reserve has a very important role to play alongside growing Garda numbers, which we are now back growing with an annual recruitment campaign. Recruiting Garda staff is important. I have met many staff in Garda stations across this country in recent months. They are doing sterling work, core work, really important work, but work that frees up sworn members of An Garda Síochána to do front-line policing work…

The Offences Against the State Acts constitute our primary counter-terrorism legislation, which has served the State well over many years in tackling the threat posed by subversives and organised crime gangs. I can confirm that the independent group appointed to review the Offences Against the State Acts, including the Special Criminal Court, has completed its work and I met the chairperson, Mr. Justice Michael Peart, on Thursday, 18 May. I thank Mr. Justice Peart and all the members of the review group for their d…

Deputy O'Dowd reminded us of a number of occasions where the Special Criminal Court has served this State well. I believe the Special Criminal Court continues to have an important role to play for the reasons I outlined. I again thank the review group. This is a comprehensive body of work - two years worth of work. There was an opportunity for significant civic society input for submissions. A very esteemed group of people considered these matters in great detail. It is my intention to bring the review to Governmen…

The people of County Louth know all too well the risks members of An Garda Síochána face. I had the pleasure of meeting the father of Garda Adrian Donohoe at the weekend when we had the memorial day for the 89 members of An Garda Síochána who were murdered in the line of duty and taken from their families and communities. These were attacks on democracy. When the Deputy mentioned County Louth, I wanted to take the opportunity to remember Adrian Donohoe and all 89 members of An Garda Síochána who died in the line of…

I agree with Deputy Ó Ríordáin. As I said earlier, the act was vile. It disgusted our country and it is not reflection of who we are as a people or who our communities are. It is not a reflection of how this country overwhelmingly has responded to welcoming new people to our country. Deputy Ó Ríordáin and most of the House have supported many communities throughout Ireland who have demonstrated great solidarity to those who have come here, often fleeing horrific circumstances, including war and persecution. Of cour…

There is no contradiction. The country needs more gardaí and the Government is actively recruiting more gardaí with the Garda Commissioner. This is happening alongside a scenario where the Garda Commissioner says, to use his phrase, he has the operational integrity to police protests. There has been in Dublin city alone well over 125 protests, or so-called protests on occasion, in terms of anti-immigration. The overwhelming majority of them have passed off peacefully and have been policed well. On occasions things …

A number of different issues have been mentioned and people have been good enough to acknowledge this. They are quite different. I have dealt with the issue of the burning of a tent which was somebody's home. This was an utterly vile and disgusting act that rightly appalled and sickened people in this country. There is an ongoing Garda investigation into this situation, as there rightly should be, and the full rigours of the law should apply. With regard to the issue we saw in Santry let me be very clear that we sa…

-----a flag that represents peace, inclusion and welcome. The Ireland people should be seeing around the world is one that has welcomed more than 100,000 people to our country over the course of just over 12 months. Those people do not speak for Ireland. They have no democratic mandate. There is no part of this country that can be in any way lawless. There are very clear laws for this country. The Garda Commissioner and I have discussed this and we keep in regular contact. Under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the P…

I thank Deputy Smith for the question. He and I and the Government are committed to working to make sure we build strong, safe communities and that we support the Garda and resource it properly. Everyone, no matter where in the country people live, deserves to be safe and feel safe. This is central to all that we do with regard to our community safety policy. As Deputy Smith is aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business and he determines the distribution of …

I very much respect Deputy Smith and his strong views and, indeed, his significant experience in this House and in the Border region, so I take seriously what he says. He will know that I have to say respectfully that the deployment of gardaí and management structures is, as it should be, a matter for the Garda Commissioner. What we can do, as a Government, is make sure that we increase the size of the Garda, increase the resources available to the Commissioner, have more men and women in the Garda, have more vehic…

I thank Deputy O’Dowd. I am pleased to hear of the increasing garda numbers. As we continue to see more men and women enter Templemore and more gardaí come out, I can assure him the direction of travel will be upwards in terms of Garda resources, with a focus on community gardaí. At the core of all that gardaí do and have done so well is policing by consent and policing in communities, which has been an incredible success for over 100 years. With regard to Deputy Smith's point, I will certainly follow up on that in…

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for raising this matter today and previously, and for his support for what I think is a practical, common-sense measure that we can take in this House to show solidarity with the men and women of the Garda Síochána and to show solidarity with their families. Those families worry when they hear the door open at an early hour in the morning, and maybe remain concerned knowing their loved one is putting themselves in harm's way on occasion, until they hear that door close again later in the d…

I express my solidarity with those members of the Prison Service whom Deputy O'Sullivan referenced. Of course, prison officers will be covered by this change, as will those providing medical assistance, those working in the National Ambulance Service, the Defence Forces, and members of An Garda Síochána and of the fire service. We are referring to people who are currently termed and defined under the legislation as "peace officers". There is also a provision for those who are assisting those peace officers, so anyo…

I will reflect on the point the Deputy made as we take the legislation through the Oireachtas. We did look at the issue of maximum and minimum sentences. There can be constitutional concerns around the issue of mandatory minimum sentences, but there is quite a bit of evidence that where maximum sentences are increased, it results in an upward pressure or trajectory in terms of sentences that are handed down by the Judiciary. I am really glad Deputy O' Sullivan mentioned body cameras. I have mentioned them since the…

I thank Deputy Burke for raising this important matter and giving me the opportunity to provide clarity and some views on the issue. I also want to thank him for and acknowledge his ongoing work and interest in the area. His Private Member's Bill had a positive impact in terms of some legislative change in Ireland. I would like to begin by acknowledging the families of missing persons, families who have engaged with the Department of Justice in recent years on an important and sensitive issue. Not knowing where a f…

It is vital we gather information on unidentified remains that lie within the State and that we put in place a system whereby they can be identified. The families of missing persons require and deserve closure. The forum, comprising representatives of the Coroners Society of Ireland, the Garda and Forensic Science Ireland, which are agencies the Deputy referenced, will continue its valuable work in this regard. My Department has established a standing committee that is tasked with considering the core issues involv…

I am very pleased to bring the Bill before the Seanad this evening. As colleagues know, this is a wide-ranging Bill that will improve our criminal law. It will help combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, DSGBV, tackle organised crime, enhance public safety and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our legal system. Given its wide scope, I will only touch on the most significant provisions in the time available. However, I am very happy to address specific provisions in more detail as the Bill proc…

I am conscious of the dedication and commitment of our front-line workers, as I know Senators are. I am also conscious of the risks they take. I attended a Garda memorial day on Saturday at which we paid tribute to the 89 men of An Garda Síochána who lost their lives in the line of duty. We live in a country where there is great respect for the police. Surveys indicate that we live in a country whose confidence in its police force is among the highest in the EU. However, when there is an assault or attack, it is no…

I thank and all the Senators for their contributions and for the widespread general support for at least the thrust of the legislation. While Senator Ruane and others quite rightly want more detail and to tease through the issues, I welcome the broad cross-party and cross-bench support for what we are trying to do in this pretty significant Bill. I start by paying tribute to the officials in the Department of Justice. I said it in my opening remarks and I say it again now. Much of the content of the Bill has arisen…

We are all acutely aware that we are experiencing an unprecedented situation in relation to the accommodation requirements of those seeking protection in Ireland. This has posed significant challenges for our State. We are all aware of that. We have seen some people in local communities ask questions, seek information and express concerns. Of course, it is absolutely essential that the Government, the Oireachtas and all of us continue to engage constructively with those people and offer support to communities throu…