Results 321-340 of 2,629 for speaker:Tim O'Malley

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: The purpose of this amendment is to restore a slightly reworded text of subsection (4)(a), which was deleted by Government amendment No. 103.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: I oppose amendments Nos. 107 and 108. Amendment No. 107, at the very least, leaves open the possibility for complaints to be made based only on hearsay. I have no doubt that it would also lead to the making of frivolous and unwarranted complaints to the commission. It would be entirely unsatisfactory to leave open the possibility for any person, upon hearing in passing of an alleged instance...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: Members should remember that the Garda Commissioner is responsible for all matters relating to discipline within the Garda Síochána. The provisions of the Bill dealing with the Garda ombudsman commission have been drafted with this very much to the fore. The Commissioner is the chief executive of the force, to use Senator Quinn's analogy on Second Stage. As such, he or she should properly...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: The Minister is opposed to these amendments as the intention behind them is to remove the provisions in the Bill providing for the referral of complaints to the Garda Commissioner for investigation, even in circumstances where they might be supervised by the ombudsman commission. This brings us back to the point about gardaí investigating gardaí. Senators may have some misunderstanding...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: Yes, the commission will have that power and will be able to investigate complaints at any time.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: I apologise to the Senator.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: There are two Senators by the name of Hayes.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: I am not prepared to accept this amendment. The question of payment of costs in respect of legal representation in these circumstances has been raised with me on a number of occasions by the Garda associations and I have resisted at every stage. There is no provision for the payment of costs in respect of legal representation under the existing Garda Complaints Board scheme. I do not propose...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: I understand that a complainant can bring with him or her a friend or someone of that nature. There is nothing to stop them, in the legislation, as drafted, from doing so.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: The Minister is not opposed to the principle behind this amendment. It is, however, unnecessary to amend the Bill to achieve its objective. As of now, 96% of interviews are electronically recorded. I am currently studying the third report of the steering committee on audio-video recording of Garda questioning of detained persons, presented to me last September. The committee is satisfied with...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: The Minister is opposed to this amendment. The powers at present available to members of the Garda Síochána under the legislative provisions in question are highly unlikely to be required by designated officers of the ombudsman commission for the purpose of conducting investigations into complaints from members of the public about members of the Garda Síochána. It is for that reason that...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: I oppose the amendment because it seeks to give the commission the power to authorise searches of Garda stations in circumstances in which a complaint might not involve an offence. With two exceptions which we have discussed, designated officers of the ombudsman commission will have all the powers of gardaí when conducting investigations into complaints which appear to involve offences. The...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: That is fine.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: This is a simple drafting amendment that proposes to insert the word "of" in section 91(5)(a).

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: There is a distinction. The crucial difference is that the PSNI is not concerned with state security.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: I have been informed by my officials that what I have just said is true. The PSNI is not concerned with state security.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: The blocking procedure applies only to designated Garda stations — those stations which, in the opinion of the Commissioner, may contain sensitive security information. In such cases, the Minister has the power to allow the search to go ahead, while restricting it to certain areas of the Garda station.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: We can return to it on Report Stage.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: This is a simple drafting change to delete the word "application" and insert "objection" in section 92(5).

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2004)

Tim O'Malley: The Minister is opposed to this amendment for the reasons he outlined last Friday during the debate on a similar subject arising from amendment No. 94, which concerned section 60. The Minister stated that, in the context of a criminal proceeding, the role of the ombudsman commission is purely investigatory in nature and that it would be wrong for it to have a prosecution role in addition to...