I thank the Deputy for his question. One of the great privileges of being Minister for justice is to attend passing out ceremonies in Templemore. I have been to four already this year. They are wonderful occasions for the new Garda recruits and their families. One thing that stands out for me is that the numbers are increasing each time I go to each passing out. At the recent one I was at with the Taoiseach, 194 new Garda recruits passed out. On the Deputy's question, overall 794 trainees entered the Garda College this year. This is the highest number since 2018. Recruitment into the Garda is gathering momentum. I was delighted to see not only the 194 new recruits coming out but also 223 enter Templemore the following Monday. That is the largest single intake in over a decade. This was the second intake of 200 or more this year. If I can get 200 or more new recruits going into Templemore for each training period, that will have a huge impact on the numbers coming out. We can see the advantage when large numbers come out of Templemore. The Commissioner decides where new recruits go but in Dublin we have been able to see increased Garda visibility in the city centre. In Cork we have been able to see increased Garda visibility in the city. The Commissioner shares my view we want to see that visibility and that Garda presence apparent throughout the whole country and not just in our cities, towns and villages, but we also need a mechanism to make gardaí more visible in rural areas. That is what the public want. They want to see more of An Garda Síochána. It is a great credit to the organisation so many members of the public want to see members in their community, but the only way we are going to be able to continue doing that is by encouraging people to join. I am pleased the recruitment campaigns this year have resulted in expressions of interest from over 11,000 people.

Sentiment score: 0.26

I am being told by the Garda it could put 1,000 people a year through Templemore, which is an extremely encouraging number. It can take up to 225, perhaps more, in each intake. When an intake is approaching, a huge amount of effort is put in by Garda HR to try to process applications faster. I am pleased there is a very efficient processing within An Garda Síochána now. Previously I had heard complaint about people having to wait a considerable time to get a response but now we are emphasising the urgency of this valuable human resource. On looking to recruit people from various backgrounds, it is essential the police force reflects the society it serves. That means we need to go to the new Irish communities, people who may not have born here or whose parents may not have been, and encourage them to become part of the Irish police force. It is a fantastic attribute that we have attracted so many people from diverse backgrounds into An Garda Síochána. I hope to see that continue.

Sentiment score: 0.45

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist. Tá an ceart aige. Tá a lán Gaeilgeoirí sa Gharda Síochána. Beidh mé ag dul go dtí Dún na nGall inniu agus beidh mé ann amárach. Níl aon dabht ach go mbeidh mé ag labhairt Gaeilge leis na gardaí i dTír Chonaill. Tá scéim sa Gharda Síochána. Táimid ag lorg Gaeilgeoirí. Chuaigh mé go dtí Contae na Mí cúpla seachtain ó shin agus bhí mé ag labhairt Gaeilge le go leor gardaí. Tháinig siad isteach sa Gharda Síochána tríd an scéim Ghaeilge. Tá súil agam go mbeidh níos mó gardaí le Gaeilge ag teacht isteach sa Gharda Síochána. Tá sé ceart gardaí atá ábalta Gaeilge a labhairt a fháil mar tá a lán daoine inár dtír ag labhairt Gaeilge. Níl a fhios agam cén fáth nach mbeidís siad ábalta labhairt Gaeilge leis na póilíní freisin.

Sentiment score: 0.00

I thank Deputy Cahill for his very important question. As he will be aware, spiking is a crime that preys on vulnerability, undermines consent and can have devastating consequences for victims. I want him to know that as Minister, I am committed to the Government's zero-tolerance approach when it comes to all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Regrettably, it is the case that spiking incidents are generally accompanied by sexual offences as well. The programme for Government includes a commitment to introduce stronger laws to combat the spiking of drinks. Spiking a person’s drink or spiking someone by injection, which can happen as well, are, in effect, poisoning and are criminal offences under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 that can result in a term of imprisonment. Depending on the nature of the substance that is administered, it may be possible to charge a perpetrator with endangerment under section 13 of the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997, which provides that it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly engage in conduct which creates a substantial risk of death or serious harm to another. The offence of endangerment carries a maximum penalty of seven years' imprisonment. I know that An Garda Síochána takes all reports of spiking seriously and thoroughly investigates such reports to determine the exact nature of each incident, including results of toxicology reports in each case. I know Deputy Cahill will join me in advising all victims of these incidents or any form of spiking to come forward and report them to the local Garda. On the measures in place to ensure timely Garda statements and preservation of evidence where a victim is incapacitated, I am informed that on receipt of a report of any crime, gardaí are duty bound to gather and seize evidence at a crime scene. It is also extremely important that we procure the evidence promptly. If somebody believes they have been spiked, it is important for them to report it to the Garda in order that a toxicology report can be obtained to ensure the crime can be prosecuted.

