Results 41-60 of 987 for garda speaker:Leo Varadkar

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It is important that all parts of the State and all counties are adequately policed. I agree on that. We are back up to about 14,000 Garda members at the moment. We expect 700 to 800 recruits through the Garda College this year, rising to 800 to 1,000 next year. That will allow total Garda numbers to increase to 14,500 by the end of next year. We are raising the minimum age at which you...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I very much regret any inconvenience caused to people from Wicklow, Meath or Kildare who are essential workers, perhaps in hospitals, in Dublin. As the Deputy is aware, Garda operations are a matter for the Garda Commissioner. We do not get too involved and that is probably for the best. However, I certainly will make sure this is part of the discussion in...

Seanad: Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (29 Sep 2011)

Leo Varadkar: ...to the Road Traffic Act 2010. This amendment relates to section 12 of the 2010 Act, which deals with the obligations on drivers to provide breath, blood or urine specimens following arrest at a Garda station. The amendment extends the provision so that a driver, following arrest, can be required to provide a specimen at a hospital if a position arises where a driver must be transferred...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (24 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: ...Principal grade is on secondment to the ODCE for a period of twelve months and can request to have this period of secondment extended. The Director of Corporate Enforcement engages directly with An Garda Síochána regarding Garda resourcing of the ODCE. The Department is aware that a request for Garda resources has been made and understands 6 assignments will be made by year-end....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: ...Holdings are totally unacceptable, as is the violence perpetrated against Kevin Lunney. It is a question of the rule of law. Law and order must prevail in all parts of the country. I met the Garda Commissioner, with the Minister for Justice and Equality, on this matter only last week. I spoke to John McCartin twice on the phone and I will speak to him again. He has been complimentary...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Government’s policy is to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. Part of being tough on crime is providing more resources for gardaí as well as ensuring the Garda Síochána is reformed in order that those resources turn into actual gardaí on the street and on the ground for people to see them. This is what all the reforms are about. It is about...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Programme for Government (27 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The interim report was a long time coming. The decision that we would open six Garda stations on a pilot basis and that there would be a review of the Garda stations that were closed was made over a year ago. That interim report was a long time coming and it recommends six new Garda stations, some brand new and some old ones being reopened such as Rush and Leighlinbridge in County Carlow,...

Order of Business (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Rush is fairly rural. It would be worth the Deputy's while to pay a visit to north County Dublin. He would be surprised how rural certain parts of it are. Those six Garda stations are to be reopened on a pilot basis and thereafter their impact on Garda service and crime in the areas will be assessed. There are no proposals to open any Garda stations apart from those six until the pilot...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (19 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: ...have, in terms of funding and resourcing. That is something that has to be dealt with during the annual Estimates round but there certainly is funding in place for 2019 to do that. I note that the Garda Commissioner has taken a decision to recruit differently next year, actually slowing recruitment a little. Instead of recruiting 800 next year as planned, we will recruit 600 new...

Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (22 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: ...that the Government's response to crime is solely related to putting in place CCTV systems. It is about much more than that. The Deputy will acknowledge that a few years ago we reopened the Garda College in Templemore and resumed recruitment to the Garda. Increasing the number of gardaí on our streets and in our communities is one of the best ways to tackle crime. Since the...

Road Traffic Bill 2011[Seanad]:Report and Final Stages (20 Apr 2011)

Leo Varadkar: .... I thank Deputy Dooley for the amendments he has proposed. I understand his concerns but I am satisfied that the provisions in the Bill, as drafted, are sufficiently balanced to ensure gardaí have the requisite powers they need to enforce mandatory testing. If a garda forms the opinion that, on health grounds, a person cannot provide a preliminary breath test specimen, the main...

Leaders' Questions (27 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: ...on future policing, wrote to the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan. In the letter she expresses the view that it would be a serious mistake to proceed now to select a new Garda Commissioner until the commission has produced its report on the transformation of the national policing arrangements, and of course we will give full consideration to her views on this matter....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: ...taken place in recent days - the shootings at the M1 retail park in Drogheda, in Corduff in my constituency and in Coolock in Deputy Broughan's constituency. The Government is working with the Garda to improve its resources and capabilities to deal with all forms of crime, particularly violent crime. For many years, there was little or no investment in the Garda as a consequence of the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I understand that an additional 20 or 23 gardaí are being assigned to Drogheda and County Louth as a result of the crimes that have been committed there recently. I very much welcome this, and I know that Deputy Adams will too. Deputy O'Dowd has been very active on this issue as well. The way in which gardaí are deployed is very much a matter for the Garda Commissioner, as should...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety (26 Feb 2013)

Leo Varadkar: Current legislation is clear in relation to the testing of drivers for the presence of alcohol. No legislative provision has been made for Garda discretion. The Road Traffic Acts provide for the mandatory preliminary breath testing of drivers by the Gardaí in certain circumstances, including collisions where death or injury has occurred. The Acts also provide for the testing of drivers...

Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The answer to the Deputy's question is "No". As is often the case, the Deputy is out of date and misinformed. The number of gardaí has increased by 600. There are 600 more gardaí in the force since the start of 2017, since this Government came to office. We are on target to meet our objective of increasing the size of the Garda force to its highest ever, 21,000, including...

Written Answers — Road Traffic Collisions: Road Traffic Collisions (21 Jun 2011)

Leo Varadkar: Arising from the commencement of all provisions of the Road Traffic Act 2011 on 1 June 2011, it is now mandatory for a member of An Garda Síochána to test for the presence of alcohol where a driver has been involved in a road traffic collision where injury has been caused. Under the same commencement order, Statutory Instrument No. 253 of 2011, mandatory breath testing now also applies...

Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The important thing is to assure the public that the State will be policed throughout December. The number of gardaí is increasing. We will have 200 more gardaí next month. Since 2014 we have seen the number of gardaí continuously increase. We will also have a recruitment campaign for the Garda Reserve next year. We are seeing an increased number of gardaí. With more...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Kenny. It is important we have appropriate and modern Garda rosters. We need gardaí to be available when people need them. Often this is at night-time and weekends. We also need rosters that respect the need for work-life balance and ensure we continue to be able to recruit and retain gardaí. There is a balance to be struck in this regard. There was a long...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety (27 Mar 2013)

Leo Varadkar: I have been in consultation with my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality and the Garda Commissioner in relation to the testing of drivers for alcohol following a road traffic collision where injury or death have been caused, as provided for under road traffic legislation.  While the enforcement of the legislation in respect of the mandatory testing of drivers is primarily a...