Results 441-460 of 4,009 for speaker:Martin Kenny

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: Is that to meet the additional numbers the force is seeking? Obviously, a number of gardaí will retire as well. When the 75 recruits come in, how many corresponding officers will be lost to retirement or whatever? Is An Garda Síochána running to stand still?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: Another issue I want to raise in this regard is the duties and functions of the road policing unit. Are there particular parts of roads that would be seen as danger areas even though there may not have been a collision, or numerous collisions, there? We are often contacted by people in communities who say there are regular near misses and issues on a particular stretch of road. When we go...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: Is there a way of making formal recommendations or is it merely a case of a conversation taking place?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: Do roads policing gardaí sit on that group?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: Are those groups established in each local authority?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: Okay. I would like to mention another issue that has come up. Every time there is an incident on the roads, we hear gardaí appealing for dashcam footage to be uploaded or sent to them. There are two sides to that. First, the number of Garda vehicles that have dashcams is an issue. I know that the new vehicles which are being purchased have dashcams. Is any effort being made to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: Are there any issues with footage like that being used as evidence? Could there be difficulties around that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: Ms Hilman mentioned the expansion of hours for the GoSafe vans. That is fine, but I have always regarded them as one-trick ponies, unfortunately. They watch one thing and that is speed whereas a member of An Garda Síochána monitoring traffic monitors everything. If there are people moving drugs, travelling in a stolen car, stealing farm machinery or up to anything, gardaí...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: Deputy O'Rourke is next.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: The witnesses stated that their new drug wipe test was not only portable, but delivered faster results on the list of drugs it detected. From an evidential point of view, is that test sufficient or, as with alcohol, does the person have to be taken into the station to be given a blood or urine test?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: We have always heard that, when a person drinks alcohol, the level reduces every hour afterwards because alcohol is essentially water soluble whereas many drugs remain in people’s fat cells. At least, that is what I have heard. The witnesses might confirm or deny it. If a person takes drugs at the weekend, those drugs would still be in his or her system three, four or five days...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: If a person consumed cannabis on a Saturday evening, it would likely be detected the following Tuesday morning.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: It is up to five or six times more expensive.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: We hear anecdotally from gardaí about the amount of red tape they have to go through to take a prosecution. Is there any way of streamlining the process and making it easier so that we can get more of their working time spent out detecting crime and dangerous behaviour?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: Regarding drug detection, many people take medicines or use cannabis oils, ointments and so on, for example. I am thinking of the slick barrister – we have a few of them in Leinster House – who can talk his or her way around that. I am not referring to anyone on this committee, thankfully. Has the Garda gone through enough prosecution cases yet to be able to determine where...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: The drug test is not for a specific level, but any level. Does that create a problem? If a person consumes a drug, he or she can test positive up to a week later. Obviously, the person’s driving would not be affected at that stage. The test is just detecting the legacy of something that happened well in the past. Is discretion applied? Are there issues? Does the test involve any...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: If they fail the blood test at all, though, they will be prosecuted.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: It is also an illegal substance in the first place and not like having alcohol.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: I know.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Relating to Road Safety: An Garda Síochána (15 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: Yes. I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach.