Results 81-100 of 167 for garda speaker:Michael McNamara

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: 2013 Allocations for Public Expenditure - Finance Vote Group: Discussion with Minister for Finance (17 Oct 2012)

Michael McNamara: ...of State do not go through the VIP area but rather queue with ordinary citizens. One of the officials told me that the queue was a regular occurrence, which disturbed me. When I got to the Garda kiosk I asked if there was a go-slow but there was not. I was asked if I knew the number of aeroplanes which arrive in the evening and although I did not, I presumed the authorities could plan...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Communications Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (26 Oct 2022)

Michael McNamara: ...components because of this dispute between China and America and access to semiconductors and such. Who would be in a position to give that information to the Minister of State other than An Garda Síochána? I find it difficult to know what information An Garda Síochána or, indeed, any part of our national security apparatus would have on the state of play of...

Trade Union Movement and Workers' Rights: Motion [Private Members] (18 Jun 2013)

Michael McNamara: Like bad generals they lead their troops to the top of the hill and promptly abandon them and scatter for the officer’s mess. Decent turf cutters have been brought into conflict with the Garda and the courts. Unfortunate householders who listened to the false gods now face higher household charge penalties and possibly court action. Responsible trade unionists who negotiate long and...

Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (12 Jul 2023)

Michael McNamara: I move amendment No. 18: In page 44, to delete lines 31 and 32. This relates to the requirement on the Garda Commissioner to provide information to the Minister. I respectfully suggest that it tightens up the information that is to be provided to the Minister by the Commissioner. It needs to be tightened up because it is open to abuse, and I say that because it has been abused in the...

Cannabis Regulation: Motion [Private Members] (5 Nov 2013)

Michael McNamara: ...level. Some 17 years after the publication of Rethinking the War on Drugs in Ireland, drug use continues to increase in the country. In 2006, the adult caution scheme was introduced, whereby gardaí could grant an adult caution for a list of offences if they believed it to be beneficial. It was proposed that the possession of cannabis - not possession with intent to supply - would...

Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Sep 2020)

Michael McNamara: ...wishes to bring to the court's attention that this pub was closed for a day back on St. Patrick's Day. The publican could then say they do not accept it was right to be closed for a day but that a garda told them to close for a day and, of course, they adhered to a direction of a member of An Garda Síochána. What avenue does the publican have to challenge this? If the Minister...

Policing, Protests and Public Order: Statements (28 Nov 2023)

Michael McNamara: ...Covid-19 committee, I was getting communications from people in the south inner city who were saying that, once ordinary people were off the streets, these young thugs took control of the streets. The Garda has not taken back control of those streets to date. That is a problem for which this Government needs to find a solution. It has needed to find a solution to it for three years but...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023: Committee Stage (9 May 2023)

Michael McNamara: ...media age in which we live, it would be clearly detrimental to the stability of the Government, etc. In Britain, this is a big thing where one has all of this nonsense. Is that something where a Garda Commissioner might just say that he or she has a bit of information? This section is so broad that it could mean anything. That is quite damaging. I apologise to the Minister because I...

Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (1 May 2013)

Michael McNamara: ...as it does from all such trade union and association conferences, but usually amid the noise there is a grain of truth. In this instance it has been revealed, as many of us already knew, that many gardaí are in financial difficulties, some of them with their own personal mortgages, but many in respect of investment properties. They find themselves barely able to pay the family home...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2024)

Michael McNamara: ...affordable housing schemes in Clare is €55,000, yet there is a large group of people in between the €35,000 and €55,000 who have little hope of getting a home. For example, the first point on the Garda incremental pay scale is €35,322, primary teachers start at €40,625, secondary teachers start at almost €2,000 more, nurses’ entry level is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: EU Regulations and Directive on International Protection, Asylum and Migration: Discussion (23 Apr 2024)

Michael McNamara: ...were 4,200 people and no prosecutions. I asked in a parliamentary question why that was the case and the Minister stated that prosecutions are entirely independent; they are a matter for the An Garda Síochána and the DPP. I then raised the matter in the Dáil with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, who happened to be there on the day. He was a bit taken aback by the...

An Bille um Bearta Éigeandála ar mhaithe le Leas an Phobail (Covid-19), 2020: An Dara Céim (Atógáil) - Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Second Stage (Resumed) (26 Mar 2020)

Michael McNamara: ...of movement with regard to the case taken and won by PDFORRA against Ireland at the European Social Rights Committee. It very much measured a similar successful case taken by the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors. There has been very little movement with regard to the implementation of either and certainly with regard to giving some degree of collective bargaining rights to...

Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Sep 2020)

Michael McNamara: ...that we know more now than we did then. This provision removed by this amendment includes the wording "whether in relation to a relevant provision or otherwise". Is it really about increasing Garda powers to inspect bars because we do not approve of bars? There are many people in society who do not approve of bars. None of them is forced to go into one. There are many people in...

Covid-19 (Justice and Equality): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Michael McNamara: I very much endorse what Deputy Connolly has just said with regard to An Garda Síochána, both the good and the bad. One of the things all of these tribunals have taught us is that nobody is above reproach and accountability. A historical incident in Bunratty, County Clare, involves the Nugent family who deserve justice and to know what happened to their brother. Their father went...

Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (12 Jul 2023)

Michael McNamara: ...tell me what prevents this from happening, other than that we should trust the people who are exactly the same characters. It is the same Minister for Justice, namely, Deputy McEntee. It is the same Garda Commissioner, namely, Drew Harris. Should we trust them now when we could not trust them before?

Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998: Motion (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McNamara: ...could subvert a trial in Ireland I find either farcical or deeply worrying - take your pick. Neither is a vindication of the current system. Is Islamic State so prevalent in Ireland that the Garda cannot counter the threat it poses, or is it simply farcical to suggest that Islamic State could subvert a trial in this State? I think it is the latter. Of course, it is non-challengeable.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Insurance Coverage (6 Apr 2022)

Michael McNamara: ...and the broader community. This event is organised by a committee and enjoys broad, popular support. It is a big event run with the co-operation of the surrounding community, as well as the Garda. It has not given rise to any trouble so it comes as a big surprise to me, as it will to many others, that it is danger because of insurance. This may be the result Brexit. We also...

Communications Regulation Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (25 Jan 2023)

Michael McNamara: ...security information cannot be made available to the appellant and recited in open court to be written about. That is not the way our legal system has operated up to now. Essentially, the Garda, the Director of Public Prosecutions or whoever is prosecuting a case has a determination to make. They have evidence and have two choices. If they want to use the evidence against an accused,...

Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023: Second Stage (Resumed) (13 Jul 2023)

Michael McNamara: ...'s peace and privacy or cause alarm, distress or harm to the other.” This is already covered but for the idea of seeking to change somebody's mind. Before moving on to that, it is important to point out what the Garda Commissioner was reported as stating in 2019. The Irish Timesstated: Garda commissioner Drew Harris has said existing laws are adequate to deal with protests...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (18 Nov 2021)

Michael McNamara: ...of the witnesses. They are doing the job they were appointed to do, but it is something that we need to look at. How do we make sure that the volunteers on the ground are represented in management? In the Garda, one can join, go to Templemore and go right up to the top. Likewise, with the navy, one goes in as a commissioned officer and can go right to the top. In the Coast Guard there...