Written Answers Nos. 572-585
572. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if youth diversion programmes undertake drug addiction prevention initiatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73695/25]
View answerThe Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027 is a whole of government plan to take a coordinated strategic and tactical approach to the full range of issues connected to children and young people at risk of coming into contact with the criminal justice system.
Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) are a key element of the Youth Justice Strategy, play a vital role in enhancing community safety and are fully funded by my Department. YDPs are community based, multi-agency youth crime prevention initiatives which seek to divert young people who have been, or are at risk of becoming, involved in anti-social and/or criminal behaviour such as illicit drug related activity.
A number of YDPs engage in targeted drugs and alcohol related preventative work. This work is varied and includes the following:
• Raising awareness levels of young people, parents and other interested groups with regard to the issue of drugs;
• Developing initiatives and programmes that are educational and preventative in nature for young people who are at risk from drug use and misuse;
• Working with agencies and voluntary groups to develop a coordinated approach to this work and developing activities and programmes of interest to young people;
• Providing one-to-one support for young people who experience difficulties at various times in their lives;
• Carrying out street work to reach young people;
• Running programmes jointly with other community organisations;
• Provide family support for parents/guardians and young people experiencing problematic drug/alcohol use.
On average, the YDPs engage with between 3,500 and 4,000 young people across the State in any one year. Increased funding has facilitated an increase in the availability of YDP services during evenings and weekends when many young people need them the most, as well as an increases in supports for families, early interventions for 8–11-year-olds who may be at increased risk of becoming engaged in criminal activity and Harder-to-Reach programmes throughout the State.
573. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of community Gardaí assigned to County Waterford at the end of 2023, 2024 and 2025, in tabular form. [73734/25]
View answer575. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of Garda members assigned to County Waterford, broken down by station and rank, at the end of 2023, 2024 and 2025, in tabular form. [73736/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 573 and 575 together.
The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána under Section 33 of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024, which includes the distribution and stationing of Garda personnel throughout the State.
In the interest of transparency, An Garda Síochána publishes information in relation to the allocation of Gardaí nationally. This includes a breakdown of Gardaí assigned to the Kilkenny/Waterford Division and a breakdown of members assigned to community policing by division. This can be found at the following link: garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/human-resources-and-people-development/garda-hr-directorate/garda-strength-breakdown-2025/
The Deputy should select the most recently available date and then select the file titled ‘Garda members by Division District Station to the most recent date" to access a breakdown of Garda members assigned by Division. The Deputy can select the file titled 'Community Garda by division to the most recent date' to access a breakdown of community Garda by division.
574. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of Garda recruits assigned to, and Gardaí transferred out of, County Waterford in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and the net change in Garda strength each year, in tabular form. [73735/25]
View answerI have requested the information sought by the Deputy from the Garda authorities. Regrettably this information was not available in time and I will write to the Deputy again once it is to hand.
576. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he will introduce a complete ban on the use of counselling notes in sexual offence trials, as recommended by the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in its pre-legislative scrutiny report on the general scheme of the Criminal Law and Civil Law Bill 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73739/25]
View answerThe Attorney General has advised that a total blanket ban on disclosure of counselling records risks infringing the constitutional right to a fair trial and would likely lead to legal challenges, with convictions potentially being quashed as a result.
That said, I am advancing provisions to ensure that a victim’s counselling records can only be disclosed in court under very specific circumstances, ensuring that criminal proceedings take into account the victim’s constitutional right to personal privacy, acknowledging the important role of counselling in victims and survivors’ recovery, and not only the accused person’s constitutional right to a fair trial.
The law in this area was substantially reformed in 2017 by the insertion of section 19A of the Criminal Evidence Act 1992, creating a process designed to strike this balance by limiting disclosure to cases where the court finds that the evidential value in the record is such that the interests of justice require its disclosure. However, it appears that in practice this provision has not operated as intended.
In May, I secured Cabinet approval for the drafting of the General Scheme of the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025. The General Scheme was before the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for pre-legislative scrutiny on the 30th of September, where the proposed amendments to the current legislative framework governing the disclosure of counselling records in criminal trials was extensively discussed, together with other provisions. The Committee’s Report was published on 13 November, and on 16 December, I secured Government approval to publish the Bill and introduce it to the Houses of the Oireachtas.
