Michael Moynihan
Ceist:169. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Justice for an overview of the main law reforms initiated by her Department since 27 June 2020. [55612/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 13 December 2023
Ceisteanna (169)
Freagraí scríofa
Since my appointment as Minister for Justice I have led a programme of reform which is set out in the Programme for Government and in each annual Justice Plan since my appointment.
I have increased investment into An Garda Síochána to the highest ever level. This has allowed for sustained, ongoing investment into Garda Recruitment after the forced closure of the Garda College during Covid-19.
On recruitment, numbers in Templemore continue to increase, with attestations every 3 months - 135 trainees entered the training college in February, 154 entered in May, 174 entered in July, and another 177 entered the college In October, the largest intake since Covid. This means that nearly 500 trainees are currently in the system, with one more class due into Templemore in late December. We are on track to have between 700 and 800 new recruits into the college in 2023. We are now seeing an acceleration in the numbers entering the Garda College following its closure during the Covid-19 pandemic, with almost 5,000 applications to join the Gardaí this year. 237 new Gardaí have attested so far this year. The next Attestation is scheduled for 15 December, which will see a further 151 Gardaí attested. The significant increase in Garda staff has also freed up 900 Garda members to be redeployed to frontline duties. A new Garda Recruitment Competition will open again in the coming weeks.
To support recruitment we are:
• Increasing the Garda training allowance by 66% (to €305 per week)
• Increasing the age of entry into the Gardaí to from 35 to 50
• Providing €6m for Garda wellbeing initiatives, additional medical costs and over 2,500 units of body armour.
• This investment has enabled:
• Over 13,000 mobility devices- the highest ever – allowing Gardaí to conduct policing tasks outside of the station
• Over 3,400 Garda vehicles – the largest fleet of vehicles in the organisation’s history and a 31% increase since 2015
• Increased welfare and mental health supports
• Major investment in new and refurbished stations
• And a new, more practical operational uniform.
• Budget 2024 provided funding for:
• 800-1000 Garda recruits
• A 25% increase in the overtime budget
• A 66% increase in the training allowance (to €305 per week) to support recruitment€6m provided for Garda wellbeing initiatives, additional medical costs and over 2,500 units of body armour.
• A new national centre of excellence in Dublin for the Garda Dog Unit, with the planned expansion to all Garda regions on a phased basis involving 50 handlers with access to 100 dogs of different capabilities.
• As part of the government’s plan to modernise and strengthen An Garda Síochána, A Policing Service for our Future, the Garda Commissioner has developed a Garda Reserve Strategy 2021-202, which provides a roadmap for the development of this important service. A priority is a new recruitment campaign, which An Garda Síochána advise is expected to be held around Easter time 2024. The Department of Justice is currently engaging with An Garda Síochána on revisions to the regulations governing the Reserve ahead of the commencement of this recruitment process.
• I published the Government’s Zero Tolerance plan to tackle domestic, sexual and gender based violence in June 2022. The Strategy is an ambitious, five-year, whole-of-Government programme of reform and its publication was accompanied by a detailed implementation plan covering the first 18 months, with yearly implementation plans thereafter. This will ensure the strategy is a living document and emerging issues can be incorporated.
• There is a huge body of work underway. Key elements include a range of policies and legislation, as well as increases in budgetary allocations:
• Key to delivering on its ambition is the establishment of the new statutory based DSGBV Agency will bring the expertise and focus required to tackle this complex social issue, which will be operational early next year.
• Under Budget 2024, an additional €10m in funding for combatting DSGBV has been allocated which will support the implementation of the Zero Tolerance plan - including by facilitating the establishment of the new agency. It will also assist the agency in meeting the acute needs for services throughout the country.
• The doubling of the overall number of refuge units over the lifetime of the Strategy. To achieve this we are working with all stakeholders to put in place the necessary structures and supports to accelerate the delivery of additional refuge accommodation year on year. Development of up to 36 refuge units is underway in Wexford, Dundalk and Navan. There will be 98 refuge units in priority locations delivered by end 2025 along with a further 19 additional and upgraded units by the end of the strategy.
• Under the current implementation plan there are 144 actions assigned to various Departments, the majority of which have, or are, progressing in line with the specified timeframes.
• For example, legislation to establish the new domestic, sexual and gender based violence agency has been recently enacted.
• The Family Courts Bill 2022, published on 1 December 2022, provides for the creation of new dedicated Family Courts as divisions within the existing court structure - so we have a more efficient and user-friendly family court system that puts the family and children at the centre of its work.
• The Sex Offenders (Amendment) Act 2023 was signed into law by the President on 5th April 2023 and provides for stronger supervision of sex offender post release.
• Legislation has been enacted to double to maximum sentence for assault causing harm to 10 years
• The Sexual Violence Survey 2022 was published by the CSO providing high quality national prevalence data on sexual violence.
