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Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration

The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration () is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. The department's mission is to maintain and enhance community security and to promote a fairer society in Ireland.

Departmental team

Overview

The mission of the Department of Justice is to maintain and enhance community security through the development of a range of policies and high-quality services which underpin:

  • The protection and assertion of human rights and fundamental freedoms consistent with the common good
  • The security of the State
  • An effective and balanced approach to tackling crime

In July 2014 the department embarked on a comprehensive programme of change, including the recruitment of a new secretary-general following an independent review.

The official headquarters and ministerial offices of the department are on St Stephen's Green, Dublin.

Responsibilities

The department's main areas of responsibility include:

  • Implementing government policy on crime and protecting the security of the State (National Security Committee).
  • Providing policy advice in relation to the criminal justice system (Garda Síochána, the Courts, Prisons and Probation and Welfare services) and supporting the operation of this system.
  • Continuing reform of criminal law and certain areas of civil law.
  • Playing a central part in the implementation of core elements in the Good Friday Agreement.
  • Co-operating in relevant EU and international matters and promoting the Republic of Ireland's interests within the associated areas of responsibility.
  • Implementing the Government's asylum strategy and further developing national immigration policy.

Immigration Service Delivery

Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) is an office of the department, previously named the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS), was established in 2005 to deal with access to asylum, immigration, citizenship and visas. ISD is responsible for administering the administrative functions of the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in relation to asylum, immigration (including visas) and citizenship matters. ISD also facilitates a whole of government approach to immigration and asylum issues which enables a more efficient service to be provided in these areas. It also works with the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment on the issuing of work permits.

The Service is structured around a number of key areas: asylum, visa, immigration and citizenship processing, asylum and immigration policy, repatriation and reception and integration. The agency also maintains close contact with the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) in relation to many aspects of its work including, deportations and illegal immigration. Members of the Garda Síochána of Detective rank, also carrying the seal of Immigration Officers operate on a full-time basis within the head office in Burgh Quay. A Garda Immigration office is also maintained at all Airports and main ports and at all Garda District Headquarters outside the Dublin Region.

Previously the responsibilities were shared between the Department of Justice and the Department of Foreign Affairs. It is located at 13/14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2.

The Border Management Unit (BMU) is ISD's uniformed, front-line service providing Immigration Control at Dublin Airport. It was established as part of the Department of Justice's move to civilianize aspects of immigration management. The BMU gradually took over all front-line immigration control services from GNIB at Dublin Airport and is now solely responsible for these matters, with limited GNIB resources left at the airport for criminal investigations, detention services and removals of persons from the State. It is planned that the BMU will expand to take over front-line immigration at all Ports of Entry in the State.

Executive agencies

The department has executive agencies, which legally are integral parts of the department but which are managed separately:

Affiliated bodies

Among the state agencies and other bodies affiliated to the department in some way are:

No state-sponsored bodies report to the department.

History

In the revolutionary period, the office was known as the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924, passed soon after the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, provided it with a statutory basis and renamed it as the Department of Justice. This act provided it with:

The schedule assigned it with the following bodies:

  • All Courts of Justice and the Offices thereof save in so far as the same are reserved to the Executive Council or are excepted from the authority of the Executive Council or of an Executive Minister.
  • Police.
  • The General Prisons Board for Ireland and all Prisons.
  • The Registrar of District Court Clerks.
  • The Public Record Office.
  • The Registry of Deeds.
  • The Land Registry.
  • The Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland.

Alteration of name and transfer of functions

The name and functions of the department have changed by means of statutory instruments.

References

External links