Sentiment score: -0.34

I agree with the Deputy. This is an extremely serious offence. It is an offence that is targeted predominately against women so that other serious sexual offences can be perpetrated against them. Gardaí inform me that incidents of spiking are more commonly reported alongside other primary offences. I also regret to say that it appears that the number of incidents of spiking is significant. I am informed by the Garda that of the 60 reported incidents in 2024, 28 were drink spiking, a needle was used in ten and the method was unknown in 22. There were fewer than ten prosecutions initiated relating to fewer than five of those incidents reported during the 2022 to 2024 period. If you believe you are a victim, obviously report it to the Garda. Gardaí will refer you to the appropriate hospital if they do not have the facilities to take the toxicology test, which is the case in many instances. It is important there is co-operation from hospitals and I believe that co-operation is present.

Sentiment score: -0.13

I will raise with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, the protocols that are or could be put in place if someone presents at an emergency department who believes their drink may have been spiked or they may have been spiked. It is obviously important, if that occurred, for the purpose of the investigation that samples are taken so that proof can be provided that the spiking did, in fact, occur. It can be difficult for an individual, if it is left for a lengthy period of time, to prove that the spiking occurred when it did, and obviously the corresponding offence occurred when it did immediately after the spiking. I was encouraged by the fact that my predecessor, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, launched an information campaign in December 2021 with the Union of Students in Ireland to raise awareness of the signs of drink spiking and to give guidance on how to help a potential victim. I think the Deputy will agree that this is a particular concern for young people, particularly students, when they are out socialising and having a good time. The Deputy is correct that it is a particularly egregious and nasty form of criminal act that seeks to make a person even more vulnerable than they may be on a particular occasion.

Sentiment score: -0.07

It is an essential part of the Government strategy in respect of responding to domestic violence that we have in place appropriate refuges and safe houses throughout the country. Under the third national domestic, sexual and gender-based violence strategy, this Government has committed to doubling domestic violence safe accommodation capacity to 282 units by the end of next year. Cuan, the statutory body that has responsibility under my guidance for this, has been working to accelerate the delivery of safe accommodation across the country. Following a request from me, Cuan worked with services and partners to assess and review progress and identify a series of actions to accelerate delivery and to bring safe accommodation on stream as quickly as possible to meet the needs of those fleeing violence. On foot of this review, completed in spring 2025, the following will be delivered: 52 new family refuge units by the end of 2026; 45 new safe homes by the end of 2026; and 50 new units will be under construction by the end of 2026. Cuan has a total budget of nearly €67 million to respond to that. In the Deputy's area, plans are under way to develop an eight-unit purpose-built refuge in County Roscommon. Cuan has established a local stakeholder group to lead and support the development of domestic violence accommodation. This group includes representation from Roscommon Safe Link, Roscommon County Council, Cuan and other important agencies. Site feasibility is being completed on a potential site. Safe home accommodation was developed in the county with two safe homes being operational in July 2025 and Roscommon Safe Link received additional funding from Cuan for the development and delivery of these safe homes.

Sentiment score: 0.16

I thank Deputy Kerrane for her question. No doubt there will be an element of flexibility in respect of considering locations for refuges. It is essential that we have refuges spread geographically throughout the country. What I want to see is not necessarily a refuge in every county, because in some counties you may need two because of the size of them, but locations that are close to where people are and are equidistant from each other so that where there are higher population levels people will know that there is a refuge available. I have visited many refuges since I have become Minister. I visited a refuge last week and I was impressed with what was going on and the level of commitment there. It is also important to point out, however, that we cannot have it as the automatic response that when there is domestic violence, the women has to leave the home. We need to look at barring orders as well. There will be an immediate requirement for emergency accommodation but the solution should be that the abuser leaves the home and the victim gets back into her home.