• Awareness campaigns on intimate image abuse and victims of crime have been produced, with another on consent campaign currently underway. Many of the actions in the Strategy are focused enhanced support for victims. The provision of legal aid and legal advice, trauma-informed training, and national awareness campaigns are all provided for.
• I have introduce and enacted a number of important reforms, including:
• Enacted the Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence Agency Bill which will establish a statutory agency under the remit of the Department of Justice dedicated to tackling and reducing domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) and supporting victims and survivors.
• Enacted the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill which contains measures targeting violent and organised crime, violence against Gardaí and also has a particular focus on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence:
• increasing the maximum penalty for assault causing harm – one of the most commonly prosecuted violent offences – from 5 years to 10 years
• introducing a new standalone offence of non-fatal strangulation, which can be a precursor to murder in domestic abuse situations. These changes will give judges a wider range of sentencing options to consider when addressing the more serious of assault causing harm and domestic abuse cases
• introducing a standalone offence of stalking and strengthening the law around harassment. While any person can be a victim of stalking or harassment, they are again common behaviours in domestic abuse situations. It introduces a new stalking offence defined in terms of causing either a fear of violence, or serious alarm and distress that has a substantial impact on a person’s day-to-day activities
• the Bill also provides for the making of civil orders restraining stalking conduct. These orders form an important first step in addressing stalking behaviour as they do not require the level of proof associated with the criminal offences. Not only are they easier to get than a criminal conviction, they provide a means for victims who don’t want to criminalise the stalker, and encourages engagement with Gardaí at an early stage
• it will also ensure the protection of the identity of alleged victims of harassment and stalking in court proceedings. The background to this provision is that offences like harassment and stalking already impinge on a person’s privacy and personal life. Preventing public identification of victims online or in the media (unless they choose to waive their right to anonymity) is to prevent putting victims at further risk of invasion of their privacy, re-traumatisation or causing them further harm
• the Bill will extend the restriction on alleged perpetrators carrying out their own cross-examinations of victims to a wider range of offences than at present (sexual offences), including those including violence, coercive control, stalking and harassment
• Enacted the Judicial Appointments Act 2023 to reform the way judges are appointed
• Enacted the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Act 2023 to improve post release supervision of sex offenders and to provide for electronic tagging
• Enacted Coco’s Law to criminalise distribution of intimate images without consent.
• Enacted the Civil Law Miscellaneous Provisions Act to rebalance the duty of care and increase personal responsibility for trips and falls, in order to lower insurance premiums
• Enacted the Perjury Bill to establish a statutory criminal offence for perjury as part of our plan to lower insurance premiums
• Enacted a law to remove reporting restrictions which prevented parents from speaking publicly about their deceased child in cases where the child was unlawfully killed.
• Enacted measures to introduce pre-trial hearing to ensure that victims are less likely to face stressful unexpected delays and adjournments to trial start dates.
• Enacted a new law on Garda operating model to more front-line Gardaí, increased visibility, and a wider range of policing services for people in their local area.
• Enacted new regulations to provide for legal aid to the families of the 48 victims and new legislation for a revised jury selection process for the Dublin Coroner,in relation to the new inquests into the Stardust fire tragedy.
• Enacted and commenced the Communications (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Act 2022 which will facilitate necessary access to certain communications data to protect national security and tackle serious crime.
• Enacted and commenced the Garda Síochána (Amendment) Act 2022, the legislation has clarified the legal basis of the court presenter system and avoided a potential backlog of cases in District Courts across the State.
• Amended the Criminal Justice Act 1984 (Treatment of Persons in Custody in Garda Síochána Stations) with the (Amendment) Regulations 2023, to provide for the participation in and attendance of authorised officers of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) at Garda interviews.
• Enacted the Garda Síochána (Compensation) Act 2022 to replace the existing Garda compensation scheme with a new statutory scheme that will reduce the waiting times and costs associated with claims for malicious injury to Gardaí or their family members.
• Enacted the Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Custodial Sentences) Act 2023 on the mutual recognition of custodial sentences, which provides for the transfer of sentenced persons between EU member states. The Act also amends and updates the existing legislation underpinning transfers for non-EU states,including the United Kingdom.
• Enacted the Smuggling of Persons Act on 15 December 2021 to prevent and combat the smuggling of persons and, for those purposes, to facilitate cooperation with other states.
• Enacted the Recording Devices Bill to provide for Body worn cameras to protect Garda members, Automatic Number Plate Recognition to detect crime and greater use of CCTV
As Part of the Justice Plan, I am also progressing a number of legislative measures. These include:
• Enacting the landmark Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill to overhaul of structures and oversight of the Gardaí, and to provide for the establishment of a community safety partnership in every part of the country – each of which will produce a community safety plan
• Enacting the Family Courts Bill 2022 to establish new dedicated Family Courts within the existing court structures and to put families at the centre of the family justice system (Completed second stage in Seanad)
• Enacting the Engagement of Children in Criminal Activity Bill to criminalise adults who groom children into a life of crime (the Bill was published on 23 January 2023.Dáil Second Stage completed on 31 May and 1 June. Committee Stage to be scheduled.)
