Results 41-53 of 53 for garda speaker:Mary Seery Kearney

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Possible Enhancement of Child Protection Powers of Tusla: Discussion (25 Apr 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...is the threshold for systemic abuse. What is the arbiter of this that triggers some sort of engagement? In other areas Tusla is mandated to be part of an interdepartmental group that includes the Garda and others. What triggers it? What is very important about today is that people understand that, depending on whether Tusla is dealing with an organisation that is funded or not...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Mar 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...raised the issue of road safety. It is a disgrace that there were 1,800 speeding offences over the bank holiday weekend. I am glad they are being detected and it clearly shows enforcement by the Garda and a Trojan effort over the weekend but it is shocking. I agree that we need a debate in the House for the purposes of raising the profile of the advocate. When I was 16 years of age, my...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (14 Dec 2022)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...vis-à-visthe general data protection regulation, GDPR, and the retention of domestic violence-related data. The National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 which governs Garda vetting provides that only a designated person is allowed to hold information of a disclosure on the PULSE system related to an employee. We need to be very sensitive with regard to...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Second Stage (10 Sep 2020)

Mary Seery Kearney: I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill and address the requirement to legislate to put these powers in the hands of An Garda Síochána. In this most unusual time, we must remember that the virus - not publicans, the gardaí, the public or even the Government - is the enemy. These legislative provisions are brought about to embellish the State's armoury in fighting the...

Seanad: Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person (Amendment) (Stalking) Bill 2021: Second Stage (22 Sep 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...lives will be ended by this individual. Calling it stalking and having a serious penalty attached to that is very important. It is incredibly important we have that on our Statute Book and that the Garda and all services recognise just how serious it is. It is unacceptable that, as you read the reports and the victims' experiences, people feel that when they first talk about it, it is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...city. Our guest speakers referred to policing. I would take that further and say that we need policing for Dublin. Then we have to ask whether we recruit personnel and how would that affect the Garda Síochána? The ramifications of this are massive. Do we need a plebiscite? Yes. Next June is probably too soon, but word has it that there will be a general election within...

Seanad: Response to Covid-19 (Housing, Local Government and Heritage): Statements (1 Feb 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...is preparing to introduce another set of statutory instruments on this, so I ask that he review this matter. Perhaps a tightening up of the rules or some restraint on the discretion being shown by the Garda or whomever else is interpreting them may be in order. The last area I will raise is residential construction. We are hearing reports that we are only at 10% of where we should be in...

Seanad: Independent Review of the Handling of Past Complaints of Abuse in St John Ambulance Ireland: Motion (29 Mar 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...him in a way that only Dr. Shannon, who is an extraordinary man, could. The State has two defences to protect children from child sexual abuse. It has Tusla and the Children First Act and it has the Garda Síochána. I accept that Tusla's power is limited in respect of independent organisations that were not State funded but that limitation needs to be examined in the context of...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...O'Mahony and the response to that, which is to implement his recommendations, at that point an assessment could be made as to whether to refer this to the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Garda for a criminal complaint. The issue then is who is the complainant. Is there a statutory footing? Is it a common law offence or a statutory offence? It has been illegal since 1874 to...

Seanad: Accommodation for International Protection Applicants: Statements (22 Feb 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...heard in the criminal courts today, and I guarantee there are more Irish people than any others. There is an idea that because somebody is a foreign national, we should get a veto over them and want them to be Garda checked, but it does not seem to apply to your Irish next-door neighbour or your family member. This othering suits a narrative and is really quite appalling. We are in the...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (13 Feb 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...Facebook. None of us who are politicians, and I am sure this is the case for many others in the room as well, sit here free of and unscathed by the horrific implications of having to contact the Garda about the things that happen to us. It is a waste of time going after those individuals in their garages, except in the criminal sphere. We must be able to access and hold the likes of...

Seanad: Violence Against Women: Statements (27 Jan 2022)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...a whole heap of words go with that. I have never counted that and have always just taken it on the chin. It is a little like the social media abuse we get as politicians. When I first spoke about it, the Garda in Terenure rang me to ask why I did not report it. I thought it was just something I had to take as part of the course of my life. It never occurred to me to report it because...