Results 7,121-7,140 of 18,729 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Public Order Offences: Statements. (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: Last Saturday, 300 men, women and children, all of them Northern Ireland Protestant, Unionist, people, came to Dublin with five bands to hold a peaceful procession, which was to be followed by a short rally, to express their deeply held convictions about past and present issues in Northern Ireland. This House will note that they held their procession and rally in the immediate environs of...

Public Order Offences: Statements. (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: In the course of the planning, all available policing methods were considered, including the use of water cannon. However, its deployment was ruled out on the basis of the information available. The PSNI possesses six water cannons which can be made available to the Garda if requested. The decision was made not to deploy them as they were not considered suitable for the occasion. I spoke to...

Public Order Offences: Statements. (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: As well as standard uniformed personnel, officers were drawn from the Garda mounted and dog units and the public order unit. Plain clothes officers were involved, along with 39 members of the special detective unit. Surveillance of the scene from the air was provided by the Garda air support unit. The Garda helicopter was functioning that day, but it unfortunately developed a problem which...

Public Order Offences: Statements. (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: Emergency medical personnel from the ambulance service were also deployed as part of the public order unit. A threat assessment was made based on the available intelligence, including information sought from the PSNI and the long experience of Garda officers based in city centre stations in dealing with protest marches over their careers. As anticipated, around 50 Republican Sinn Féin...

Public Order Offences: Statements. (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: It would be unusual for a Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to take a hands on role, or to determine the amount of resources that should be available. The question of resources was completely irrelevant to the decisions that were made on the day. The Garda Síochána had the resources of the whole force available, but made a well thought through decision that this was to be a low...

Public Order Offences: Statements. (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: It was in the air but had to come down.

Public Order Offences: Statements. (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: That is not surprising. Who is the last person?

Public Order Offences: Statements. (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: He makes up in quality what he lacks in quantity.

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: If there is half an hour for questions, I am happy with that.

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: I have total confidence in the leadership of the Garda Síochána. They made decisions on the basis of their professional experience. They have reported to me and I have reported to the House that they did not anticipate that a group of 200 or 300 people would come to disrupt the event in the way they did. Garda management made a decision about the nature of policing. It decided that it...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: Deputy Kehoe said this was a matter of resources. It most certainly was not a matter of resources. There was no question of any downward pressure on the officers who made the decision in this case not to deploy resources. In the course of consultations I asked about helicopters and water cannons. I am satisfied they were all considered carefully by the gardaí who made the decisions. As...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: The Deputy asked what political contact there had been and how the Love Ulster rally came into being. There was no contact, of which I am aware, with my Department or politically at any level prior to the arrangements made with the Garda Síochána. The first time I became aware of a proposed march of this kind was when the The Sunday Tribune ran a rather fanciful front page story in which it...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: None that I know of at any level. I have never heard of any Governmental involvement. I think the organisers took it up directly with the Garda. I do not know why they went to Pearse Street Garda station. I had no hand, act or part nor had my Department or any of my colleagues, as far as I know. Saturday, 4 February, was the original date they had in mind. So far as I know, there was no...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: A couple of years ago I heard of a proposal, when Mary Freehill was the Lord Mayor, for a march in Dawson Street and again there was no contact with me.

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: As to the route chosen, as the Deputy will see from the report from the Garda Síochána, the original application of the FAIR group was to assemble in O'Connell Street and march to the Dáil. They were told by the Garda Síochána that it was customary when having a political demonstration in Dublin to use Parnell Square as the assembly point and to move from there to the Dáil. That is the...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: No decision was made to withdraw gardaí from the front line, if that is what is being suggested. Rather, the public order unit was brought in. The decisions made are fully documented in the material I have supplied to the House and I will not dump on the competence of those who made them. They were made in good faith and those concerned have handled many demonstrations in their time. I adopt...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: That is a good question. The Deputy will note from the material supplied that the question of the building materials on the works on O'Connell Street had been the subject of six separate meetings between the Garda and city council officials. The Garda stressed throughout those meetings that the building materials were to be made secure. Given that the materials were made secure behind...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: I do not know the furthest point from which gardaí were summoned; I am not in a position to answer.

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: I will respond to Deputy Cowley's first point by reminding him that the Garda is being expanded by more than 1,000 members per annum. That has been the case for the last year and will continue to be the case for the next two years. The force will reach a total strength, of gardaí in training and fully qualified gardaí, of 14,000 by December this year. All 14,000 members will be fully...

Public Order Offences: Statements (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Michael McDowell: Perhaps Deputy Higgins will be pleased to note that there is a point of difference on these benches in that regard. I assure Deputy Ó Snodaigh that I am wholly unaware that anyone in Store Street Garda station asked anyone in authority for additional resources. The assistant commissioner for the Dublin area was responsible for deciding what the level of resources would be. I am not aware of...