Results 21-40 of 3,798 for speaker:Mark Ward

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: Last week I raised with the GRA the concern that a number of these people could lose interest because they might have found new careers in the meantime.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: What is the Minister doing to speed this up?

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: Based on the average, how many of the 200 in the next intake will pass?

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: Let me go back to what I said originally. It is lovely when running for election and just after that to say we will have 5,000 new gardaí on the ground, but I have a concern about this. Everything going well, with all entrants passing, the number will be lower than 4,000.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: Okay.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: Nobody in this room-----

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: Nobody in this room wishes that the Minister will not meet the targets-----

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: -----because they are absolutely needed.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: If the Minister falls behind on the target, is there capacity to catch up?

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: I wish to move on to transport. The Minister said there is an additional €10 million available for it. In the whole region that includes my area, Clondalkin, and Ballyfermot, there was a serious incident and only one Garda car available on the night. Will the €10 million be sufficient to see not only more Garda cars at each station but also gardaí to drive them so they...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: There has to be triage.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: It might not be serious in the grand scheme of things but it is to the constituent who picks up the phone.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: On redeployment, the Minister has mentioned what occurs when something serious happens. There is a Garda overtime budget of €150 million for the coming year. How much of that will be spent on tackling antisocial behaviour and organised crime? How much will be spent on policing festivals and the likes of Ireland and Dublin matches?

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: I will move on to my last point, which Deputy Gannon alluded to. The increased police presence in Dublin city is welcome. I have seen it myself.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: However, sometimes it is often a question of the more suburban areas of Dublin. When the very serious incident happened, many gardaí in my area and surrounding areas were taken to the inner city to have a presence, leaving our areas with a dearth. I have mentioned several times that if I am aware of redeployment from my area when there is a serious incident elsewhere, the drug dealers,...

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: I thank the Minister.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: In the real world, where I live, many constituents have contacted me over incidents. These might not be big or headline incidents but they are to those who pick up the phone to call the gardaí. The gardaí themselves say they do not have a car available on the night, and that is for big areas like Clondalkin or Lucan. This is an issue and it needs to be addressed.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: I see money has been allocated for netting to prevent drone drops. Have any alternative approaches been considered, such as the antidrone technology that is used in Dublin Airport, for example?

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: Is there a reason the Prison Service has not considered this technology? To me, it seems like a no-brainer. If the drones cannot fly over a prison, they cannot drop anything in.

Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Further Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Mark Ward: On prisons again, in May of last year a decision was made to repurpose the progression unit in Mountjoy. I know the Minister has spoken about increasing capacity but the closure of this unit has left a big gap in the Prison Service. It is one of the units that can lead to the decrease in recidivism. Is there any plan or will to reopen or repurpose the progression unit in Mountjoy back to...