The proposed legislation includes measures to ensure that counselling records are only disclosed where a court decides that they contain material that is genuinely relevant to the trial, taking into account the rights of victims. To achieve this, it amends the existing legislation by requiring that a disclosure hearing takes place in all cases, removing the provision that allows for this vital judicial oversight to be waived.
In each case, a judicial determination will be required before counselling records can be disclosed, which will take into account factors such as whether this step is actually necessary for the accused to defend the charges against them in the particular case, as well as the need to protect the privacy of victims and to vindicate the public interest in encouraging victims of sexual offences to seek counselling.
The deletion of subsection (17) will ensure that the framework under section 19A operates as originally intended, striking a balance between the victim’s rights and the accused person’s right to a fair trial. It is anticipated that this reform will copper-fasten the central role of judicial oversight in ensuring that counselling notes will be disclosed only in cases where the interests of justice require it, taking into account the rights of the victim and the crucial importance of counselling and therapy as part of a victim’s process of recovery.
Once enacted, the operation of the legislation will be kept under review, as is the case with all criminal legislation, to ensure that it is achieving its intended purpose. Additional changes to the current legislative framework around disclosure of counselling notes are also under consideration within my Department and will be brought forward at the earliest possible opportunity.
577. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of contracts for international protection accommodation which have been terminated in 2025 to date, the specific reason why each contact was terminated, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73740/25]
View answerThe State is currently accommodating almost 33,000 people in nearly 315 International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres around the country.
As we respond to changing trends, and work toward a more stable and sustainable accommodation system in this sector, accommodation is being developed and delivered through a range of channels, with a focus on developing more State-owned accommodation.
The Department continues to appraise the portfolio of existing accommodation with a view to consolidation where possible, along with better governance and compliance, and increased frequency of inspections of properties.
In 2025, 22 contracts have been terminated by the Department.
While details of specific contractual process are treated as confidential and commercially sensitive, reasons for termination would include value for money, or concerns about non-compliance with contractual terms. They may also relate to non-compliance with regulatory requirements such as building and fire regulations or planning matters.
578. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to publish the current number of prisoners in each prison, broken down by gender; to outline the plans under the Future Prison Capacity Working Group established in 2024 to increase prison capacity in the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73746/25]
View answerThe Irish Prison Service has advised that information relating to prison capacity and the numbers of prisoners in custody is collated daily by the Irish Prison Service Statistics Unit and published on its website at Daily Prisoner Population - Irish Prison Service.
The Future Prison Capacity Working Group (FPCWG) was established in July 2024 and published its report on 4 July 2025. The report highlighted that, like other prison systems in Europe, the Irish prison system is facing significant capacity challenges. The report made a number of recommendations about the prison estate, as well as projecting that numbers in prison would continue to grow.
Since 2022, capacity across the prison estate has been increased by 407 new spaces, with 126 delivered in 2024, 70 delivered to date in 2025 with plans to deliver a further 101 spaces by end of 2026.
Reflecting the Government's commitment to increase prison capacity by 1,500, as part of the NDP Review in July 2024, IPS were allocated a record capital investment of €527m from 2026 to 2030. €495m of this total will be invested in building projects.
In the recently published Justice Sector Investment Plan, a number of the major projects and timelines for prison expansion were outlined. This will be the largest ever building programme in the prison estate. The programme will include a new block in Wheatfield, an additional block extension at Midlands prison, an extension to Cork Prison, as well as additional spaces at Castlerea, Mountjoy, Cloverhill, Portlaoise, Limerick and Dóchas. The plans also include commencement of the construction of a new prison at the Thornton site in North County Dublin. This new revised capital plan will deliver on several of the recommendations in the FPCWG report.
In line with the recommendations of the FPCWG, Minister O’Callaghan secured an exemption for six projects (960 prison spaces) to move straight to Approval Gate 2 – Pre Tender Approval of the Infrastructure Guidelines, a measure which is expected to speed up the delivery of these projects by 12 to 18 months.
A master plan for the Thornton site will be developed in 2026, determining its future use as a combined site for use by the IPS, International Protection Accommodation Services and An Garda Síochána.
579. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline the progress of each of the four existing projects under the Youth–Joint Agency Response to Crime (Y-JARC); the number of individuals who have benefited from each project, by year, since 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73748/25]
View answerI have requested the information sought by the Deputy but it was not received in time. I will contact the Deputy directly once the information is to hand.
580. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of individuals who have availed of the bail supervision scheme in each of the years 2019 to 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73749/25]
View answerThe Bail Supervision Scheme (BSS) offers courts an alternative option to detaining a young person who comes before them. It provides for the possibility of granting bail with intensive supervision. By reducing the need for remand places, this also provides an opportunity to focus on developing successful community resources designed to prevent young people being detained in a youth justice facility and reduce the risk of them going further down the path of criminality. The BSS currently serves the Children Courts in Dublin, Limerick and Cork. Table 1 below details the number of young people involved in the scheme between 2019 and 2025.
In 2019, an evaluation of the BSS was published by the then Department of Children and Youth Affairs (www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/evaluation-of-the-bail-supervision-scheme-for-children-pilot-scheme/). The pilot scheme had been based out of the Dublin Children Court and as a result of the positive impact of BSS, as identified in this evaluation, the scheme was expanded to Limerick and Cork Children Courts.
Following consultations with the Probation Service and other stakeholders, oversight of the Bail Supervision Scheme is set to transfer to the Probation Service on 1 January 2026. Recognising that the BSS plays a valuable role in diverting young people away from criminality and ultimately detention, I have asked my officials to explore how the scheme might be rolled out nationally.
581. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of cases dealt with by the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau in each of the years 2020 to 2025; the top ten categories of offences addressed by the Bureau; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73750/25]
View answerThe Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs to fight crime. The 2026 allocation provides a budget of over €2.59 billion to An Garda Síochána. This is a 33% increase since 2021. This unprecedented budget will strengthen the work of specialist units such as the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB).
The GNCCB is tasked with the forensic examination of digital devices that have been seized during the course of any criminal investigations. These include incidents of cyber-crime, online harassment, computer intrusions, child exploitation offences, murder and any other criminal investigation in which digital devices are seized or may contain evidential data. This may include devices belonging to both suspects and witnesses.
The table below provides for the total number of new applications for cases created at GNCCB and the number of cases closed each year by the Bureau as follows:
|
Year |
Cases Created |
Cases Closed |
|
2020 |
400 |
350 |
|
2021 |
501 |
381 |
|
2022 |
511 |
633 |
|
2023 |
380 |
630 |
|
2024 |
626 |
754 |
|
2025 (YTD) |
607 |
569 |
To note, cases closed in one year may have been created in a previous year.
The Table below provides for an overview of the top ten categories of offences relating to the cases created above as follows:
|
Number |
Incident Type |
|
1 |
Child Sexual Exploitation Material |
|
2 |
Theft and Fraud Offences |
|
3 |
Child Exploitation/Grooming |
|
4 |
Harassment |
|
5 |
Murder - Suspect |
|
6 |
Sexual Assault Rape |
|
7 |
Drug Offences |
|
8 |
Terrorism |
|
9 |
Unauthorised Access |
|
10 |
Human Trafficking |
582. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the pilot project involving the use of dynamometers has been completed across all four Dublin Metropolitan Region divisions; if not, when the pilot is expected to be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73752/25]
View answerThe Road Traffic (Electric Scooters) Regulations 2024 provide that an e-scooter must have a maximum design speed of 20 kilometres per hour or less. An e-scooter which does not meet the technical requirements may not legally be used on public roads.
An Garda Síochána undertook a Proof of Concept project for the introduction of mobile dynamometers for the purpose of enforcing these e-scooter regulations at the roadside. Four mobile dynamometers were distributed across the four Garda Regions (one in each Region). Dedicated targeted operations took place with a particular focus on urban areas and larger towns.
I am advised by the Garda authorities the Proof of Concept evaluation period has now been concluded following the use of the four dynamometer devices nationally.
They have further advised an evaluation report is currently being completed which will guide the future use of these devices and include recommendations as to future purchases of such devices.
583. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide an update on local community safety partnerships in Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73797/25]
View answerThe Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024, which I commenced on Wednesday 2 April 2025, provides for the establishment of Local Community Safety Partnerships (LCSP) within each local authority area.
The regulations for these Safety Partnerships came into operation on Monday 30 June, and 36 Partnerships are in the process of being established in local authority areas across the country.
A number of administrative steps need to be undertaken to facilitate the establishment of a Safety Partnership in a given area, including nomination of proposed members by local authorities and statutory bodies, and the appointment of all members by myself as Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.
The National Office for Community Safety, an office of my Department, are providing support to local authorities and in particular to Local Community Safety Partnership teams, in the process of establishing each Safety Partnership in their area.
I have appointed members to 32 Local Community Safety Partnerships, I expect to be making further appointments in the near future.
On 12 November 2025, I appointed members of Kerry Local Community Safety Partnership, the first meeting of which was held on the 2 December 2025. The Chair and Vice-Chair were both elected at this meeting.
584. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of employment (scientific researcher) visas which have been issued to workers in AI-related companies each year since 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73826/25]
View answerI can advise the Deputy that Ireland supports the entry of migrants through legal pathways, to facilitate lawful migration into the State.
My Department does not collate information relating to visa applications by industry or sector.
Visas or permission to remain for employment purposes are principally granted by my Department on foot of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment issuing an employment permit (including for those granted a Critical Skills Permit).
My Department has a separate specific Employment (Scientific Researcher) visa for people who wish to come to Ireland for the purposes of carrying out research under a “hosting agreement”.
Further details are available at the following link:
www.irishimmigration.ie/coming-to-work-in-ireland/what-are-my-work-visa-options/applying-for-a-long-stay-employment-visa/scientific-researcher/.
The table below details employment visa applications where the applicant applied on the basis of a Scientific Researcher / Hosting Agreement.
Employment Visa Applications (Scientific Researcher / Hosting Agreement):
|
Year |
Received |
Granted |
Refused |
|
2021 |
343 |
323 |
3 |
|
2022 |
460 |
435 |
3 |
|
2023 |
452 |
434 |
7 |
|
2024 |
502 |
451 |
8 |
|
2025 (to 30/11/25) |
180 |
207 |
3 |
* Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.
* A decision made in a particular year may relate to an application made in a previous year.
585. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration his plans in relation to the continued use by some District Courts of charity donations to allow motorists to avoid convictions for penalty point offences, including in cases of those driving at speeds significantly in excess of speed limits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73842/25]
View answerThe judiciary are, subject only to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions. To be of assistance, my officials have made enquiries of the Courts Service regarding the matters raised.
As the Deputy may be aware, the court poor box is a non-statutory system used by the judiciary in the District Courts to impose a financial charge on a defendant to be used for a charitable purpose, usually instead of imposing a criminal conviction. The option of paying into the court poor box arises usually where the offence is minor in nature and would not attract a custodial sentence.
The Courts Service publish Annual Reports on the Court Poor Box on the Courts Service website: www.courts.ie/publications/poor-box-2017-2023. Payments made to the court poor box are accounted for by the court office concerned and the accounting procedures are subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. Generally, charities are the recipients of poor box contributions but the decision is solely at the discretion of the judge who is independent in the matter of sentencing, as in other matters concerning the exercise of judicial functions.
In relation to next steps to address the use of the poor box in District courts, the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill 2014, which seeks to update the Probation of Offenders Act 1907, will facilitate the effective and efficient use of community sanctions by the courts, and will ensure that the courts have a wide range of appropriate options for dealing with people who have committed minor offences.
Part 5 of the General Scheme of the Bill, as published by my Department, provides for the abolition of the Court Poor Box and the establishment of the Reparation Fund and reparation orders as a form of non-custodial sentence. This is to provide for a fair, equitable and transparent system of reparation, applicable only to minor offences and for the usage of that fund to provide services for the victims of crime.
A policy review of the Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill 2014, conducted by my Department, recommends that changes reflect developments in Irish penal policy since 2014. My Department is currently considering the policy review and next steps are being considered in the context of updating the Bill.
