Results 10,101-10,120 of 15,638 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Seanad: Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: All the amendments in this grouping relate to pension matters. Section 55 provides for the making of a superannuation scheme or schemes by the Garda Commissioner for members of Garda staff where such members of Garda staff do not become members of the single public service pension scheme. Section 112 will perform a similar function with regard to the national office for community safety....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: First of all, I reiterate the view shared by many that the rioting and violent disorder we saw in Dublin on 23 November was a disgrace. As the Deputy knows, those horrific scenes followed the tragic knife attack outside Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire that lunchtime. Again, I am sure Deputy Daly and others will join me in wishing the victims of that attack, especially the five-year-old girl...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy. While I acknowledge that the number of resignations this year is slightly higher, our percentage of gardaí is higher than other police jurisdictions. In saying that, we need to ensure everything that can be done to identify why people are leaving is done. I met the Garda Commissioner, the head of HR and other members today. They are currently working on exit...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: To the Deputy's last point, it has been made clear to me that anybody who is coming from a separate jurisdiction, whether in the outer part of Dublin, a rural community or a county outside Dublin, is doing so in his or her own free time. I know there is a concern that an increased presence in the city centre is taking away from other areas. If gardaí are coming from counties Mayo,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Media (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy. The events which took place in our capital city highlight the threats posed by violent political extremism. As he said, messages of hate spread online resulted in manifestations of physical violence on our city streets. It is clear that social media companies have an important responsibility to resource and operate robust systems of detection, including the timely...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Media (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: We probably all agree that social media platforms have played a positive role in our lives in general and in how we communicate with other and stay in touch with friends. However, they also pose significant challenges and threats. The negativity we are seeing on social media platforms has grown quickly. One of the biggest challenges is identifying what is harmful content and what is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Media (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: As I said, this is an extremely difficult space to try to manage and monitor, particularly where there is a grey area as regards what is harmful and what is not or what is a criminal offence and what is not, although the latter should be much clearer. What is really important is that we do not just come at this from an enforcement point of view but that the social media companies take a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I understand that tables may be provided to the Deputy. What I have here is the breakdown across the Garda regions of the average number of gardaí who were absent because of ordinary illness and those who were absent because they were injured on duty. For quarter 3 of 2019, the figure for ordinary illness was 1,743 and while it has varied in subsequent years, the figure for quarter 3...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I do not have those exact details but I will certainly try to get them for the Deputy. I am very conscious of the distressing scenes that members have to deal with on a daily basis, from road traffic incidents to scenes of suicide, as well as dealing with situations such as those we saw two weeks ago. A number of different measures and supports have been put in place. In fact, from the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I do not have an exact figure for what we will have by the end of the year because the acceptances are still coming in and the offers are still going out for the class that will start on 27 December. I know we will have between 700 and 800 but I do not have the finalised figure yet. We know that between 700 and 800 will have gone into the college this year. What we have always said is that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: The numbers we have are certainly not where I would like them to be. Due to the fact that the college was closed to new recruits, it meant no new recruits were going through the college for a period of almost two years. This means we are approximately 1,000 short of where we should be and certainly where I would like to be. That is a challenge. It poses a challenge to the overall running...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: This is a challenge for new recruits when they come out. They only find out where they are going relatively close to when they finish. It is for that very reason the Commissioner needs to be agile and needs to be able to respond to issues in certain areas as they emerge. Where resources are required, that is where people are directed to. As I said, even the most recent class in Templemore...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: To assure the Deputy on the retention issue, exit interviews are being done. I will have a full report, as I said, in the new year. When it comes to the pay talks, I am obviously not around the table. I can certainly advocate to make sure the Garda representative organisations are around the table. That was done at the last round of talks, and again in this round, to make sure they are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: Over the last four budgets I have been focused on consistently ramping up and providing funding when it comes to equipment, uniform, vehicles and new types of technology for An Garda Síochána. I want to continue to ramp up that support so they can do even more. The budget for next year is €2.3 billion, an increase of 23% since 2020. This further allows for: the roll out of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: More broadly, An Garda Síochána is moving to a digital structure, which did not exist previously. I acknowledge there has been a huge amount of change in a short time. The new computer-aided dispatch, CAD, system, GardaSAFE, is operational across all regions and is a new departure in the way gardaí respond to calls in which information has been taken and stored. This move is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: In relation to body-worn cameras, the legislation was signed by the President on 5 December and the Garda will be rolling out proof of concept in three areas of the country. That will be followed by a pilot later in the year where we will then have the tender process. Technology is important for gardaí to protect themselves, record scenes accurately and, when at the scene of a crime,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, when the Departments are issuing visas and residence permits, it is not just the responsibility of my Department but also of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Both Departments work closely together to ensure that labour market migration arrangements are fair, efficient and responsive to the needs of our society and, more generally, our economy....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: What we have seen in recent months and years is a significant increase in the number of people applying for work visas or for reunification, and in the number of people applying for international protection. The number of Ukrainian people who are seeking assistance here has also continued to grow over the past number of years. That obviously puts pressure on a system. We try to make sure...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Paramilitary Groups (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for this question. As he will be aware, as I am sure other colleagues are, the Independent Reporting Commission is the body established under the Fresh Start Agreement of 2015 to report on measures aimed at ending paramilitarism. The commission submitted its first report to the UK and Irish Governments back in 2018, and the sixth and most recent report on 5 December....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Paramilitary Groups (12 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I agree with the Deputy. This is an important recommendation which the Government and I will support. In my engagement with the British Government, it also supports it. It is about finding a mechanism by which everybody involved supports it fully. There are ongoing situations in Northern Ireland - there is no functioning Executive and there are a number of parties there. It is about...