Sentiment score: 0.03

I should have pointed out that the refuge I visited on Monday was in Clonmel. I was extremely impressed by the service provided and the commitment of the staff. I was also at another event this week which is relevant to the discussion we are having about domestic violence. That was the launch of a report by an organised called Men Overcoming Violence, MOVE. We are never going to be really able to resolve or properly confront the scourge of domestic violence unless we engage with and try to give counselling and an avenue out of it for men involved in committing violence. MOVE produced a useful report and gave an insight into the motivating factors that led men to perpetrate violence against their intimate partners. In many instances, it was insecurities, fear of losing the partner and substance abuse. It can be difficult for State bodies or State-funded bodies to engage with perpetrators. It is extremely important that we continue to do that because we will not be able to confront this issue without doing so.

Sentiment score: -0.22

As the Deputy will be aware, this year we changed the payment under the accommodation recognition payment, ARP, from €800 per month to €600 per month. I know there were concerns about that change as to what impact it would have on those individuals being accommodated. I am pleased to say it has not had, in our opinion, a significantly detrimental impact and has not led to very many people who were being accommodated pursuant to that payment losing their accommodation. The accommodation recognition payment was a useful measure. It was a goodwill payment to recognise the contribution of hosts who opened up their homes to temporary protection beneficiaries from Ukraine. Some 41,500 people are being accommodated in over 23,000 hosted accommodations supported by this scheme. The ARP is not intended to be a substitute for rent. Indeed, it is not payable where there is a rental agreement in place between the host and the guest. According to research from the Irish Red Cross, the vast majority of hosts who avail of the ARP were never and have no future plans to be landlords. I am aware of concerns about the impact of the scheme on the private rental market. Analysis carried out by the RTB for my colleague, the Minister for housing, suggests that some landlords could be diverting accommodation from the private rental sector to benefit from the ARP. It is difficult to reach definitive conclusions on the matter given wider issues impacting housing supply. I can, however, confirm that the Government agreed to a proposal brought jointly by the Minister for housing and me for the governing legislation to be amended to limit eligibility for the ARP to properties that are not rental properties. I think that will meet the Deputy's concerns. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that drafting of the necessary legislative amendments to give effect to the decision is well advanced. The proposal follows the measure implemented earlier this year where we reduced the ARP from €800 to €600.

Sentiment score: 0.19

I disagree that it was blatantly obvious at the time it was introduced that it was going to have an impact on the private rental sector. We are not even sure at present that it is having an impact. There may be issues in respect of it. It is hard to definitively establish that. We are ensuring it will not be able to affect the private rental sector because we are going to limit eligibility for the ARP to properties that are not rental properties. That will ensure it will not have any distorting impact on the private rental sector. We also reduced the fee from €800 to €600 per month in respect of individuals giving goodwill accommodation. We also need to recognise, when you look at the number of people accommodated under the ARP - at present, it is about 41,500 - if it fell apart, if it was taken away and if there was no ARP, where would those people be accommodated? The Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, and I are trying to insist that if people with temporary protection are working, they have to pay for their own accommodation. There are people who will still need to be provided with State accommodation. This is probably the cheapest mechanism available at present.

Sentiment score: 0.08

I do not recall Sinn Féin objecting to the ARP when the previous Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, introduced it at the time temporary protection was granted.

Sentiment score: 0.25

It was a necessary measure for the purpose of providing accommodation to the large number of people from Ukraine who came here. The Deputy said the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, and I have not done anything but we have. We reduced it from €800 to €600. I would have thought it is clearly the case we are gradually trying to introduce further measures in respect of it. We are bringing forward legislation to ensure it cannot be used in respect of rental properties so that the issues about which the Deputy and I are concerned will not apply. It is wrong to suggest it is having a completely distorting impact on the rental sector. It is predominantly used to accommodate people who have been granted temporary protection and individuals whom, if they are not accommodated pursuant to the ARP, the State will probably have to look at some other mechanism of accommodation.

Sentiment score: 0.15