Helen McEntee

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Fionnán Sheahan Opinion No, Minister: ‘Tony Holohan effect’ puts public servants in charge as politics fails

Call it the ‘Tony Holohan effect’ if you will, but there’s a growing pattern of public servants dictating to politicians how the country is governed. The now-former chief medical officer departed the scene on Friday but there’s a ‘Long Covid legacy’ lingering in the political system.

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Eoin O'Malley Opinion Society must face facts and accept its role in crime crisis

Every time any of us goes online — which is pretty much every waking moment for a lot of people — we are annoyingly asked whether we consent to receive the website’s cookies.

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Politicians are ‘putting patient safety at risk’ by holding up Navan Hospital emergency department closure

Delays in closing Navan Hospital’s emergency department due to political opposition are putting the lives of critically ill patients at risk, the hospital’s clinical director has warned.

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‘I knew my case was strong, but the data watchdog just wasn’t listening’

A carpenter’s assistant at Harold’s Cross hospice has spoken of his fears of losing his house over huge legal bills as he fought the Data Protection Commission (DPC) in a six-year legal battle over his employer’s use of CCTV to take disciplinary action against him.

Helen McEntee cracks down on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, as she prepares to welcome her second child

It’s been such a long time coming that it’s well overdue. But finally, a plan has been hatched to tackle a problem that has been the scourge of our society.

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Julia Molony Opinion Policies must dig even deeper to end scourge of gender-based violence

Justice Minister Helen McEntee wants to usher in a new era in gender relations in Ireland. To do so, she has announced an ambitious new national strategy to tackle domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

Letters to the Editor Opinion Victims of domestic violence need financial support too

The gender-based violence strategy, to be unveiled by Justice Minister Helen McEntee (‘Perfect storm of Covid violence and lethal cases nudged abuse plan to fruition’, Irish Independent, June 28) after 18 months of work, will include new refuges and longer jail sentences to enforce zero tolerance for crimes such as rape, domestic abuse and sexual violence.

New bill to allow councillors take maternity leave – but TDs and senators need Constitutional change

COUNCILLORS are to get maternity leave – but the Government’s advice is that conferring the same entitlement on TDs and senators will need a Constitutional amendment.

‘Zero tolerance’: Domestic violence sentences will double under new laws

Ireland will double criminal penalties to 10 years for domestic abusers and double the number of refuge spaces under a €360m plan to try to end domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

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Helen McEntee faces Cabinet backlash over gardaí plans for facial recognition

Justice Minister Helen McEntee is facing a Cabinet backlash over plans to give gardaí powers to use controversial facial recognition technology (FRT) in murder, missing person and child sex abuse cases.

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Ministerial ratings: Two years after Cabinet was formed, who has outstayed their welcome and who deserves to be asked back?

THIS weekend marks two years since the ‘grand coalition’ of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party came to power. Micheál Martin’s Cabinet picks brought together a mix of very experienced ministers and rookie TDs. With a reshuffle scheduled for later this year, Political Correspondent Senan Molony assesses who is swimming and sinking.

Editorial Opinion McEntee’s good news shows up political system

A woman having a baby shouldn’t spark a constitutional crisis. Those days are supposed to be behind us. Neither should it raise questions about whether she will have to give up her job. Those days are supposed to be behind us too.

Politicians told they need to start taking maternity leave to lift barriers to women

Politicians have been warned they need to start taking maternity leave to change a “culture” that is stopping women from getting into politics.

Law rushed through to avoid crisis over garda court presenters

Politicians have passed emergency legislation aimed at avoiding a crisis for Garda resources and the operation of the District Court.

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Mother of 4x4 murder victim Kevin Sheehy fears crippling legal costs after bid to stop son’s killer leaving country

The mother of murder victim Kevin Sheehy is worried she could be landed with all the legal costs arising from her bid to stop her son’s killer being transferred to the UK.

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Lorraine Courtney Opinion Nightlife isn’t just about pubs and clubs – retail, arts and culture can reap the rewards of late opening too

Rod Stewart once said something along the lines of, “I went to New Zealand – it was closed.” Rod was joking. But there’s a serious point in there: a truly great city, or indeed town, never sleeps. Every vibrant city has a bustling nightlife.

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‘The hate mail was worth it’ says former TD who led the push against handgun ownership in Ireland

A former Fine Gael TD who was targeted with hate mail over his campaign almost 15 years ago to ban handguns has warned of the “creeping proliferation” of the weapons once again.

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New laws to protect landowners against personal injury claims from walkers

New laws are being drafted that will better protect landowners against potential lawsuits from walkers and hikers who injure themselves on their land.

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DAA and gardaí clash over armed patrols led to frosty relations at Dublin Airport

It all started with a brawl. Or a video of a brawl, to be more specific, showing a number of men violently fighting in the arrivals area of Dublin Airport’s Terminal One on May 24.

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Victim’s family ‘retraumatised’ by transfer of murderer to UK prison

Justice Minister Helen McEntee approved the transfer of a convicted murderer back to England — months before the victim’s family were informed of the transfer, the Sunday Independent can reveal.

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Desperate families seek funding boost to help gardaí crack ‘cold case’ crimes

Fourteen cold case crimes are under investigation by the Garda’s Serious Crime Review Team (SCRT), prompting calls for more resources to be provided for the unit to meet family demand.

Facial recognition technology will be available to gardaí to help identify suspects under new law

Gardaí will be given powers to use facial recognition technology to identify suspects in serious crimes for the first time.

Plan to speed up civil courts process but no action yet on high legal costs

A plan to speed up and simplify the civil courts has been approved by Government, but action on the issue of high legal costs is not set to be announced until next year.

Drew Harris and Helen McEntee pay tribute to gardaí who died in the line of duty

An annual memorial to honour gardaí who died in the line of duty was held in Dublin yesterday.

Double nightmare of domestic abuse and substance use affecting 11,000 women in Ireland

More than 11,000 women in Ireland experienced domestic abuse while also struggling with substance use in Ireland in 2020, new research released today shows.

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Burglars will no longer be able to claim for suffering injury

The Cabinet has agreed to amend insurance legislation in order to make it harder for personal injuries claimants to take legal action against businesses and community groups

Helen McEntee under pressure from Fine Gael over jails’ capacity amid crime crackdown

Justice Minister Helen McEntee has been called upon by her own party to ensure there is an increase in the number of prison places amid a major crackdown on crime.

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Exclusive extract: Leaks, renegades, rows and reason – Inside Ireland’s Covid response

December 2, 2021 Cases: 578,064; Deaths: 5,707; Seven-day average of new cases: 4,451

Justice Minister warns bringing Kinahan crime group down leaves scope for other gangs to take its place

Justice Minister Helen McEntee has warned bringing the Kinahan organised crime group down leaves scope for other gangs to move into the space they occupied.

Prison officers call on Taoiseach to set record straight on ‘misconduct’ comments

THE Prison Officers’ Association (POA) has called on Taoiseach Micheál Martin to correct comments he made in the Dáil alleging misconduct which it says were later proved untrue.