Jim O'Callaghan
Dublin Bay South · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“This relates to section 69 of the Bill as passed by Dáil Éireann, which amends Schedule 5 to the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 to add the Courts Service to the Schedule.”
“The first four amendments in this group are minor drafting corrections. They corrected the wording in four places so that the Bill reads consistently. It is changing the word "references" to "a reference". They make no change to the substance or effect of the Bill.”
“The ARP scheme was introduced in July 2022 to recognise the generosity of members of the public who opened their houses, whether in their entirety or through the provision of a room, at their own expense to provide shelter to people displaced by the Ukraine war. The Department of Social Protection administers the scheme on my behalf.”
“I have no doubt it will be challenged, and I have to be able to convince a court, if it is being challenged, that this legislation weighs up conflicting interests and recognises there is a mechanism for somebody who has reformed himself to get off the register.”
“The scheme has been a lifeline for people from Ukraine displaced by the conflict, given high rental market rates and scarcity of rental accommodation.”
“I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle in the first instance for presiding over these Stages of the legislation. I am very pleased that this legislation has been enacted. I want to thank a few people very briefly. I thank Deputy McAuliffe for introducing me to Jason Poole. I thank Senator O'Loughlin for her work on this issue in the Seanad.”
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“By the way, children are treated differently. If you are under 18 years of age and are granted asylum in Ireland, the rules in respect of the two-year wait do not apply. This is only in respect of adults. If you come to Ireland and are granted family reunification, it is only fair that you have to wait for a period of two years until such time as you can establish you have the financial wherewithal to look after the people you are bringing into the country, or members of your family. Otherwise, the State will have to look after them and pay for them. That is where the balance between the asylum applicant's rights and the State comes into play. I note also the High Court decision referenced by Senator Boyhan. It is a complicated issue.”
“Family reunification was suspended in the UK. I have to be conscious of what is happening there. If asylum applicants believe the entitlements or the process are more favourable in Ireland than in the UK, the consequence will be that many applicants from the UK will come to Ireland. I have to be careful about that. There is a touch of forum shopping going on, with people who have claimed asylum in the UK then coming to Ireland to claim asylum here too. I want to reduce the extent to which that is happening. That is part of the reason the family reunification laws are being changed. We are perfectly entitled to do that, by the way, because we did not sign up to the family reunification directive. I think it is fair that if somebody comes to Ireland, they have to wait for a period of time before they bring their family in with them.”
“We are enormously affected by what is happening with its asylum process. When the numbers in the UK go up, they generally go up in Ireland as well because we have an open border with the UK. I get a considered assessment in this House, but many people ask me what I intend to do to stop people coming in from Northern Ireland and claiming asylum. We can put up checkpoints if we want, but we do not want to do that. We have decided not to do that. There are operations in place by An Garda Síochána under Operation Sonnet. I keep emphasising that people who are entitled to benefit from the common travel area are citizens of Ireland and the UK. If you are a citizen from another country, you are not entitled to travel from Northern Ireland down to the Republic. People may find that harsh, but they are the rules and we need to emphasise them.”
“That will have a benefit for people who are thinking of coming to Ireland. They will know that if they come here and they are not entitled to asylum, their application will be dealt with very quickly and they will be required to leave. The benefit in having a clear rules-based system that operates expeditiously and gets decisions promptly is that people can get on with their lives. People will know that if they come to Ireland and are entitled to claim asylum, they will get their claim and will be welcome, but if they are not, they will be rejected and will have to leave. Senator Boyhan, to whom I always listen very carefully, spoke about family reunification. I listened to what was said in the Dáil and I reduced the time period to two years. One of the factors I have to take into account is what is happening in the UK.”
“That creates considerable difficulties because there are people who have come in, have been here for many years, have set down roots and have children in school. If it takes three to four years for asylum to be processed, and if at the end of that period they are told they are not entitled to be here, that creates considerable difficulties. It creates difficulties for them, as they have spent four years or so here, and it creates difficulties for the State. The benefit of this significant reform of the asylum laws is that it will expedite the process. That is the primary objective of the legislation I am introducing. It will put in place a statutory requirement that many of the applications will have to be dealt with at first instance and appeal within a period of six months, broadly.”
