The Minister for Justice ( ga, An tAire Dlí agus Cirt) is a senior minister in the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...

and leads the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. The Minister for Justice has overall responsibility for law and order in Ireland. The current Minister for Justice is

Simon Harris Simon Harris (born 17 October 1986) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael since 2024. A TD for the Wicklow constituency since 2011, he has served as a minister in the government of Ireland since 2016 and f ...

, TD. He is holding this position in a temporary capacity during the maternity leave of

Helen McEntee Helen McEntee (born 8 June 1986) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister for Justice from June 2020 to November 2022. From April to November 2021, she became a minister without portfolio during a period of maternity leave ...

, TD, who continues as a minister without portfolio. Harris is assisted by a

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

: * James Browne,

Minister of State at the Department of Justice The Minister of State at the Department of Justice is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Justice of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the Minister for Justice. A Minister of State does not hold ...

with responsibility for Law Reform, Civil Justice and Immigration.

History

From 1919 until 1924 the position was known as the Minister for Home Affairs. In 1997, the functions of the Minister for Equality and Law Reform were transferred to this Minister, and it was renamed as the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, a title which it retained until 2010. The minister held the title of Minister for Justice and Equality from 2011 to 2020. As of 2020, the position is known as Minister for Justice. This followed a transfer of functions to the

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth ( ga, An tAire Leanaí, Comhionannais, Míchumais, Lánpháirtíochta agus Óige) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Children, Equ ...

Overview

The Minister's main areas of responsibility include: *Implementing government policy and proposing new policy on crime, immigration, asylum, criminal and civil law reform and the criminal justice system in general. *Implementation of government policy and proposing new policy in relation to national security (an area many countries assign to a separate 'Home' or 'Homeland Security' minister) *Control and reform of the Garda Síochána *Pardons (which are formally given by the President on the binding "advice" of the government, after proposal by the Minister for Justice - a rarely used power) *Implementation of core elements of the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

List of office-holders

;Notes

References

External links

Department of Justice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Justice

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Ireland, Justice

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Minister