A man, understood to be aged in his 50s, appeared before Cashel District Court at 4.15pm this afternoon; same charged regarding a series of armed robberies targeting bookmakers, here in Co. Tipperary.
As part of ongoing investigations into these armed robberies, the accused was arrested by detectives from the Clonmel District Crime Unit, following an operation conducted in west Co. Dublin, on Wednesday, October 18th last.
The arrest related to four incidents which took place in September and October, 2023. The ongoing investigations related to robberies at premises in Fethard on September 28th last, Killenaule on October 12th last, Carrick-on-Suir on October 15th last, and an earlier attempted robbery in Clonmel, on October 7th.
Following the arrest of the accused, he was taken to a Garda Station in Co. Tipperary and detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007.
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, will today officially open the state-of-the-art Limerick Female Prison, marking a significant development in Ireland’s justice system.
The Limerick Female Prison has accommodation for a minimum of 50 female prisoners. It will increase capacity across the prison estate, as well as providing an environment that promotes rehabilitation, helps reduce reoffending and helps to build stronger, safer communities.
Designed with a focus on rehabilitation, the Limerick Female Prison aims to offer a range of educational, vocational, and therapeutic programs to equip inmates with the necessary tools for a law-abiding life after their release.
These initiatives include educational courses, vocational training, mental health support, addiction counselling, and access to healthcare services.
The accommodation comprises of a mixture bedroom units, some apartment style units and a mother and baby unit, all with individual en-suites.
Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD said; “The opening of Limerick Female Prison marks an important step forward in increasing capacity across the prison estate and helping us build stronger, safer communities. These additional spaces are necessary to ensure that we have the sufficient space and facilities to support those committed to serve a custodial sentence in an environment that is safe and has the space and capacity to focus on rehabilitation. They also reflect our commitment to rehabilitating prisoners, reduce re-offending and put them on a path to leading law abiding lives. This modern facility reflects our determination to provide an environment that enables prisoners to address the underlying causes of their offending behaviours and helps them reintegrate successfully into society”.
In addition the opening of Limerick Female Prison today, over 200 spaces were provided across the prison estate in the last year, with an additional 96 spaces provided with the reopening of the Training Unit in Mountjoy, an additional 90 cell spaces with the opening of new male accommodation in Limerick.
Minister McEntee also intends to prioritise 4 additional short-term capital projects at Castlerea, Cloverhill, the Midlands and Mountjoy that could provide accommodation for a minimum of 620 additional people over the next 5 years.
The Minister is engaging with the Minister for Public Expenditure with a view to progressing an agreed schedule of capital builds. Budget 2024 provided an increase of €27 million in the Irish Prisons Service budget, including an extra €12.6m in pay to fund public sector pay increases and additional staff to cope with increasing prisoner numbers and services to prisoners. The new staff provided for in this increased allocation will include extra staff to assist with a Rapid Prison Building Unit to drive the Government’s intention to provide of over 620 new prisoner spaces over the next 5 years.
In addition, the Department of Justice and the IPS continue to work together to identify short, medium and longer term proposals to help manage capacity.
Director General of the Irish Prison Service, Ms Caron McCaffrey said, “I am delighted to announce the official opening of the new Limerick Female Prison. I want to take this opportunity to commend all the staff who worked on this development but also ongoing the modernisation of the Irish Prison Service estate. I feel a huge sense of pride and this new prison will equip women who come into custody with the necessary tools to lead law-abiding lives after their release”.
The opening of Limerick Female Prison signifies Ireland’s dedication to transforming its prison system into one that prioritises rehabilitation, reducing the likelihood of reoffending and contributing positively to communities. The facility aligns with international best practices. It is also essential that the prison estate is modern and fit for purpose and has the capacity to accommodate those committed to prison by the courts both now and into the future. The new Limerick Female Prison builds on the works that have been completed across the prison estate over the last number of years.
A male, aged in in his 50s, was arrested by Gardaí at a bus stop in Youghal on Thursday last, following the ongoing Garda investigation into the murder of Ms Tina Satchwell. We understand the arrested man has since been charged and is expected to appear before a special sitting of Cashel District Court, Cashel, Co. Tipperary at 10:30am, tomorrow morning, Saturday, October 14th, 2023.