“We have to recognise that when it comes to asylum, my job as Minister for justice and that of the Government is to balance the rights of the asylum applicant with the rights of the State and the public interest. There is clearly a division between politicians, all coming from a perfectly legitimate background. Many politicians will want to emphasise more the rights of the asylum applicant, while others will want to emphasise more the right of the State to protect its resources and be able to manage asylum. It is my job to try to get the balance right, and that is the purpose of this legislation. We are trying to expedite the process. As I have said before, I cannot ignore the fact that the significant majority of people who claim asylum in Ireland are not granted asylum.”
“What is clearly the case, and we have to be sympathetic but honest about this, is that very many people want to come to Ireland to claim asylum because of the strength of the Irish economy. Senator Keogan read out numbers in terms of the applications that are waiting to be processed. As I said, before Covid an average of around 3,000 to 4,000 people claimed asylum in Ireland each year. In 2022 it went up to 13,500, in 2023 it was 13,500, and in 2024 it went up to 18,500. That is when we saw people in tents and a real crisis for the country in trying to respond to that. Last year, asylum figures went down by 30% to 13,000 and that drop was higher than the EU average. In the UK, with which we are inextricably linked, there was a drop of just 4%. I am very conscious that behind every percentage and every figure there is a human being.”
“We take into account whether it is for the benefit of the Irish economy, taking into account the fact that obviously they are going to take up accommodation spaces. These are all measured factors that have to be taken into account. A smaller part of migration into Ireland comes in the realm of international protection, which is also known as asylum. Prior to Covid, the numbers coming into Ireland were pretty low, although at the time that Senator McDowell was Minister for justice they did go up. The truth of the matter is that there is a correlation between the number of asylum applications and the economic success of the country. We saw it at the time of the Celtic tiger - asylum numbers went up. When there was the crash, they went down considerably.”
“At one level, that is a really positive story about the Irish economy and the welcome of the Irish people. As Minister for justice and as the Government, when it comes to migration there are a number of different areas that we have to appraise and keep control of. Obviously, people can come into Ireland to work if they are from European Union member states. That is part of the free movement of workers that Irish people enjoy with other EU member states and, indeed, EU member states enjoy it here. Similarly, with the common travel area, UK citizens can come here to work. We all want to ensure that happens as well. As well as that, each year, my Department gives out tens of thousands of visa permits to permit people from outside the European economic area to come to Ireland to work and we very much welcome them in and we assess it.”
“It is good timing by my constituents as well. This was debated on Second Stage in this House and elsewhere. When whoever comes to write the history of the 21st century, migration and immigration is going to be a huge part of it. We are really just seeing that narrative play out. It is an extremely difficult issue for states to deal with, particularly states such as our own which had no real history of immigration prior to the beginning of the 21st century. Migration in Ireland was always in the context of people leaving Ireland. It cast a terrible shadow over Ireland in the 19th and 20th centuries and it really is a sign of the economic and national success of independence that we now find ourselves in a situation where many people want to come into Ireland to live their lives here.”
“In fact, we are able to process those applications that are now being dealt with on a pilot basis as accelerated or asylum border procedure within the period that is, in total, six months between first instance, secondary appeal decision and then deportation order. We are getting deportation orders signed or we are getting people accepted within the process within the time periods set out in the Bill. I am conscious there may be concern on the part of Senators as to whether it will work effectively and in accordance with the timelines set out. I believe it will. Ultimately, we will only be able to see that once the commencement starts on 12 June. The trial procedure operating at present with the pilot projects is being done within the time periods set out in the legislation.”
“These are the ones that we think we can process quickly. The legislation gives the basis upon which those different types of procedures can be applied. The effect of them is to expedite the applications to get quick determinations. As I said in my first response to Senator McDowell, at present we are operating the system, as it will operate after 12 June, on a pilot basis. We are operating it for those countries that are designated in Ireland as safe countries. We are also operating it for countries such as Nigeria. We are getting an expedited processing of those applications within the periods set down in the legislation. I know Senator McDowell's concern relates to how we are going to be able to deal with this, since we are not able to process them quickly at present.”
“A screening centre is a place where applicants will be sent for the purpose of having their applications assessed. The circumstances in which an application must be examined in the asylum border procedure includes where an applicant has intentionally misled the authorities by providing false documents or information or where in an application, the recognition rate is less than 20%. Procedures will be available to the determining authority, which is me and my officials. It is up to us to determine first-instance applications. Decisions will be made in advance of 12 June as to which type of applications will be dealt with by the asylum border procedure and indeed the accelerated procedure. Obviously, everything cannot be accelerated. If everything is accelerated, we will not be able to accelerate the ones that merit it.”
“They include, for instance, that a third country may be considered to be a safe country of origin for the applicant, the application is a subsequent application which is not inadmissible or there are grounds to consider the applicant a danger to national security. There is, therefore, an accelerated examination procedure that operates under section 115. There is then also an asylum border procedure set out in Chapter 6. Section 117 sets out the conditions for applying the asylum border procedure. In that section, "external border crossing point" is the basis upon which there is an asylum border procedure. It is also important to recall that under section 117(5) an "external border crossing point" also means a port or a screening centre.”
“I thank Senator McDowell for his contribution. There are two types of procedure here. I know Senator McDowell is interested in the asylum border procedure but in order to give a full answer to this, I have to make Senators aware of what is provided in section 115, which concerns accelerated examination procedure. There is an accelerated examination procedure and there is an asylum border procedure. Both procedures have to be done on an expedited basis. If Senators look at section 115, they will see it sets out a series of individuals who will be covered by the accelerated examination procedure.”
“Senator McDowell's amendment, which has been ruled out of order, concerns section 126 of the Bill. Just so that people are aware, it is my intention that section 126 will come into operation on 12 June. The formal designation under section 126(1) of a premises as a location for the asylum border procedure will be done and operational with effect from 12 June. Senator McDowell's proposal, which was ruled out of order, proposed a positive resolution of each House of the Oireachtas should be required to approve any commencement order. I do not believe that such a provision is necessary since any commencement order can be made under section 1 of the Bill.”
“The phased approach has enabled my Department to test the ability of the international protection system in its entirety to process cases within the required timeframe of the future asylum border procedure and to make adjustments where necessary. This work has allowed my Department to identify pressure points and practical challenges across the process to create new standard operating procedures and to set out future training needs. The type of cases that are being dealt with at present under the pilot project, which is seeking to implement what the pact will look like, involve applications from safe countries and applications where the acceptance level is less than 20%. They are the type of cases that will be dealt with subsequently under the expedited procedures once the new legislation comes into effect on 12 June.”
“Senator McDowell raised an issue in respect of his amendment, which is an amendment in respect of section 126 of the Bill. That section deals with restrictions on freedom of movement during asylum border procedure. The Senator's question is how the asylum border procedure is going to be applied from 12 June onwards. I can tell him that this process is already ongoing because since last year, my Department has already begun to operate elements of the new asylum border procedure and to transition gradually to fully implementing the pact. This transition is being undertaken within the framework of the International Protection Act 2015. To begin this transition, new pact readiness teams were established in June 2025 and operations began in the Citywest reception centre.”
“Those include data sharing; matters relating to the collection of fingerprint data from applicants; some amendments arising from the new Part 4 on reception conditions and Part 5 on restrictions of freedom of movement in detention; the repeal of section 20 of the 2015 Act, which deals with detention under the Act; provision for the monitoring of accommodation centres; amendments to the Child Care Act 1991, the Children First Act 2015 and the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012; matters relating to permission of applicants to enter or remain; some minor technical amendments to section 156, which deals with the withdrawal of international protection; and clarification of the provisions of the Bill relating to superannuation.”
“I believe it will be to the benefit of Ireland in the long run if there is a harmonised system of asylum law across the overwhelming part of the EU that has agreed to transpose the pact into domestic legislation. I will say, just to cover myself in respect of future things, that there will be some additional matters that I will have to bring forward on Report Stage.”
“I thank Senator McDowell for his question. I will state at the outset that I recognise the Committee Stage amendments before the Seanad represent a considerable body of work. The Senator mentioned the fact that the Bill was guillotined in Dáil Éireann. That is correct, but there was extensive debate nonetheless on Second Stage. I think we debated for three days on Second Stage. There was also Committee Stage, which was truncated, and Report Stage. It is true that not just Ireland but all the other countries in the European Union that have agreed to sign up to the regulations and directives to harmonise systems of migration are under time pressure to get this body of work in place.”
“Local Link is hugely important to people in rural constituencies such as the Deputy's and, indeed, throughout the country. I do not have the details in respect of the Dunmanway-Clonakilty route. I will raise it with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to see if we can get an answer in respect of that and come back to Deputy Collins. I just do not have the specifics of it at present.”
“There is much other important work the Garda has to do, so I cannot just ask the Commissioner to devote a majority of resources to roads policing. People have a responsibility as well. I will keep a close eye on the matter.”
“The Deputy is right that human behaviour is the biggest cause of fatalities and accidents on our roads. I know he is not suggesting otherwise, but people themselves need to recognise that looking at their phones and consuming alcohol or drugs will expose them not just to risk of fatality and car crash, but also to being apprehended by An Garda Síochána. That will result in increased insurance costs and time off the road and make it very difficult for their lives professionally in the future. I have spoken to the Commissioner. There is obviously a requirement for gardaí to devote a certain amount of time to roads policing. The figures the Deputy has given indicate that there is a lot of roads policing ongoing, but it is a balancing act as well.”
“Accessibility for wheelchair users is fundamental, particularly for children in schools. I will raise the matter with my colleague in the Department of education, the Minister, Deputy Naughton. I will see whether the issue can be reviewed. Perhaps Deputy Cairns could provide the details to me or the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, in order that we can pass them on to the Minister.”
“The war started on, I think, 28 February. We are 19 days into it. I am sure the Deputy will appreciate that the Government needs to consider what it is doing in respect of a response to the rising fuel costs. As I have indicated, it is being considered by the Government. I believe that there will be a response but it is not appropriate to rush it on the basis that we need to just get it done quickly. Let us get it done right as opposed to quickly.”
“I thank the Deputy for bringing the issue in respect of Ballycommon to the attention of myself and the Dáil. I will speak to the Minister, Deputy Browne, in respect of it. I know that he is bringing forward proposals that will allow a builder to build up to 40 houses for, I believe, fewer than 120 or 150 people and that Uisce Éireann will then be obliged to connect them. I will raise the matter with the Minister. It sounds like it is essential that we get those houses constructed in Ballycommon so that people can live within their community.”
“It is the same issue throughout the country. People are extremely concerned about the rising cost of diesel and petrol. The Government is well aware of that. We need a measured, well-thought-out response. The Deputy says everyone is affected by it. That is the case, but not everyone is affected to the same extent by the increase in fuel costs. The Government needs to have a look at this in terms of what is the appropriate response, whether it be in excise duty or elsewhere. It is also needs to give consideration to the targeting, or not, of measures.”
“I thank the Deputy. I regret to say that I am not aware of the detail of the issues he has outlined but I will raise them with my colleagues, the Ministers, Deputies Naughton and Lawless. I do not know whether the issue is in respect of English language classes but generally there is good funding for ETBs. Obviously, if moneys are being reduced, there must be a reason for it and I will engage with my colleagues in respect of it and ask them to get back to the Deputy on it.”
“I thank the Deputy very much. I will raise that with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Browne. Just so the Deputy is aware,the Government has provided a €150 million fund to end long-term vacancy and dereliction in towns and cities under the urban regeneration and development fund. This dedicated €150 million fund allows local authorities to acquire vacant or derelict properties, residential or commercial, and to carry out any associated works needed to derisk or improve the properties. I am sure that the very effective chief executive of Carlow County Council, Coilín O’Reilly, is aware of this and it is probably worth engaging with him to see if any of this funding can be used for the purpose of ending vacancy and dereliction in Carlow.”
“If there are gardaí who are traumatically affected by it, they need to get help and I urge the Deputy to pass that on to them.”
