Brendan Griffin
Ceist:32. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice her priorities for the year ahead; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17719/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 23 April 2024
Ceisteanna (32)
Freagraí scríofa
As the Deputy will be aware each year I set out my main policy and legislative priorities in the Justice Plan. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that Justice Plan 2024 will be published by my Department in the coming weeks.
This plan sets out in detail a significant work programme which is being undertaken within my Department this year and outlines a wide range of actions under the Department's key outward strategic focus which includes; Maintaining a safe and secure Ireland; Improving access to justice for all; Delivering a fair immigration system and strengthening our influence in Europe.
Ensuring that people are safe and secure is at the heart of what my Department does. That means resourcing An Garda Síochána with the skilled people needed to police the State, and providing them with the technology and equipment required for a modern fit-for-purpose policing and security service.
In 2024, I have provided a budget allocation of over €2.35 billion to An Garda Síochána. This is a 25% increase since 2020 and will allow for the sustained recruitment of between 800 to 1,000 new Garda recruits this year.
At the end of December last, there were just under 14,000 Gardaí. This represents an increase of around 9% since 2015 when there were 12,816 Gardaí throughout the country.
The number of recruits in the Garda training college continue to increase, a total of 746 trainees entered the training college in 2023. This is the highest intake in any year since 2018.
Before the summer recess, I will sign an order to commence part 2 of the Garda Síochána (Digital Recording) Act 2023, as it relates to body worn cameras. The availability of body-worn cameras will assist members of An Garda Síochána to gather evidence separate to a victim’s testimony. An Garda Síochána will initiate a limited proof of concept deployment of body worn cameras by Q2 2024 in Dublin, Limerick and Waterford, in advance of a nationwide rollout.
The General Scheme of the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill has been approved by Government and is currently being drafted to provide for the use of Facial Recognition Technology in a number of limited and defined circumstances as a tool to search evidence in the most serious of cases. Reducing the amount of time it takes for Garda members to go through video footage would be of particular benefit where time is of the essence following a very serious crime being committed. The identification of a suspect in a serious crime, or finding a missing or abducted child, or where a child is subject to child abuse, would be a crucial benefit to the proposed Bill.
There will be a number of safeguards included in that Bill, amongst others, a code of practice will be required, mass surveillance and profiling will be prohibited and the operation of the Bill will be kept under review by a High Court Judge.
Tackling serious and organised crime is a key priority for me as Minister for Justice and I am committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs to ensure communities around Ireland are safe and feel safe.
The record budgetary resources allocated to An Garda Síochána in recent years have enabled the Garda Commissioner to assign extra resources to the specialist units involved in tackling organised crime, including the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Armed Support Unit and the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB). Since 2015, over €345m in drugs have been seized by the Gardaí.
I intend to publish legislation in the coming months to strengthen the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau. The General Scheme of the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill 2024 has been approved by Government. I look forward to progressing this Bill, which will enhance the current regime and allow confiscation to be effected more quickly. The Bill was presented to the Joint Committee on Justice on 16 April 2024 for pre-legislative scrutiny.
I have committed to developing legislation to allow judges recommend minimum periods in prison where a life sentence has been handed down. Justice Plan 2022 committed to reforming the law in relation to life sentences and the Review of Policy Options for Prison and Penal Reform 2022-2024 committed to introduce judicial discretion to set minimum tariffs for life sentences. This would allow a judge, for example, to recommend that a minimum period of 20, 25 or 30 years be served before parole may be granted. I believe that a new provision of this kind will give the public more confidence that, in the most heinous murder cases, the judiciary will have the discretion in their sentencing recommendation to reflect the aggravating factors and gravity of certain cases.
Under these reforms, a minimum custodial term may be recommended by the trial judge, who would have regard to the aggravating and mitigating factors based on the facts and evidence in the particular case.
In 2024 I will commence the landmark Policing, Security and Community Safety Act. This Act supports the implementation of the 2018 Report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. This will be a ‘whole of government’ responsibility including establishing in statute to work together to prioritise and support safer communities.
Establishing Community Safety Partnerships across the country is a key priority. These new structures will bring together the Garda Síochána, the local authority, local interests and all the various state agencies to develop and implement strategic Community Safety Plans tailored to the needs of their own areas, aimed particularly at making their communities safe and secure.
Community Safety Plans will be developed with clear targets, which assign responsibility to the relevant service provider. There are significant benefits to the involvement of relevant agencies in developing a community safety plan in each local authority area. It will allow each partnership to deal with issues of community safety which are not strictly within the criminal justice system (e.g. drug misuse, youth services, public lighting, integration and diversity issues).
The eradication of the scourge of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (DSGBV) is also a key priority for my Department and is at the core of 'Zero Tolerance,' the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence. This strategy sets out an ambitious whole of government five-year programme of reform to achieve a society which does not accept DSGBV or the attitudes which underpin these crimes.
Under Budget 2024, in excess of €7.9m in additional funding for combatting DSGBV has been allocated. This represents a significant increase and will support Cuan, the new statutory agency with a dedicated focus on Domestic Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.
The agency has a specific mandate to drive the implementation of the Zero Tolerance plan across Government, bringing the expertise and focus required to tackle this complex social issue. As part of it's remit, the agency has responsibility for the provision of DSGBV services, including the provision and funding of refuge spaces.
In 2024 I will progress the Family Courts Bill through the Houses of the Oireachtas to enactment; drive forward the implementation of the first National Family Justice Strategy to make significant steps towards reforming the Family Justice System and improving access to justice, as committed to by the Programme for Government.
My Department will also oversee and monitor the implementation of the Judicial Planning Working Group (JPWG) recommendations and separately establish the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), including the appointment of the Director, Lay Members and staff.
As committed to in the Programme for Government Minister of State Browne will progress the Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 through the Houses of the Oireachtas to enactment to allow for the establishment of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland. Progressing other key civil law reforms including amendments to the Defamation Act, reform of Criminal Legal aid are also objectives this year.
Building on the conclusion of the Consultation process in 2023, in relation to reform of the Coroner service, propose appropriate structures for the service to be enhanced into the future.
Furthermore, I am committed to ensuring that Ireland’s International Protection system is robust and rules based, and that our borders are protected.
The EU Asylum and Migration Pact will significantly reform the current approach to migration and asylum both in Ireland and across the EU by providing a robust legislative framework to address the challenges faced in this area.
The overall objective of the Pact is to create a fairer and firmer asylum and migration system and it will enable my Department to accelerate processing times and reduce undocumented arrivals by strengthening our borders.
The Pact recognises that the challenges presented by migration and asylum cannot be effectively addressed by any state acting alone in a globalised and interdependent world. As such, it will establish a more coherent approach across the EU to migration, asylum, integration and border management, fit for the 21st century.