• Modernising and updating 200 year old licensing law with a new Sale of Alcohol Bill
• Enacting the sexual offences bill to implement changes to make the courts more victim centred in line with our plan, and to introduce a revised National Referral Mechanism to identify the victims and perpetrators of human trafficking
• Enacting the Inspection of Places of Detention Bill to provide for national and international inspections of all types of places of detention in the state and to allow Ireland to ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Prevention of Torture.
• Introducing amendments to the Children Act 2001 to provide a broader range of sentencing options to the courts in certain proceedings involving children.
• Enacting the Irish Prison Service Bill to put the IPS on a statutory basis with enhanced governance structures
• Publishing Police Powers bill to improve effectiveness of police powers with new fundamental rights provisions
• Enacting the new Hate Crime and Hate Speech Bill to reform and modernise the law through the introduction of new, specific hate aggravated offences for crimes motivated by prejudice against protected characteristics (e.g. assault motivated by hate), and up update the 1989 Act in relation to existing hate speech offences
• Introducing a new Proceeds of Crime legislation to reduce the period from seven years to two years, before criminal proceeds may be confiscated and to increase the tools we have available to combat organised crime.
• Enacting the Defamation (Amendment) Bill to reform the law on defamation
I have also sought to implement a number of other reforms, including:
• Domestic violence refuge accommodation was brought under the Minister for Justice for the first time and considerable progress has been made to date towards establishing a new DSGBV Agency, which will be up and running in January 2024. The new Agency will commission and fund DSGBV services, put in place national service standards, lead on research and awareness-raising, and coordinate all Government actions set out in the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. The Government’s target is to double the number of refuge spaces in the lifetime of the Third National Strategy.
• A once in a generation scheme to regularise the status of long term undocumented migrant was successfully introduced.
• The development of a new Immigration Services Website that is customer orientated with information available in video format and in various languages.
• The report on the International Protection Modernisation Programme for 2023 and 2024 was published. This programme is implementing measures to improve efficiencies and throughput as well as improving the application, interview and decision-making process for applicants seeking international protection. This will give status to those who are entitled to international protection to rebuild their lives here, while also ensuring faster decision making in respect of those who do not meet the criteria.
• Reforms to the international protection process will continue in 2024. Approximately €34m was allocated in budget 2024 to the International Protection Office (IPO) and the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) to continue to scale up processing.
• The IPO expects to have approximately 400 staff by the end of 2023, an increase of 95% over 2022, and will make approximately 9,000 decisions this year, more than double that made last year. This increase in processing capacity is aimed at ensuring that those in need of protection receive that status without undue delay, while those that do not qualify are advised of this in good time.
• Introduced a new accelerated decision process for applicants from recognised ‘safe countries of origin’ in November 2022. Since its introduction most applicants from safe countries of origin have received a first instance decision in less than 3 months, which is a significant reduction from a norm of 17 to 24 months in previous years. All applications are examined fully and individually on their merits, including those from countries which are designated as safe countries of origin.
• The processing time for each case is different as case types and circumstances vary considerably. In addition nearly 14% of cases at the IPO this year relate to applicants from designated safe countries of origin. These particular first-instance decisions are made in under three months under an accelerated process. The IPO also works with UNHCR to expedite applications from a number of countries experiencing conflict such as Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen.
• Continue to participate in the negotiation of EU measures related to asylum and migration in particular, the EU Pact on Asylum and Migration.
• Published the Review of Policy options for Prison and Penal Reform 2022-2024 which aims to make Ireland a safer place by ensuring appropriate and proportionate use of imprisonment and community sanctions in a manner which best facilitates rehabilitation and reintegration.
• Published the High Level Task Force on mental health and addiction - established in April 2021 to consider the mental health and addiction challenges of people who come into contact with the criminal justice sector. The final report and recommendations of the Task Force were published in September 2022 by the Ministers for Justice and Health.
• The Report of the Judicial Planning Working Group was published which recommended a substantial increase in judicial numbers, with 44 additional judges to be appointed in two phases. There is a current legislative provision for 198 judicial posts. These include a first tranche of 24 additional judges, which were approved by Government on 21 February, with a further 20 planned following an assessment of impact of the first tranche of judges. As of 1 November 2023, 22 of the 24 additional judges have been appointed. The remaining two have been nominated and are expected to be appointed in the coming weeks. The Report outlines that the indicators monitored as part of the impact assessment should be capable of capturing improvements in efficiency and effectiveness and have regard to increased caseloads, changing demographics, economic conditions, and the impact of new legislation as well as improvements from the implementation of modernisation measures. The Department is in the process of establishing and implementation programme, to conduct that assessment.