Results 641-660 of 1,132 for speaker:Garret Ahearn

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: Is the reduction in shoplifting anything to do with the reduction in numbers coming into the city since what happened three or four weeks ago?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: That is my next question. Irish people are amazing. They support communities, shops and companies when they go through very difficult times. Deputy Stanton would know this well from Midleton. I was down there last week. I spoke to a friend. People have been adamant in their support for Midleton since it was flooded. They want to support their local community and their shops. Is that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: In Tipperary, the concern would be that we might be moving gardaí from Tipperary to Dublin to cover the latter. At the moment, it is only overtime so we are not being affected. However, we need to see the crime figures to make sure they do not just move from one place to another.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: We all agree that gardaí are doing the best they can. Many of them are very deflated. I know gardaí who come to small stores, take someone to the courts and the judge asks if there is a space in a jail for them before they go into court. It is almost as if it is a garda's job to find something before the judge decides whether a person are prosecuted or not. Many gardaí are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: The person gets off free, comes back to a store and robs it again.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: Those six gardaí are not able to be on the street protecting people.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: We have seen an increase in this over the years and all this morning's contributions have referred to the extraordinary levels of crime. Almost all shops have installed security systems at their own expense. Do people feel it has been a waste of money putting in security systems or would things be even worse if these things were not in place?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: Does that happen frequently?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: However, that was deliberately done to try to catch the retailer out.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: The only successful court proceedings the retailers seem to be involved in are the ones against them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: There is something wrong with that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: Gardaí will say they are frustrated with that. There is a greater problem within the courts. Instead of having that many people going to court, the only way to quickly deter it is by having more gardaí on the street.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Jan 2024)

Garret Ahearn: It is good to see such a factual contribution. When we talk about having contributions on other things, it just shows that when the facts are there, we can actually have a reasonable debate. I ask that we have a debate with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Simon Coveney, regarding business closures in the hospitality sector. Two restaurants in Tipperary town have...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2024)

Garret Ahearn: The N24 road is the link road between Waterford city and Limerick.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2024)

Garret Ahearn: I am raising it again because it is at a very key point in the process. The route was chosen a number of days ago. That has meant that the buffer zone that will happen with the planning of the new road has been reduced significantly to 300 m. That has been presented to the public and, obviously, there is concern with where the new road is going and whose land it is going through and things...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2024)

Garret Ahearn: We have succeeded. It has taken a long fight but I will now start another fight. It has not got funding to continue to design stage yet. That needs approval by the Minister for Transport. It needs to be prioritised as quickly as possible. As the Leader knows, that route is divided into two sections, one of which is from Limerick Junction to Cahir. That is in design stage at the moment...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jan 2024)

Garret Ahearn: I was not here yesterday and did not get the opportunity to express my condolences on the death of former Senator and TD, John Connor, and I want to do that. He was elected to the Dáil on the same day as my mother and they were great friends over the years. He fluctuated between the Dáil and the Seanad, which is a real sign of someone who is well liked outside of these walls but...

Seanad: Digital Services Bill 2023: Second Stage (31 Jan 2024)

Garret Ahearn: I welcome the Bill and thank the Minister of State and his officials for being here.It is technical legislation but important nonetheless. It is important it is done by 17 February to make sure we are in line with our colleagues in the European Union to be able to fight against some of the challenges in the digital world. As Senators Crowe and Byrne mentioned, it is now clear that some of...

Seanad: Death of Former Taoiseach: Expressions of Sympathy (7 Feb 2024)

Garret Ahearn: Most people are speaking, certainly on the Fine Gael benches, about their abiding memory of the former Taoiseach, John Bruton. My abiding memory is him speaking and giving an oration on 20 September 2000 at my mother's funeral. As the Deputy Leader remembers recently, and John would have remembered recently as well, at a funeral of a loved one you do not remember everything. He spoke...