MINISTER FOR JUSTICE Helen McEntee will seek Cabinet approval this morning to open extradition negotiations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The move follows a recent meeting between the Minister and her UAE counterpart, Minister for Justice Abdullah Bin Sultan Awad Al Nuaimi and comes as both countries have been working more together in recent times to tackle organised crime.

It also follows engagement between Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and the UAE authorities and his visit to Dubai in recent weeks to meet with Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri.

In October, a delegation of senior Dubai police visited Dublin for meetings with An Garda Síochána on the ongoing transnational investigation into the Kinahan organised crime gang. 

It is understood the Minister will tell Cabinet that bilateral treaties between Ireland and the UAE on mutual legal assistance and extradition would be of “significant support” in tackling organised crime and transnational drug trafficking gangs.

McEntee is set to tell Cabinet that in cases where criminals are “hiding out” in the UAE, An Garda Síochána need to be able to bring them back to Ireland to face charges for their crimes. 

A number of other EU Member States already have bilateral mutual legal assistance and extradition treaties in place with the UAE which Ireland plans to draw on.

Today’s development comes following a commitment from the Government to crack down on organised crime, with positions created overseas in recent years to help the gardaí do so. 

Following a request from Drew Harris, the Government last year approved the expansion of the Garda Liason Officer Network. 

This created two new positions for Garda Liaison Officers -one in Abu Dhabi and the second in Bangkok. These were in addition to existing posts in Madrid, Paris, London, The Hague, Washington DC and Bogota.

‘Women in the home’ referendum

Separately, Cabinet is also set to approve the wording of the so-called ‘women in the home’ referendum today.

There have been concerns about the final wording of the referendum, which is due to be held on 8 March next year.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said two referendums on gender equality will need to held on the same day.

Separately, Higher Education Minister Simon Harris will inform Cabinet of new rules for student visas. He will today confirm the International Education Mark will come into effect early in the new year.

This is effectively a quality assurance measure for all English-language schools.

Schools that do not pass the statutory regulatory regime will not be assigned the mark and will not be eligible to recruit international students.

English language students will not be eligible for a visa unless attending a school with the International Education Mark, which will come into effect in June 2025.

The purpose is to provide a quality educational experience to learners and to avoid learners being facilitated in work first, rather than being given a high quality experience.

Department of Education

Elsewhere, it is understood that Education Minister Norma Foley will bring a memo to Cabinet this morning about the performance of Irish students in the latest PISA survey.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a project of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), of which Ireland is a member.

It usually takes place every three years and aims to measure how well 15 year-old students are performing in reading, mathematics and science.

The last PISA report was in 2018 however as the 2022 report was delayed due to the impact of Covid-19 on the education system.

Students in 170 Irish schools participated in the 2022 assessment – the results of which will be published at 10am today alongside other OECD countries.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue will also update government on work to ensure Irish exporters, especially agrifood, intensify preparations for new import controls by the UK coming early next year.

A cross-Government communications campaign, with media engagements and print and radio advertising, which will continue to roll out in December and January.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien will also government on current progress on the Action Plan for An Bord Pleanála.

With reporting by Jane Matthews.