Results 121-140 of 153 for garda speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Dec 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: ...on Transport, as is my colleague, Senator Buttimer. We have been speaking to the Coast Guard in recent meetings and a number of serious issues have arisen, some of which I have forwarded on to the Garda, and I will speak with them about more issues today. Caitríona Lucas, may she rest in peace, was lost in Kilkee. There had been warnings around the time she was lost. Several...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Nov 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: ...possible to stifle an investigation. I will not mention either the case or the State agency involved, other than to say that even the investigations of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Garda are being frustrated by it. The approach that is always taken is to deny everything until it is necessary to make an admission and then go on a witch-hunt to try to find somebody to blame....

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Mar 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: ...cannot jump into an aircraft and start flying. It will be five years before they are qualified to fly on their own and ten years before they are eligible to fly the Casa. We heard a lot about the Garda on the Order of Business today and I resent the manner in which we are watching it wash its dirty linen in public. Clearly, some people at the top have serious questions to answer but...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: ...Indeed one of them was a Swede who saved "Twenty" O'Connor. Not one of the five I mentioned today has received a medal.This is not a political matter; this is a matter for the Defence Forces. The Garda Commissioner has taken it upon himself to engage in a period of restorative justice to issue Scott medals for bravery going back decades. It is time that we stopped hiding behind...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (29 May 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: ...the difficulty we had in closing the Border in 2001 when the foot and mouth disease scare occurred. We closed it but it took customs, the then Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, An Garda Síochána and the Army to do so. I can see no way that the Border can remain open. By the way, I do not subscribe to this nonsense of a Border poll either. We are not ready...

Seanad: Report of the Independent Review Group on Dignity and Equality Issues in the Defence Forces: Statements (25 Apr 2023)

Gerard Craughwell: ...officer, NCO and service person of the Defence Forces, serving and retired, with whom I have engaged since the publication of the report has expressed a welcome for the statutory inquiry and for any Garda investigation of wrongdoing in the Defence Forces. All expressed strongly that any wrongdoing should face the full rigours of the law. Page 10 of the IRG report clearly states the IRG...

Seanad: Europe Day: Statements (9 May 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: ...then hold on to that pension until they reach the age of 66 when they can get it supplemented with the old age pension. The people who drafted that pension knew nothing about front-line services, the Garda or Defence Forces personnel. Unless we reverse that and change it, we will not have the people. We are losing Defence Forces members at a rate of 50 per month. We need somebody in...

Seanad: Tracker Mortgages: Statements (22 Nov 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: ...the ordinary individual who has been struggling for some years while the banks have been screwing them having given them the wrong mortgage rate. On the collusion element, I want to know why An Garda Síochána are not in every single bank now. Why is the Director of Corporate Enforcement not looking at the directors of these banks? There are people on these boards to represent...

Seanad: An Bille Sláinte (Caomhnú agus Cosaint agus Bearta Éigeandála eile ar mhaithe le Leas an Phobail), 2020: An Dara Céim - Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Bill 2020: Second Stage (20 Mar 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: ...to be here today speaking on this particular subject. I want to preface my remarks by congratulating the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, the head of the HSE, the Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and the many responsible citizens we have in our country. Sadly, not all of our citizens are responsible. On Saturday night last, I tweeted an...

Seanad: United Kingdom Referendum on European Union Membership: Statements (28 Jun 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: ...required. Informed contingency planning by the Defence Forces will be key to securing Ireland's borders for both economic, or trade, and sovereign security. I believe that the cannibalisation of the Garda and Defence Forces by successive Governments will have an impact on both forces' ability to adequately mitigate identified and unidentified risks in this context. Currently, based on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Retention of Defence Forces Personnel: Discussion with Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (30 May 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: ...to know whether RACO submitted a complaint to the oversight committee on public service pay, and if it has, whether it has had a response. Why does the organisation think nurses, teachers and An Garda Síochána can make a submission to the oversight committee and seem to get an immediate response and a significant public response? Commandant King adverted to the helicopter...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: First Annual Report of the Oversight Group on Women, Peace and Security: Discussion (22 Jun 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: ...in this area? I will be as quick as I can be on this because I appreciate other members want to get in. We talk a lot about women in peace and security. Irish female members of both the Garda and Defence Forces who have served oversees have blazed a trail of being able to negotiate or speak with people, particularly on gender-related issues. It is a proud track record to have. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: General Affairs Council: Discussion (5 Dec 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: ...is now a likelihood that we could find ourselves going back to border management again. The Fianna Fáil Party made the point on television on Sunday night that we needed to increase the number of gardaí to look after the Border should such a situation arise. We reorganised the Defence Forces in 2012 and moved all of the troops south. Most soldiers, airmen and naval personnel...

Seanad: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Second Stage (28 Nov 2023)

Gerard Craughwell: ...and reform is soon to go into negotiations with the public service unions. I am afraid the days of one size fitting all no longer work. For example, the terms and conditions of employment of the Garda and the Defence Forces, particularly their pension schemes, are driving their members out the gate in droves. Young officers who we have spent a lot of money training are leaving at the...

Seanad: Withdrawal Agreement Between the United Kingdom and the European Union: Motion (23 Sep 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: ...without enough crew. All of our military are in the southern half of the country and we have closed barracks right across the north. We have no customs post and no trained customs people. We have no Garda Síochána on the Border, and my colleagues from the Border region will speak about that as I know they are more concerned about it than probably anybody else because of the...

Seanad: Defence Forces (Veterans Lapel Badge) Bill 2017: Second Stage (22 Nov 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: ...service, air ambulance and assistance in natural disasters. The awarding of the veterans badge would also visibly recognise the work of our Defence Forces in assisting the civil powers, such as An Garda Síochána, in protecting the internal security of the State. During active service, many Defence Forces members are decorated with military medals. These are bestowed in...

Seanad: Europe Day: Statements (9 May 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: ...two key issues are worth mentioning today. In 2013, a new pension scheme was brought in by people who clearly do not know understand the role of front-line services such as the Defence Forces, An Garda Síochána and fire services. Has anybody looked at how unviable these pension schemes are? Do they understand that over 50% of uniformed front-line services inducted since 2013...

Seanad: Minimum Custodial Periods upon Conviction for Murder Bill 2017: Second Stage (22 Feb 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: ...refinement but I would strongly urge the Minister of State to accept it today and to amend it as necessary on Committee Stage. We have spoken in this House a number of times about members of An Garda Síochána and young adults who go at night never to return home, taken in the most violent manner from the people who loved them most, leaving families with no opportunity to say...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Current Issues Facing Members of the Defence Forces: Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (3 Oct 2023)

Gerard Craughwell: ..., captain or commandant, it appears that the pay is not so great and there is no incentive to stay at that level. Could the witnesses address the issue of pay at that level? I think we have to compare An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces. Lieutenant Colonel King made the point that when you sign up to the Defence Forces, you sign away a number of your civil rights, one of...

Seanad: Clarification on Statements made by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs: Statements (15 Feb 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: ...who cannot keep information confidential.This organisation needs to suspend all inquiries until such a time as it is established that it is capable of doing the job it was set up to do. Another garda has come forward who had been reported to Tusla because somebody wanted to have a go at him. At the end of the day, we really need to get a hold of Tusla and find out what is going on. I...