The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter, TD, has today secured Government approval for the drafting of the Court of Appeal Bill 2014 and for the publication of the General Scheme of that Bill. The purpose of the Bill is to make the necessary legislative provision for the establishment of the Court of Appeal following on from the successful Referendum result of October 2013 which was passed by 65.2% of voters. The establishment of such a Court was one of the key commitments in the Programme for Government.

Fine Gael Cork North West TD and member of the Oireachtas Jobs Committee, Aine Collins, has today (Tuesday) said that the report from the Entrepreneurship Forum, chaired by Sean O’Sullivan, contains practical proposals on how to boost our number of successful entrepreneurs. Deputy Collins was speaking after the former Dragon’s Den star appeared before the Jobs Committee to discuss the report’s contents.

I am speaking today on behalf of Minister Alan Shatter who would like to thank the Senators for raising this matter today. This is an important topic which Minister Shatter has been considering alongside the many other reforms of our court systems that are already underway.

Fine Gael Clare Senator and Seanad Spokesperson on Justice, Martin Conway, has said that victims’ rights should be central to the operation of the criminal justice system in Ireland. Senator Conway made his comments in advance of the European Day for victims of crime, which takes place tomorrow (Saturday).

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Alan Shatter TD, has asked me to convey to the House his regret at not being in attendance today. He is in Greece at a meeting of the EU Defence Ministers, a matter of considerable importance in the context of his work as Minister for Defence.

Speaking today, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter TD said, “Yesterday, I found it necessary to relieve the Garda Confidential Recipient Mr Oliver Connolly of his position.

Fine Gael Limerick TD and President of the Irish Association of Suicidology, Dan Neville, has today (Friday) welcomed the warning from Gerry Raleigh from the HSE’s National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) about the dangers of using services offering suicide and mental health counselling services which are not vetted and may be unsafe.

The Government has appointed retired High Court Judge John Cooke to conduct the Independent Inquiry into Reports of Unlawful Surveillance of the Garda Siochána Ombudsman Commission.

Fine Gael Cork South Central TD, Jerry Buttimer, has said that a long term flood prevention plan to protect Cork must be prioritised. Speaking on the matter in the Dáil, Deputy Buttimer also welcomed the commitment of funding for the project by Minister of State at the OPW, Brian Hayes TD.

Minister announces that he and Minister for Health have commenced work on preparation of “open disclosure” legislation which would involve hospitals and medical personnel having to inform patients or families of medical incidents/failures that have caused harm or which are responsible for the death of a patient.