Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 April 2026
640. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the progress made on each of the individual Programme for Government commitments assigned to his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28662/26]
View answerDelivering on the commitments laid out in the Programme for Government is a priority for me as Minister, my Department and my colleagues, Ministers of State Colm Brophy and Niall Collins. Working with them, I want to ensure that our justice system is modern, efficient, and responsive to the needs of all of our people. I want a justice system that serves the fundamental need of all people to feel safe and secure in their homes and in their communities.
Last November, I was pleased to publish the Statement of Strategy for my Department for 2025–2028. The Strategy aligns with the Programme for Government, sets out my Department’s strategic direction to 2028 and will further the work towards our shared vision of a safe, fair and inclusive Ireland.
Some of my Department's achievements regarding commitments set out in the Programme for Government (PfG) since the formation of the Government are set out below:
Garda Recruitment and Operations / Criminal Assets Bureau / PSCS Act 2024
• My first priority as Minister for Justice is to get more Gardaí on our streets. High visibility policing is now in operation in Dublin, Cork and Limerick with more Gardaí assigned throughout the country in both rural and urban areas. This has been made possible through increased Garda recruitment. In 2025, 794 new recruits were welcomed into the Garda College in Templemore. This is the highest number recruited since 2018. This includes an intake of 223 trainees in November, the largest single intake in over a decade. This positive trend has continued, with 215 recruits commencing their training in February 2026, the first of four intakes planned for this year.
• The introduction of the Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill and the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill, which will provide additional powers to An Garda Síochána in relation to search warrants and use of facial recognition technology in certain circumstances. Both Bills are progressing through the Houses of the Oireachtas.
• Expanding the powers of the Criminal Asset Bureau (CAB). The Proceeds of Crime and Related Matters Bill 2025, approved by Cabinet last July, represents the most significant update to Ireland’s civil asset forfeiture laws since their introduction in 1996. The Bill strengthens the State’s ability to identify, freeze and confiscate assets linked to serious and organised crime. The Bill passed report and final stages in Dáil Éireann in December 2025 and is currently progressing through the Seanad.
• In April 2025, I was pleased to commence the landmark Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024, in line with the PfG. This established five new bodies (The new Garda Board, the Policing and Community Safety Authority (replacing the Policing Authority and Garda Síochána Inspectorate), Fiosrú – the Office of the Police Ombudsman, the Office of the Independent Examiner of Security Legislation and the National Office for Community Safety) and strengthens and consolidates independent, external oversight of An Garda Síochána and makes community safety a whole of government and multi-agency responsibility.
Community Safety / Anti-social Behaviour / Youth Diversion
• I have secured an additional €2.5 million in Budget 2026 to support the establishment of a nationwide network of 36 Local Community Safety Partnerships, as well as increasing the size of the Community Safety Fund to €4.75 million. The CSF is aimed at reinvesting proceeds of crime into communities to improve community safety.
• In respect of anti-social behaviour, legislation is being progressed through the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 that will reduce the minimum rank from Superintendent to Inspector for a Garda to apply for anti-social behaviour orders for children and adults respectively.
• The Government’s focus on youth diversion and interventions is a keystone in the Youth Justice Strategy. At its core, the Strategy emphasises early intervention, prevention, family support, and community engagement. It includes key objectives aligned with PfG commitments, aimed at promoting positive behavioural change, and it is only by targeting this behaviour that we can break the cycle of offending by young people.
Prisons and Penal Policy / Electronic Monitoring
• A multi-year building programme is progressing at several key sites across the prison estate. To accelerate delivery, I sought and secured an exemption from the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation for six major projects (960 prison spaces) to move straight to Approval Gate 2 of the Infrastructure Guidelines. This decision is expected to bring forward delivery timelines on those six projects by 12 to 18 months, while freeing up internal capacity within the Irish Prison Service to advance the wider programme.
• My Department is leading a cross-agency project to introduce electronic monitoring for specific categories of individuals, as committed to in the PfG, and in line with existing legal provisions. The pilot is expected to be operational in 2026. I have secured funding of €2.1m in Budget 2026 for the project to allow for staffing, procurement, and other set up costs.
A Modern Courts and Legal System
• In January 2026, I published the General Scheme of the Civil Reform Bill. The Civil Reform Bill is a key measure that will see the implementation of the Review of the Administration of Civil Justice, also known as the Kelly Report, which was published in October 2020. I am confident that the Bill will remove weaknesses in the current law, eliminate impediments to progress and deliver reform for the public benefit. I am also confident that measures in the Bill preserve the right of the citizen to ensure that public bodies act lawfully and are accountable for their decisions.
• In December 2025, I secured Government approval to publish the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 which was subsequently presented to Dáil Éireann on 9 January 2026. The Dáil Second Stage debate took place on 22 January. The Bill responds to a range of pressing challenges for the justice system. Among other provisions, the Bill includes measures to:
• criminalise the highly exploitative behaviour commonly known as ‘sex for rent’;
• amend legislation relating to disclosure of counselling records in sexual assault trials;
• encourage greater use of community service orders as an alternative to imprisonment in suitable cases;
• remove the legal prohibition on the possession and use of incapacitant spray by prison officers;
• allow the use of more advanced DNA analysis in missing persons cases;
• further facilitate video link hearings in the criminal courts by enabling bail bonds and suspended sentence bonds to be taken by Gardai and prison officers respectively;
• establish a permanent regulatory basis under which licenced premises may provide outdoor seating on public land;
• provide for the refusal of bail for persons charged with offences relating to forced marriage or coercive control;
• empower the Chief Justice to delegate certain non-judicial functions to other members of the judiciary;
• the establishment of an application-based legislative scheme for the disregard of certain historical convictions relating to consensual sexual activity between men;
• an amendment of the Prisons Act 2015 to provide that, where two years or less of the applicable prison term remains to be served, a person may be taken from prison for the purpose of effecting a deportation or removal order;
• a further amendment to the Bail Act 1997 to provide for refusal of bail for persons charged with offences relating to witness intimidation or failure to comply with requirements under the Sex Offenders Act 2001.