“I have spoken to Deputy Crowe previously about this issue and his concern for the gardaí involved. As is obviously the case, they were acquitted. They are not guilty. It is always the case, regrettably, that where people who are prosecuted for offences and acquitted, there are consequences for them deriving from that. There is no mechanism in place to provide any remedy for a person who is prosecuted and then acquitted, and I do not think there would be public support for it. The Deputy has raised an inquiry in respect of the issues. If there is going to be an inquiry, we are into a full quasi-judicial process again and that is not in anyone's interest. We need to move on from this. The gardaí have been vindicated and they need to get back to doing what they do best, which is protecting the community.”
“Everyone is aware of the impact that the price of fuel is having on families, not just at pumps but also elsewhere. The Deputy is correct that VAT accounts for more than 20% of the cost of fuel. Excise duty accounts for more than 30%. That is something the Government is looking at, particularly in respect of the excise duty. We will not make a knee-jerk reaction just to facilitate the Deputy in getting an answer today. This has to be carefully considered by the Government.”
“Unfortunately, I do not have an answer for the Deputy. I will raise it with my colleague the Minister, Deputy James Browne. It might be of assistance if the Deputy were to provide to the Minister details of the two constituents in question in order that he can look at the matter in more detail. At the periphery of every scheme, there is always some flexibility.”
“I thank the Deputy. I am well aware of the issue. As he indicated, it happened in Sean Moore Park in my constituency. Gardaí had considerable success identifying the person responsible for it. The criminal justice system must operate in respect of people, even if they are under 18 years of age, who commit arson in playgrounds. Not only are they damaging playgrounds, they are damaging their communities. I do not think the Deputy is suggesting I am responsible for arson attacks or for the increase in such attacks. I assure him that An Garda Síochána is well aware of my interest in this matter and in the ongoing attacks being investigated. Young people need to be made aware of the damage they are inflicting on their communities by engaging in arson.”
“In the context of what Deputy Bacik said, people are obviously concerned about the rising cost of fuel. That is why the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and other Government Ministers have indicated that measures will probably be taken in response to what is happening with regard to the price of fuel. We are not going to just have a knee-jerk reaction in respect of this; we are going to have a united Government response in the same way that we did in respect of Ukraine. The Deputy will obviously continue to put pressure on the Government, but we need to formulate our response and target it, as I said to Deputy McDonald earlier.”
“I want to deal with the question from Deputy McDonald that I did not answer. I will keep an open mind in respect of the matter. I will just say, however, that my predecessor, the Minister, Deputy Helen McEntee, met them. They want a public inquiry. I am being straight with them. I am not going to establish a public inquiry until such time that the criminal process is over. I will come back to the Deputy on this matter, but I do not want to fool people by bringing them up to Dublin and having them come in here-----”
“If at the end of that process there are questions remaining, I will very much consider whether a public inquiry is required.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. It was a horrific incident that happened to the families. I had the pleasure of meeting the Deputy and Deputy Doherty to discuss it last year. I also met with the parents of Leona Harper in December. I want to be straight with the families, because they have suffered a lot. I will not establish a public inquiry until such time as the criminal investigation and the inquest are concluded. The reason I am being blunt about that is because I want the families in Creeslough to get justice. The only way they will get justice is through the criminal process. A file has gone to the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP. There may be another file going. I have been kept updated on this issue by An Garda Síochána and others. The only way they will get justice is through the courts.”
“I commend Deputy Scanlon on raising the question. As he knows, the programme for Government has committed the Government to exploring the provision of a surgical hub for the north west, in addition to establishing six new surgical hubs across the country. Delivery of the surgical hub in Sligo will be in line with the delivery of the other surgical hubs which are all new builds and which are taking in the order of four years for planning, design and construction. I can understand the Deputy’s desire to ensure this is expedited and sped up so the people of Sligo can have an even better medical hospital than they have at present. It has to be acknowledged that there have been very significant improvements to Sligo University Hospital in the past number of years.”
