Results 161-180 of 400 for garda speaker:Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Other Questions: Garda Resources (11 Dec 2013)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: What I found really interesting, and which may not be commonly understood by the public, is that one presumes air support is to back up a Garda pursuit but it is used for all sorts of support to the Garda. It is the eyes in the air providing crucial intelligence. I will not get into it but the criminals need to be very worried about the technology it provides to assist gardaí on the...

Other Questions: Corrib Gas Field (30 Apr 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: By any objective analysis, the policing of the Corrib gas debacle was a sad episode in the history of the Garda Síochána. Many of the people of Erris suffered during that period for standing up and confronting a profound injustice to the people of that community and this State in terms of the revenue that was attained from it. The Minister is aware that the UN special rapporteur...

Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014: Second Stage (21 Oct 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...in other new legislation in the coming weeks. I, and my party, will be continuing to push for this as we believe that it is integral to the reform of policing in this State. For example, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, did not have the ability to oversee the Garda Commissioner. I am happy that this Bill will rectify that in section 7. For the first time the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Firearms Seizures (8 Oct 2013)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: 455. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on the investigation by the Garda Complaints Board in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry in 1992 could be considered to have comprehensively investigated issues regarding the sale date of Clancy Barracks which was raised more than eight years later; the way the investigation by the Garda Complaints Board...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Revised) (29 Jan 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I have a query similar to that of Deputy Collins. Has the Minister examined the powers of the ombudsman in the North? The Minister suggested a garda with a serious concern, rather than a minor issue, might be able to go directly to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission rather than the confidential recipient. The current matter which the Minister is referring to the Garda...

Matters relating to An Garda Síochána: Statements (26 Mar 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...ask you to resign. That is a mistake. Perhaps the Minister could on this occasion take the right decision and, like his friend Martin Callinan, resign. There is widespread public support for An Garda Síochána. The service has a unique, deep-rooted connection to communities, which the Government is actively dismantling through its policy of closing 140 Garda stations, cutting...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Firearms Licences: (Resumed) Discussion (21 Jan 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: The witnesses will probably be aware that when senior members of An Garda Síochána made a presentation here before Christmas, they circulated photographic examples of weaponry, and a number of times they used the phrase "military-type weapons". These would obviously cause concern to the public. Why would anybody need military-type weapons? I note that Mr. Slattery has particular...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (13 Jun 2013)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: This is not good enough. The seven page summary of the public interest investigation which was released more than one month ago indicates the ombudsman commission's grave concern regarding Garda Síochána practices in the implementation and management of informant handling procedures, both historic and current. The establishment of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ..., to delete “and with the approval of the Minister”. The purpose of amendments Nos. 79 to 81, inclusive, is to amend the Bill so that the Minister's approval for setting the priorities for An Garda Síochána is not required. The authority should be independent in its functions and should be responsible for this oversight. This is in line with what I stated...

Other Questions: Prison Staff (2 Apr 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: One of the main concerns is that 60% of requests for armed escorts from the Prison Service were turned down by An Garda Síochána, meaning out of 166 requests for armed escorts for inmates being transported outside of prisons, 97 were rejected. There is a concern that this may reflect resource limitations. Are there grounds for bringing together the Garda Commissioner and the head...

Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2015: First Stage (14 Jul 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I move:That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the provisions of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 to exempt charity events and local community based festivals and events from policing service charges and to provide for related matters.The Bill is a response to allegations that members of the Garda Síochána have been charging local community groups for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Inspectorate Reports (27 Jan 2016)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...one of the key issues is under-investment. This Government has not invested in the past five years. Hopefully, that will change in the next period. There are also massive structural issues in An Garda Síochána. Many of the challenges we face - "challenge" has been a kind word in recent years - are down to mismanagement and our front-line gardaí being failed by a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Inspectorate Reports (27 Jan 2016)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: This is the Garda Inspectorate's press release on the official launch of the Changing Policing in Ireland report. It states:A large number of them have not yet been fully implemented and therefore the envisaged outcomes have not been realised. The Inspectorate is of the opinion that many of the policing issues that resulted in inquiries, tribunals and government reports could have been...

Seanad: Death of Shane O'Farrell: Statements (14 Jun 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: It accepts the Garda version of events again and again. It does not deal with the fact that the PSNI asked for the records and received them from An Garda Síochána but no analysis was done. It does not deal with the fact that a vehicle with no insurance and no NCT which was being driven by a drug addict, with a number of other addicts as passengers, was not seized. The car was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Garda Commissioner (11 Nov 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: The Garda Inspectorate has produced two reports in recent years. The first was on the issue of fixed penalty points. The second was on the findings of a three-year investigation into crime. It is welcome that the Commissioner and the Minister for Justice and Equality have fully endorsed both reports. I understand that working groups are in place to implement the recommendations. Can the...

Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014: Report Stage (4 Feb 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...x201c;Amendment of section 73 of Principal Act 3. Section 73 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (3): “(4) The Ombudsman Commission and the Garda Inspectorate may, for the purposes of an investigation, recruit a pool of independent investigators in place of designated officers.".".The objective of this amendment is to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Garda Operations (7 Jul 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: That is encouraging. Sometimes, where there is clear legislation, the gardaí are given a clear framework. Gardaí, particularly in rural areas, pride themselves on the relationship they have with local communities, and it has been strong down the years. I did not realise the issue arose with local organisations but since I raised it, many other organisations have come forward...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Penalty Points System (11 Dec 2012)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: The Minister will agree that this is a very serious issue relating to public confidence in the Garda Síochána. I agree that a superintendent has the power to cancel penalty points on receipt of an appeal in writing which outlines the grounds why the points should not be applied. As the Minister has outlined, this is justified in some instances. However, there is no clarity for...

Matters relating to An Garda Síochána: Statements (26 Mar 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: He sought to minimise concern about the implementation of the penalty points system by the Garda. He even went onto the plinth to attack the two whistleblowers in a scurrilous effort to undermine their credibility when the O'Mahoney report was published. I remember the exchanges in this Chamber at that time. Later, he wrongly and disgracefully, accused the Garda whistleblowers of not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Protocol Issues: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (12 Feb 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...GSOC was pursuing an investigation - which it is its job to do, courageously, without fear or favour, to pursue every issue - that had very serious ramifications for people at a higher level in An Garda Síochána, it had therefore put itself in the way of surveillance and monitoring and the outcome was potentially a threat to An Garda Síochána. It is being said that may...