• The ongoing reform of the Family Justice system, for the benefit of families and children, is another of my key priorities. Work has commenced on the implementation of the Family Courts Act 2024. The Act introduces changes to the current delivery of family justice, including the introduction of specialist family law judges assigned and operating within new family court divisions. I intend to shortly bring an implementation plan to Government, with publication expected shortly afterwards.
• Last May, I published the Review of the Operation of the In Camera Rule in Family Law Proceedings. The review, a key action in the Family Justice Strategy, was conducted by a team from University College Cork and Trinity College Dublin and is an important piece of research which details the perspectives of many stakeholders regarding the current understanding and operation of the in-camera rule in family law proceedings. Importantly, it includes the views of those who have been parties in such proceedings.
• Last August, I published two tenders for the provision of new family law services aimed at making our system more transparent and better for children.
• In February 2026, I launched a new online child maintenance calculator to help parents in coming to arrangements on child maintenance payments. The launch of the calculator follows on from the publication of Ireland’s first set of Child Maintenance Guidelines earlier this year. The development of the guidelines was a key recommendation of the 2024 Review of the Enforcement of Child Maintenance Orders
Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence
• Combatting all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) has been of central priority for me since taking office. In June 2025, I published the final implementation plan of the five-year ‘Zero Tolerance’ National DSGBV Strategy setting out the delivery targets and collective action to end 2026. The plan builds on the DSGBV commitments set out in the PfG and contains 95 specific actions across the four pillars of the Istanbul Convention. There is a strong emphasis on delivery, collective responsibility, and meaningful outcomes.
• As part of the Zero Tolerance Strategy, Government committed to doubling domestic violence accommodation capacity in Ireland by the end of 2026 from 141 to 282 family units.
• By the end of 2026, it is envisaged that 94 safe homes and 193 refuge units will be completed, bringing total safe accommodation to 287, with 50 further refuge units under construction. I am continuing to work with Cuan, my Department and the Department of Housing to ensure we are exhausting all measures to increase the pace of delivery for this much needed additional capacity.
Immigration / International Protection / Integration
• I have taken action to significantly improve immigration enforcement measures and increase removals, in line with commitments set out in the PfG. This includes the renewed use of chartered deportation and removal flights. In 2025, 4,700 deportation orders were signed, an increase of 96% compared to 2024, while 2,111 people had their departure confirmed under various mechanisms (i.e. enforced deportation, voluntary return etc.), an increase of 88% compared to 2024.
• In keeping with the PfG commitment to significantly enhance the delivery of public services digitally, phase one of my Department's Immigration Customer Service Portal, which enables applicants to check their immigration application status, book first-time registration appointments, and submit queries, has been operational since October 2024. Since the launch of the Portal more than 285,000 customers have registered, with over 243,000 queries resolved and in excess of 147,000 registration appointments made.
• In 2025, the International Protection Office (IPO) delivered over 20,200 first decisions compared to approximately 14,100 in 2024, a 44% increase. The International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) more than doubled the number of appeals closed from 3,100 in 2024 to nearly 6,300 in 2025.
• In January 2026, the International Protection Bill 2026 was published, which will replace the International Protection Act 2015 and will implement the EU Migration and Asylum Pact. Earlier this month, the Bill was passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas. The Pact is a new EU framework to manage migration and asylum for the long-term. The overall objective of the Pact is to provide a fair, sustainable and efficient asylum procedure.
• Work on the publication of a new national Migration and Integration Strategy is ongoing as referenced in the PfG. In 2025, the Integration Fund was announced and awarded for the first time. The Integration fund is for projects supporting migrant integration in areas such as sport, education, employment, and culture. Results of the 2025 Integration Fund were announced in November of 2025, when 117 projects were awarded a total of €3.6m. Information the projects funded is available here: [www.gov.ie/en/department-of-justice-home-affairs-and-migration/news/117-projects-to-be-funded-under-the-2025-integration-fund/] Plans for funding calls in 2026 are being drafted and will be announced publicly when they are finalised.
Omagh Inquiry
• Last April, I signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chairman of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry on matters relating to the disclosure of materials to the Inquiry. This is a truly important step to delivering on the commitment in the PfG, to “play our full part in legacy processes…including facilitating and supporting the Omagh Inquiry. On 13 March 2026, I published the International Co-operation (Omagh Bombing Inquiry) Bill. The Bill is designed to enable the taking of oral testimony before the Irish courts for the purposes of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.
Transfers of Responsibilities
• In line with PfG commitments, responsibility for integration, International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS), and the Ukraine Division transferred to my Department from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, and Equality on 1 May 2025. This transfer includes the transfer of all staff, approximately 340 people, alongside a substantial budget transfer of approximately €2.1 billion. As my Department had existing responsibility for immigration and migration and the processing of applications for international protection, this transfer underpins a more cohesive and strategic approach to migration and integration.
• The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) also transferred to my Department from the Department of the Environment, Communications and Climate on 2 June 2025. The NCSC is the lead government agency on cyber security.
• Responsibility for the Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO) transferred from my Department on 1 August to the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport. This transfer was carried out in line with the Programme for Government and aligns the work of IFCO with the Department responsible for culture. Responsibility for the Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA), as well as the Property Services Appeal Board, also transferred from my Department on 1 August to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