His arrest follows the discovery of human remains on a property at Grattan Street, Youghal, Co Cork, on Wednesday, October 11th last; same remains having now been confirmed as being those of Ms Satchwell, using available dental records.
Her remains were located in a walled-up area under a stairwell, where it is believed fresh renovation work had been carried out in the immediate area.
Ms Satchwell was last seen alive in March of 2017 last and Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster, together with anthropologist Dr Laureen Buckley, both attended at the scene on Thursday last, with Dr Bolster carrying out a preliminary examination of the remains, now identified. Her decomposed remains have since been removed to Cork University Hospital for a further indepth examination, which is expected to reveal details of how Ms Satchwell met her tragic demise.
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, has welcomed the attestation of a further 126 members of An Garda Síochána at the Garda College, Templemore, Co. Tipperary today.
The newly attested Garda members have now completed their training and will be assigned to Garda Divisions throughout the country.
Of the 126 attesting today, 91 are men; 35 are women and 5 were born outside of the Irish State.
Speaking at the event today Minister Of Justice Mrs Helen McEntee said: “I want to congratulate the recruits passing out in Templemore today and wish them all the best in their future careers. Their commitment to public service and building stronger, safer communities is something to be commended and which we are all grateful for.”
Minister McEntee and the Garda Commissioner Mr Drew Harris announced, at the attestation today, that the age limit for joining An Garda Síochána is to increase from 35 to 50.
Minister McEntee stated further, that she and Commissioner Drew Harris both believe that the age should be changed in advance of the next Garda recruitment campaign, in order to give as many people as possible the opportunity to apply to An Garda Síochána. The entry age limit of 35 has been in place since 2004, when it was increased from a limit 26 years of age. A new age limit of 50 is being chosen to widen the opportunity to join An Garda Síochána, but to also ensure there is an appropriate period of time, between someone potentially entering at 50 and retiring ten years later. As part of the budget package for An Garda Síochána announced earlier this week, they have also provided for a 66% increase in the Garda training allowance to €305.
The retirement age is currently set at 60, but Minister McEntee has also held discussions with Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe on this issue. The change to the entry age can only be made by way of regulation following approval by the Cabinet, and Minister McEntee will bring proposals to Government shortly. The announcement comes at a time when Garda recruitment is accelerating following a Covid enforced pause, during which the Garda College in Templemore was closed.
Minister McEntee concluded by stating: “I am delighted that Garda recruitment, both in terms of Garda members and Garda staff, is gaining significant momentum after the Covid-enforced pause. Another class will enter the College on Monday, another in December, and we have provided funding for the recruitment of between 800 and 1000 new Gardaí in 2024. One of my key priorities as Minister for Justice is to build safer and stronger communities by reducing and preventing crime, continually working to enhance national security and transforming and strengthening An Garda Síochána. I am committed to ensuring they have the resources they need, as reflected in the unprecedented budgets over the last 3 years, now reaching €2.3billion for 2024, a 23% increase on 2020. We are not only investing in recruitment, but in a range of other supports too – we are ensuring better protections for Gardaí, through the introduction of body worn cameras and stronger penalties for assaults on frontline workers; we are supporting the Commissioner to modernise ICT to improve efficiencies in the organisation; increasing the number of Garda staff to free Gardaí up for frontline duties; and the recruitment of a Reserve class for the first time since 2017 next year. Another priority for me is delivering on the reforms recommended by the Commission on the Future of Policing through the enactment and commencement of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill which will strengthen the governance and oversight of An Garda Síochána, and will enhance the safety of our communities through greater collaboration between a range of public service bodies, not just An Garda Síochána. I truly believe that the new recruits are joining the organisation at a time of massive opportunity both for them and for the organisation – they are joining a police service that is continually developing to ensure it is world-class, and we are giving them every support to ensure they can achieve that.”
€2.3bn budget for An Garda Síochána is €172m increase on 2023.
Budget 2024 Highlights:
Garda:
Funding for Garda Vote up 23% (€430m) since 2020 to €2.3 billion.
Recruitment of between 800 and 1,000 new Gardaí and 250 additional Garda staff in 2024.
66% increase in training allowance (to €305 per week).
