Results 21-40 of 1,145,763 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Ciarán Cuffe OR speaker:John Lahart OR speaker:Aindrias Moynihan OR speaker:Verona Murphy OR speaker:Denis Naughten OR speaker:Martin Kenny OR speaker:Johnny Mythen OR speaker:Thomas Pringle OR speaker:Hildegarde Naughton OR speaker:Niamh Smyth OR speaker:Catherine Connolly OR speaker:Neale Richmond OR speaker:Seán Haughey OR speaker:James O'Connor OR speaker:Brendan Griffin OR speaker:Aengus Ó Snodaigh OR speaker:Louise O'Reilly OR speaker:Michael McGrath OR speaker:Aengus Ó Snodaigh17 OR speaker:Danny Healy-Rae OR speaker:Charlie McConalogue OR speaker:Aengus Ó Snodaigh18 OR speaker:Patrick O'Donovan OR speaker:Eoin Ó Broin OR speaker:Róisín Shortall OR speaker:Brendan Howlin OR speaker:Aengus Ó Snodaigh19 OR speaker:Seán Fleming OR speaker:Bríd Smith) in 'Committee meetings'

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: Under the capital spend, a €6 million fleet has been reorganised. The document states that the investment will allow the Garda to purchase two water cannons. How much are the water cannons costing? Will people be trained to drive them when they have been bought, given the difficulties in getting training places for services?

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: Finally in relation to the €8 million for aircraft, which is funding to support the replacement of a second helicopter in the Garda air support unit, how much does one helicopter cost?

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: Is that €8 million for one aircraft?

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: For one helicopter.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: Is it capable of being operational nationwide?

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: That is €1 million per year then.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: I would not like to be jumping into it when it is 19.5 years old.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: The Supplementary Estimate is for €54 million. There is an underspend of €56 million. Every item has gone up in the Irish Prison Service. I am just wondering about the budgetary procedure. It is only 12 months ago that the budget was set out and every item has obviously been wrong since the last Estimates. Every item has gone up, by €56 million, which is a...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: I may be completely wrong but I do not think it could be totally unforeseen that there was going to be an increase. Everybody in jail this year would have been going through the court system last year. Obviously, some would have come but the Minister should be able to plan for that. Why did it come as such a surprise? It should have been budgeted for last year rather than having a...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: So the Minister is basically saying that at the time of the Estimates last year, she did not foresee that the prison population was going to increase this year.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: Did the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform say to the Minister it knew it was going to increase but was not going to give her the money and she could plan for a Supplementary Estimate this year?

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: Surely last year, the Minister would have been able to predict that the number would hit 5,000 this year. The Minister put a figure to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the Department of Finance last year, they did not accept it and they gave her an under-budget figure so she knew at the start of last year that she was under budget and...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: But she would have said that for last year.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: This is a discussion for the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform but I would imagine that the Minister can say that next year, there will be 5,100 prisoners or thereabouts and know what that will cost. The Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform can say it will cost X amount but will only give the Minister 90%...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: There was one question about the Prison Service I forgot to ask. It relates to the drafting of legislation to facilitate Ireland's ratification of the UN Convention Against Torture and the optional protocol. I understand that the convention was passed by the UN in 1987, yet the Government is only now preparing legislation to pass the optional protocol. Is that correct?

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: That will be almost 30 years after it was published.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: Are there other UN conventions and so on that have been sitting within the Department for years without having been adopted or ratified?

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: Regarding the Legal Aid Board, there is underspending of €5 million. It is stated this relates to recruitment shortfalls and delays in fit-out and refurbishment projects. How much of this €5 million relates to recruitment shortfalls? Turning to access to justice for people who cannot afford it, what impact will this situation have for them?

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: Therefore 80% of the underspending concerns a lack of staff.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Justice (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Thomas Pringle: Yes, but these would be very specific staff and not general staff. I presume they would be solicitors and people with legal qualifications.