Latest news with #JimO'Callaghan
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Daily Mirror
Illegal immigration crackdown sees 'most people ever' detained at Dublin Airport
Immigration officials are now targeting foreign criminals trying to come and live in Ireland. They are taking a hard-line stance with asylum seekers who arrive here with no passports from Georgia and Albania - two countries now listed as safe states. They are also being given details on various criminals kicked out of the UK by the British authorities, who then try to get back into Ireland from Romania. A Government insider said: "We are now detaining more people than ever before at Dublin Airport. "Most who arrive here illegally are being returned on the next plane within 24 hours. "There was an unofficial ban on detaining women because it looked bad politically but not anymore." The Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan this week confirmed that 179 individuals had been detained in Irish jails for immigration-related reasons so far this year compared to 204 for the whole of 2024. Defending the figures he said: "It can be necessary to detain people in advance of a deportation order to prevent absconding. Alternatives to detention are widely used where they are deemed appropriate. "When a person does not apply with a deportation order they can be arrested and detained for up to 56 days for the purpose of ensuring their deportation from the state. "In the case of a person refused leave to land to enter the State, arrangements are made by the Garda National Immigration Bureau to return the person to their point of embarkation at the earliest opportunity which may take a number of days. Detention in such circumstances is only carried out as a last resort."
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Councillors demand meeting over Youghal Courthouse closure
The letter to Cork County Council from the private secretary of Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan said that on the second Friday of each month from June 1, cases from Youghal are being heard in Dungarvan in a sitting intended for child and family law cases. The letter went on to state that the judge assigned to the district has issued a direction transferring the District Court business currently listed at Youghal to Dungarvan Courthouse with effect from November 1 this year. The Courts Service is engaging and consulting with all relevant stakeholders, including An Garda Síochána, 'in relation to the impacts and any possible unintended consequences of these changes,' the letter added. The Councillors blasted the lack of engagement with them in the stakeholder consultation and outlined the detrimental effect that the decision will have on the East Cork town and the surrounding locality. 'The direct impact over the division of East Cork, where we could be losing staffing levels from Cobh, Midleton, Carrigtwohill, Killeagh and all the sub-villages to go to Youghal on days when An Garda Síochána will have to go to Dungarvan is not acceptable,' said Cllr Ann Marie Ahern. 'The Garda presence will be out of the town for numbers of hours if they have to travel to Dungarvan, which is in another county, which to me shouldn't be allowed at all. As well as that, you've family courts and you've people on the margins that won't be able to afford to attend courts financially,' said Cllr Mary Linehan Foley. Cllr Linehan Foley rejected the suggestion that the current court building, the Mall House, is draughty, which has been reported as one of the reasons behind moving the court sittings to Dungarvan. 'We have heaters, they can be used, and at the end of the day, we [East Cork Municipal District] used the courthouse during COVID ourselves and we were never cold, far from it, inside there.' She pointed out that the current building has been used as a courthouse for over twenty years. Cllr Michael Hegarty said the Youghal Courthouse district 'represents and covers a vast area. There are people on the margins who would need to use those facilities and expecting or requesting them to go to Dungarvan, it's not on. 'And as well as that, the Gardai are very disappointed and annoyed as well to be taken out of their normal jurisdiction. If it happens, you'll see an awful lot of cases being deferred, adjourned, and it will lead just to a major backlog in dealing with the court services.' Cork County Council is now going to send a letter to the Department of Justice calling for a meeting with the minister or a department official. 'I think it's actually very frustrating to get a response like this without any engagement with the public reps of the area. I'm very nervous that this is a fait accompli, that it's done and dusted at this stage. And that's why the letter we got back from the department is kind of brushing us aside. But we're not going to be brushed aside on this," said Councillor Linehan Foley. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Irish Examiner
GoCar to reduce number of vehicles available in Limerick due to 'antisocial behaviour'
GoCar, one of Ireland's leading vehicle-sharing services, has announced it will reduce the number of vehicles available in Limerick due to 'anti-social behaviour'. The car rental service released a statement after a string of incidents that have caused 'significant damage' to its vehicles. 'Unfortunately, months of persistent incidents of antisocial behaviour have caused constant significant damage to our vehicles and placed an unsustainable strain on our operations," the company said. "As a result, we've had to make the very difficult decision to temporarily reduce the number of GoCars available in Limerick. We know this will cause disruption to those that use our cars correctly, and for that, we're genuinely sorry. Please rest assured that this is not a decision we've taken lightly. 'We're working closely with local authorities and An Garda Síochána to address the issues and are doing everything we can to restore full service as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding and for being a valued part of the GoCar community.' Earlier this month, Limerick's metropolitan district unanimously agreed to write to justice minister Jim O'Callaghan, calling on him to brief the council on the future resourcing of policing in the city. The motion was brought forward by Labour's Pádraigh Reale, who said out of 120 gardaí who passed out from Templemore, 11 have been assigned to the southern region — with 'only four' being assigned to the Limerick division. The ongoing feud in the southside of the city was also brought up during the meeting. This comes as three men were hospitalised following incidents of violent disorder and criminal damage on June 22 on Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston. In recent months, several incidents have occurred on the southside of the city as a result of the ongoing feud. Read More Limerick residents alarmed over 'prevalence' of open drug use in city
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
'Dissident republicans' continue to pose a threat, Dáil told
So-called 'dissident republicans', who have their origins in the Provisional IRA and the INLA, continue to pose a threat, the Dáil has heard. The Minister for Justice said that despite the progress towards peace made over the years, they continue to seek to return to the fruitless violence of the past. Minister Jim O'Callaghan was speaking in the Dáil ahead of a vote on the renewal of the Offences against the State Act. "They have remained resolute in their opposition to democracy and rule of law and all that the Good Friday Agreement stands for; and they remain wedded to brutality and criminality," Minister O'Callaghan said. He said that it is also important not to lose sight of the threat from violent extremism and international terrorism. The Minister added that terrorism - particularly jihadist and lone actor attacks - remains a key risk to the EU's internal security. Ireland is not immune from the threats arising in this changed security environment, and the country must have the capability to deal with them, the Minister said.
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Justice minister promises domestic violence register following report on record abuse complaints
The Justice minister has promised to roll out a domestic violence register following the latest Women's Aid annual report which reveals the highest number of complaints in 50 years. Jim O'Callaghan told the Dáil the "epidemic" of domestic violence "will only be resolved if the vast majority of men recognise the need for them to do work to emphasise its unacceptability". The Women's Aid report revealed increased reports of all forms of abuse against women last year, with physical abuse up 22%; sexual abuse up 30%; emotional abuse up 15%; and economic abuse up 5%. Mr O'Callaghan said a number of steps were being taken, including amending the Sexual Offences Act, to ensure the issue of counselling notes would be "dealt with properly once and for all". "Under the legislation I am bringing forward and that Government has approved, it will mean counselling notes will only ever be able to be used in trials if it is the case that to not use them would result in an unfair trial." Under questioning from Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, who described the report as "very grim reading", Mr O'Callaghan said work on a register for domestic violence is also ongoing within his department. He added while refuge spaces were important, "it should not be the case that the first instinct and the first port of call when a woman is subjected to domestic abuse in her home is that we ask how we can find another place for that woman to live". "The response should be around how we can get the abuser out of the home," he said, adding this was an area he was committed to ensuring was adequately funded. "We are going to amend the Guardianship of Infants Act, which will ensure greater rights for the families of children whose mother, generally, has been murdered by the father of the child. We need to ensure that the father does not retain exclusive responsibility after that," Mr O'Callaghan said. Labour leader Ivana Bacik said the changes were welcome but said "all of these laws are ineffective if the first line of defence, the gardaí, are not implementing them adequately". She said the survey found nearly half of the women who sought help from gardaí in the past year found the response 'unhelpful'. - If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services. Read More 10% of those attending sexual assault treatment units reported multiple assailants