€6m provided for wellbeing initiatives, medical costs and over 2,500 units of body armour.
The total gross allocation for the Garda Vote in 2024 is €2.31 billion, an increase of over €172m. This takes into account the pay increases payable under Building Momentum. The extra €172million also includes provision for:
Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence and Community Safety:
€12m increase in funding for Zero Tolerance strategy, including a new DSGBV agency, and support for the delivery of refuge accommodation.
An increase of €3.5m to a total of €7.9m for community safety initiatives including establishment of partnerships nationwide and a National Coordination Office.
A further €2.9m (+10%) in funding for Youth Justice Strategy bringing the total budget to over €33m.
€3.6m in additional funding for GoSafe speed cameras with a further €0.5m investment in CCTV schemes.
Prisons/Probation:
Irish Prisons Service budget increased by over €27m to €439m.
An extra €9m in staffing to provide for 65,000 additional hours to deal with the current pressures and the recruitment of more prison officers.
€2.5m additional allocation for the Probation Service will fund expansion of JARC (joint agency response to crime), community service and restorative justice, providing effective alternatives to prison.
Other:
€9m to make progress in restoring criminal legal aid fees with a 10% increase in early 2024. Following the Budget, more work will be undertaken with the legal professions on further strengthening criminal legal aid.
€1.4 million to provide courts staffing to support the additional judges nominated by the Government.
€21m to further accelerate International Protection processing, with 125 additional staff to be recruited by end 2024. €6m to continue the response to the war in Ukraine.
€5.5m to the Legal Aid Board to recruit new staff, increase investment in ICT and provide for additional costs directly related to the increase in immigration applications.
€2.2m to support victims of crime including the “Know your Rights” campaign and implementation of the new Human Trafficking Action Plan.
€4m for first year of new Gambling Regulatory Authority.
Courts Vote:
The total gross allocation for the Courts Vote in 2024 is €183 million, including capital funding of €67m.
The Courts Service will receive €1.4m for up to 35 additional staffing to directly support the work of new members of the Judiciary.
€1.4m more to provide for the progression of e-Probate and other elements of the Courts Modernisation Programme; to simplify the processes in court proceedings and make the services more accessible to all.
€2m in extra support to meet the additional operational costs across the Courts Service.
Data Protection Commission:
The total gross allocation for the Data Protection Commission Vote in 2024 is €27.9million.
The allocation for the Commission will continue to increase in 2024 and builds upon an increase of 60% since 2020 (€11m). This reflects the important role played by the Data Protection Commission in safeguarding privacy rights. The total allocation of almost €28m will provide for restructuring to a new three Commissioner operating model and the move to new headquarter premises in Dublin.
Policing Authority:
The allocation of €4.4m will provide additional resources for the establishment of a new body the Policing and Community Safety Authority in 2024 which will replace the Authority and Garda Síochána Inspectorate.
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee today welcomed the significant increase in Budget allocation of over €3.27 billion in current expenditure plus €274m for capital projects for the Justice sector in 2024, with a particular focus on building stronger, safer communities.
This unprecedented budget will strengthen the work of An Garda Síochána and the criminal justice sector to prevent and detect crime and protect communities; allow for the establishment of the new statutory agency to support victims and work to eliminate domestic, sexual and gender-based violence; and fund the nationwide rollout of Community Safety Partnerships.
Budget 2024 continues to build investment in diverting young people away from involvement in crime, to make youth diversion projects available in every community in Ireland for the first time, with an increased focus on weekend activities and marginalised young people.
It will also invest in our prisons, including new staff in a number of areas such as a Rapid Prison Building Unit to drive the Government’s intention to provide over 400 new prison spaces over the next 5 years.
It also supports the development of effective alternatives to prison through a number of multi-agency projects which will also assist in dealing with the acute pressures in the prison system.
Funding continues to grow in respect of the Department of Justice work in responding to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and in processing increased applications for international protection. Making more decisions and adjudicating on appeals quicker, while maintaining fair procedures, delivers for customers and relieves pressure elsewhere, supporting a balanced system.
Budget 2024 supports the rollout of critical modernisation and digitisation needs across the Justice sector and facilitates further growth of the Data Protection Commission to safeguard people’s privacy.
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