“The overall programme, including the timelines and capital costs associated with the developments at Sligo and Letterkenny, will become clearer as the following key milestones are progressed: the detailed schedule of accommodation in both facilities will be finalised; design teams will be appointed; planning applications will be lodged and planning permission secured; enabling works will be progressed; and construction contracts will be awarded for both facilities. Every effort will be made to fast-track these surgical hubs to a standardised design, including exploring opportunities to progress via existing contracts. As I said to the Deputy, I will specifically raise this matter with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill.”
“This will facilitate the appointment of a design team for the Letterkenny and Sligo developments, with the aim of progressing both sites in parallel and ensuring a co-ordinated and efficient roll-out of this capacity in response to service need. It is planned to have the design team appointed in the first quarter of this year and then to commence the design phase early in the second quarter, from April onwards.”
“There has been significant progress, expenditure and investment in that since 2020, as the Deputy knows. We have seen the budget grow from €160 million in 2022 to €246 million this year for Sligo, which is an increase of 54%. Additionally, staffing at the hospital has grown considerably. It has increased by 38%, from 1,677 in 2020 to 2,321 at the start of 2026. A total of 104 new beds have also been opened. Deputy Scanlon also raised the issue of the Sligo surgical hub. Following the announcement of the development of the Sligo surgical hub by the Minister in July last year, work has progressed to finalise the design brief. This includes the schedule of accommodation for the Sligo project. A tendering process is at the final stages to establish a major design team framework for the west and north-west region.”
“I thank Deputy Scanlon for his question about Sligo University Hospital. As the Deputy will be aware, a 42-bed block is being built in Sligo. I think it is Deputy Scanlon’s view that the oncology unit should be constructed at the same time. I will speak to the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, in respect of this matter and come back to the Deputy on it. Obviously, a lot of work is being done in the orthopaedic theatre in Sligo University Hospital at present. It is proposed to replace the orthopaedic theatre. The options appraisal for this is complete and work is under way to make a case for submission for formal capital approval in the coming weeks. This option provides for two replacement orthopaedic theatres, as the Deputy indicated, and theatre storage facilities, along with some additional beds.”
“All foreign military or state aircraft wishing to overfly or land in the State require diplomatic clearance. The Deputy's charge against the Irish Government is incorrect. It is at times like this that our neutrality-----”
“The Deputy mentioned the Mayor of New York, Mamdani. Of course, he did go to the White House. He is not refusing to meet President Trump as a result of what has happened in Iran. The Deputy's position is not consistent when it comes to engagement. The Irish Government believes there should be engagement with people when it comes to seeking to resolve disputes. The Deputy's view is to stay away from it. We believe, when you look at the history of Ireland and what we have achieved, that we are much better off engaging with people, particularly our friends. He also mentioned what is happening at Shannon Airport. The issue of what is happening in the Middle East is happening in the eastern Mediterranean. That is where the aircraft carriers from the United States are based.”
“Ireland has a strong voice. The Taoiseach emphasises that. The Deputy just saw what was stated in front of the cameras yesterday. There is ongoing engagement between ambassadors and diplomats in the United States. Nobody wants to see these disputes resolved through force. I agree with Deputy Carthy when he said that no-one ever achieved anything from bombing a country. He was right in that respect, notwithstanding the irony of it. Similarly, we need to emphasise to the United States that there is no long-term solution through bombing Iran because that is not going to achieve the political objectives that are sought.”
“-----in respect of immigration and in respect of Ireland's view that we should resolve disputes through pacific methods. We cannot emphasise that enough. However, the reality is that in politics, as I am sure the Deputy is aware, self-awareness is an important characteristic. It applies to all of us individually. It also applies to us as a country. Ireland is a small, non-military country. What we say is effective, in terms of the diplomacy we have and standing up to people who are our friends and telling them that we think they have gone down the wrong road in what they are doing.”
“Deputy Boyd Barrett would not have gone. There is a real benefit in the Taoiseach going there and being able to speak out frankly, more so than any other international leaders who have been there recently have done. The Taoiseach was able to speak out in respect of Keir Starmer-----”
“In fairness, Deputies McDonald and Cairns would have gone, so I wish them well when they are in government together deciding whether they will go to the United States next year or whenever they are in government.”