Results 61-77 of 77 for garda speaker:Barry Cowen

Road Traffic Bill 2011: Second Stage (23 Mar 2011)

Barry Cowen: ...blood alcohol concentration levels for drivers from 80 mg to 50 mg and to 20 mg for learner drivers. There is provision for mandatory breath testing on the basis of an opinion being formed by the garda at the scene. As other Members have mentioned, in the case of an accident such mandatory breath testing is paramount. Even in a hospital a consent to that being carried out can be given...

Social Welfare Code: Motion (2 Nov 2011)

Barry Cowen: ...rate, from 20% to 18%; 2,300 more hospital beds; five half-days of free preschool education for all children; the abolition of the means test for carers; and an increase in the number of community gardaí to 1,500. Fine Gael, in the same boom-time election campaign, promised to cut the standard tax rate, increase the State pension to €300 per week by 2012, provide a laptop for every...

Topical Issue Debate: Bank Branch Closures (22 Jan 2015)

Barry Cowen: ...rural Ireland by Ulster Bank reflect a broader attitude which I fear is evident in the way in which the Government treats rural affairs at times. The squeeze on small schools, the closure of 140 Garda stations, the threats to post offices and their contracts with Government Departments and the crippling burden of commercial rates are bleeding Irish towns dry. Fianna Fáil has...

Special Educational Needs: Motion [Private Members] (25 Jun 2013)

Barry Cowen: ...with rural affairs is minimal. The party has no history in that sector and it is not interested in creating one. How could it, when one considers the cuts dished out to rural transport, to rural Garda stations, to postal facilities and contracts, in rural community employment schemes and rural community welfare offices, in assessing rural agricultural buildings when examining the...

Financial Resolutions 2023 - Financial Resolution No. 4: General (Resumed) (11 Oct 2023)

Barry Cowen: ...demographics and an increased and ageing population, ensuring we can cater for new teachers and SNAs and remaining conscious of the 22,000 extra workers who have joined the health service in recent years. Garda numbers have been increased to the figure required to meet the demand in communities and to do so in a way that improves the lot of the trainees who put themselves forward by...

Commission of Investigation Report in the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne: Motion (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Barry Cowen: ..., good faith and commitment to introduce the sorts of measures that will prevent issues such as this from arising again. However, in the recent Donegal case there was reporting and the HSE and Garda were informed and yet it still persisted. We are at a major juncture in the history of the State in this regard. The Members of this House can have a significant impact on how we deal with...

Personal Explanation by Minister (7 Jul 2020)

Barry Cowen: ...-Ireland football final with a friend. Before the match, I consumed two drinks and following the game, had a light meal before driving home to Offaly. On the way to drop my friend home, I was stopped by gardaí and asked to participate in a breathalyser test. I did so and both this test and a subsequent test at the local Garda station confirmed that I was over the legal alcohol...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Rural Communities: Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (24 Feb 2015)

Barry Cowen: ...at me. The decentralisation programme, whether we liked it or not, has been scrapped, along with the CLÁR programme. Community welfare offices and officers have been taken from rural areas and Garda stations have closed, with post offices continuing to shut as well. There is much pressure being placed on rural schools with between one and four teachers, as we can see with...

Government's Priorities for the Year Ahead: Statements (Resumed) (6 Mar 2014)

Barry Cowen: ...charges trebled? Will it tell students whose fees have increased and who find it increasingly difficult to access grants from "Susi Quinn"? Will it tell rural communities which have lost gardaí and Garda stations and where post offices are under threat as we saw last week? Will it tell rural communities which have lost rural transport schemes, community welfare offices and access...

Planning and Development Bill 2023: Second Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Barry Cowen: .... The Irish Independentrevealed that neighbours in the salubrious southside Dublin suburb secretly sought €225,000 each to not block the project duration. The demand has been referred to the Garda and the developer reported for potential fraud. However, the written request for substantial payment was made from an official email address from one of the country's biggest firms of...

An Bille um an Dara Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Deireadh a Chur le Seanad Éireann) 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) - Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution (Abolition of Seanad Éireann) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (20 Jun 2013)

Barry Cowen: ...a five point plan. He was not going to pay another red cent to the banks or touch child benefit. He was going to abolish upward only rent reviews. Roscommon Hospital accident and emergency department, Garda stations and Army barracks were to be kept open. With NewEra, he promised 100,000 jobs. Some people thought it was only the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural...

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2015: Second Stage (22 Oct 2015)

Barry Cowen: ...supplementary register, as in another countries. It would be more efficient and accessible for most people as opposed to the current process by which a citizen must visit a library to get a form, visit a Garda station to have it stamped and then send it to his or her local authority franchise office. There is a dire need to reform the administration of elections. Although there is...

Pay Inequality in the Public Service: Statements (24 May 2018)

Barry Cowen: ...of inequality for new entrants, I recently have heard commentators on the public airwaves saying that because of the CAO application process and the oversubscription to various roles including teaching, nursing, the Garda or the Defence Forces, there is nothing to fear where public sector pay is concerned. That is totally disingenuous to those who work in those areas or who wish to work...

Local Government Bill 2013: Second Stage (22 Oct 2013)

Barry Cowen: .... Behind the jargon and acronyms Merrion Street and the Custom House have kept a tight rein on the capacity of local government to tackle local problems. There are no new powers in educational partnerships, Garda oversight, sports and recreation or competitive funding with public private partnerships. In terms of fiscal autonomy, which is the crux of the issue, there is little real...

Credit Union Sector: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (25 Nov 2015)

Barry Cowen: ...in the coming years if what is proposed in CP88 is signed by the Minister. Over the past four years, we have seen the Government stand idly by as post offices went to the wall. We have seen Garda stations closed and social welfare offices withdrawn from communities. All of this is in addition to the threat that exists that the loss of credit unions will take away whatever bit of...

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Barry Cowen: ...is not affecting Tipperary, Cavan, Monaghan, Laois or Offaly. They know that as well as I do. They know that rural services have diminished even further under this Government. We have seen that in terms of Garda numbers and the situation in Wexford as outlined by Deputy Browne is no different in many other parts of the country. We have seen the changes to the pupil-teacher ratio for...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (28 Sep 2016)

Barry Cowen: ...or could be involved. This provision could render the OPR toothless as an anti-corruption watchdog. In the case of suggested criminal wrongdoing, it is right and necessary that the OPR passes cases on to the Garda Síochána. However, there is no good reason that a body that is to be the pre-eminent expert on planning matters in the country should not have the power to...