Results 181-200 of 428 for garda speaker:Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Government's Priorities for the Year Ahead: Statements (Resumed) (5 Mar 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...that there is no date for that legislation; it is not going to happen. We arrive now at the most profound failure - policing. If one listens to the Minister, Deputy Shatter, and to his pal the Garda Commissioner, one hears terms such as "modernisation" and claims that we have had tremendous success in combating crime. Everything is hunky-dory now because we have modernisation. We have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Operations: Discussion with An Garda Síochána (21 Nov 2012)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...must adapt and present a plan based on the budget. The Commissioner, the deputy commissioner and the assistant commissioners present have a responsibility to present to various people that the Garda Síochána has the capacity to respond to crime and protect our communities. I fully respect that but the problem is the Garda Representative Association, representing a huge...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...her analysis is correct, I assume the Minister would take that guidance and continue on this course, as is the intention, but the implications are profound. We have a unique situation where the Garda is responsible for policing and security. I cannot emphasise the seriousness of that. Given the way we set up An Garda Síochána in this State, which reflected times past, we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Operations: Discussion with An Garda Síochána (21 Nov 2012)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: A few years ago, a study of the Garda youth programme proved that it reduced crime by 64%. That was a great success. Is the Commissioner satisfied that Garda resources for engaging with communities, community policing and juvenile liaison schemes are sufficient to prevent crime reaching the stage where officers have to be deployed at the front line against dangerous criminals? Sinn...

Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014: Report Stage (4 Feb 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: He made the point that if information or documents requested by the Garda Ombudsman, or indeed other bodies, were withheld on security grounds, there should be an independent adjudication system, for example, as I have defined here, a High Court judge or person of that calibre. It is important because there will be grey areas. There will be matters of importance where the Garda...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Use of Irish Airspace and Landing Facilities: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Deputy Halligan does not have the advantage that Senators O’Keeffe and Ó Clochartaigh and I have because we have been to Shannon Airport and met the management there and the management of An Garda Síochána. Our sense of it is that the management of the airport operates within the law and allows flights, subject to the licence from the Department of Transport, Tourism...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Sep 2019)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...into the record. The whole community in the area in question is asking why this criminal thug, who violently assaulted a pensioner, has not been arrested. The pensioner in question was taken to a Garda station yesterday. His family took him to the station where gardaí were too busy to take a statement. We are now 72 hours on from this incident. The victim has not been questioned...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Report on Crime Investigation 2014: Garda Inspectorate (14 Jan 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Of course our committee will have a role in ensuring that the recommendations are implemented in following years. In its report, the Garda inspectorate refers to the reality that in a number of areas its concerns apply not only to the Garda Síochána but to other elements of the criminal justice system. Our committee has recommended a criminal justice inspectorate based on the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Garda Commissioner (11 Nov 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...the record. I disagree with any assessment that suggests that the Provisional IRA continues to exist. I believe it left the scene ten years ago. This is my view and the view of my party, but the Garda Commissioner has never expressed this view. It is important to put this on the record. My opinion is that her assessment is pretty much in line with the assessment of the PSNI, and I...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Inspectorate Reports (18 Nov 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Like the Minister, I am sure, I found the report a breath of fresh air. One can see the potential for An Garda Síochána if the recommendations are implemented. There is an opportunity to have a policing authority, a strengthened ombudsman and promotion on merit within the Garda where significant changes are required. There are also other opportunities that can be pursued. The...

Confidence in the Minister for Justice and Equality; and Defence: Motion [Private Members] (1 Apr 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...the last number of years and, in particular, if he would deal with the correspondence that was sent to him by Ian Bailey and a legal team in 2012 about their concerns relating to the failure of the Garda Commissioner to co-operate fully with, and give documentation to, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. It is very disappointing that the Taoiseach has not ensured that the...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary) (27 Nov 2012)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: The former assistant Garda Commissioner wrote an article in The Sunday Business Post criticising the smart policing model. The Minister should bear in mind the views of the Garda Representative Association and the Irish Farmers Association. The word "nostalgia" is just not appropriate. There are legitimate criticisms of the changes being made. Will the Minister give us a little more...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Changing Policing in Ireland Report: Garda Inspectorate (16 Dec 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...recommendations were made. I am interested in the area of statutory exemption for emergency vehicles. My understanding is that it applies to members of the fire service, ambulance service or An Garda Síochána who receive a fixed charge notice while in an emergency situation, that is, they are in the process of saving someone's life or preventing a criminal action taking place....

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary) (2 Dec 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: The Minister will not be surprised to hear that I welcome the overspend as the Garda Inspectorate recommended significantly increased investment in ICT. In fact, it wants to have the PULSE system replaced. I know that will not happen immediately, but I hope it will in due course. Will the Minister outline in more detail the things in which the Department is investing? The computer crime...

Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (12 Nov 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I would add that gardaí themselves, through the Garda Representative Association and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, AGSI, have stated repeatedly that they want politics removed from policing. It is not only the public who wants this following the episodes and the failure of the Department of Justice and Equality and Ministers to oversee An Garda Síochána...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Oversight: Discussion (14 May 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I did not explain it properly. At the GRA conference, the GRA called for a charter of fairness, which brings clarity to the rights of members of the Garda Síochána. That is entirely reasonable. Any citizen under investigation, whether in the private or public sector, has a right to due process and to defend himself. This has been missing from the debate. There is agreement that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Rural Crime: Irish Farmers Association (18 Nov 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...meeting of the joint committee. With regard to joint policing committees, I have concerns about the ability of community organisations and public representatives to engage with senior members of An Garda Síochána on the concerns that exist in a given county. When the Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015 is passed, which should...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Revised) (29 Jan 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: .... I got the sense the helicopters are vital. It was an education for me because I thought of it as concerning pursuit of vehicles. We think of TV news images of the pursuit of a driver by the Garda Síochána but helicopters are critical to policing support. Is the Minister looking at this area? Has there been dialogue with the support unit? Is there a need to provide more...

Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (12 Nov 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: An Garda Síochána is perhaps unique. I am not sure if it is the only one, but it is one of the few police services in the world that retains security and policing responsibilities. To compare it with the North is not to make an exact comparison. There are a number of intelligence agencies, including MI5 and MI6, that operate internally and externally from Whitehall and on the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Changing Policing in Ireland Report: Garda Inspectorate (16 Dec 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...solution-oriented. I merely refer to the failure to implement previous recommendations. I refer to the fixed-charge notice or penalty points report and the crime investigation report in which the Garda Inspectorate outlined a structure of a working group that would oversee the implementation of recommendations. For me, it is not an issue of Garda management; it is an issue for the...