Results 2,221-2,240 of 2,771 for speaker:Colm Brophy

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Tax Relief on Trade Union Subscriptions: Fórsa (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: I remind members and witnesses to turn off mobile phones. Interference affects the sound quality. I welcome Mr. Joe O'Connor, Fórsa's lead organiser. He is accompanied by Mr. Jerry King, Ms Sarah Clarke and Mr. Shay Cody. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the issue of tax relief for trade union subscriptions. I thank the witnesses for writing to the committee and for making...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Tax Relief on Trade Union Subscriptions: Fórsa (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: I am sorry but Ms Clarke's colleague had indicated before her and he was very patient, so to be fair I will let him in now. Ms Clarke can follow on then.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Tax Relief on Trade Union Subscriptions: Fórsa (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: Would Ms Clarke like to make a quick addition to that?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Tax Relief on Trade Union Subscriptions: Fórsa (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: Before the witnesses reply, I draw people's attention to our proposed finish time of 4.45 p.m. and ask them to stay focused on the subject matter of today's committee meeting. Two other members have also indicated they want to speak on this.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Tax Relief on Trade Union Subscriptions: Fórsa (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: I call Deputy Donnelly.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Tax Relief on Trade Union Subscriptions: Fórsa (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: We have covered almost all the points. There is just one small technical issue. We have discovered the approximate cost of the relief. What is the cost of the relief for membership of professional bodies?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Tax Relief on Trade Union Subscriptions: Fórsa (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: Yes.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Tax Relief on Trade Union Subscriptions: Fórsa (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: I thank Mr. O'Connor. I appreciate he is trying to facilitate the committee with that information and we will look into it further. On behalf of the committee, I thank the witnesses for attending and for the very good exchange of views. We will now discuss the matter as a committee. We very much appreciate the witnesses' involvement. I would like to bring our meeting to a conclusion....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Oversight and Accountability: Policing Authority (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: I thank the witnesses for their appearance before the committee. There are many questions and while my colleagues will inquire about other areas, I wish to focus on two areas in regard to Ms Feehily's opening statement. In her comments on the Garda report that was presented to her in April, her tone and the reportage of that meeting clearly indicated that the Policing Authority was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Oversight and Accountability: Policing Authority (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: In light of evidence given to us recently and other things that have transpired, does Ms Feehily definitely still hold that view? Does she not think, because of some things that have transpired since that meeting took place and some things of which we are now aware, that it might even be naive to believe that there was not a deliberate attempt to mislead?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Oversight and Accountability: Policing Authority (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: They had a second stab at producing a report in September but that, too, was completely unsatisfactory and by that stage information was emerging, as Ms Feehily was aware from the meeting in April, that what was going on was completely unsatisfactory. How would Ms Feehily classify the way that report was presented to her? They have had four months to do it. Does she believe it was an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Oversight and Accountability: Policing Authority (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: It is amazing to members of the public and of this committee that it can take from April to February of the following year for An Garda Síochána to prepare a report which the Policing Authority found acceptable. Although I accept what Ms Feehily says on the subject, to many people it seems - at least initially in the April presentation - some deliberately misleading information was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Oversight and Accountability: Policing Authority (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: Does Ms Feehily think the way she treated the two witnesses who appeared before this committee was appropriate? I ask Ms Feehily that specifically allowing for her initial or non-contact with them and the fact that subsequent to that there was contact with them. Even allowing for what Ms Feehily said was a policy, she seems to have adjusted that half way through because she seems to have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Oversight and Accountability: Policing Authority (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: The impression I gained from their evidence to us at our committee meeting was that felt they had pretty much hit a stone wall in trying to communicate with the Policing Authority and have their views heard. Does Ms Feehily believe that is misleading?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Oversight and Accountability: Policing Authority (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: For the purpose of clarity, Ms Feehily is quite happy that the engagement by the Policing Authority with them was at all times professional, that it was reasonable and correct and she could 100% stand over the way the Policing Authority dealt with this as having been the correct way to deal with it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Oversight and Accountability: Policing Authority (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: It seems quite obvious that they do have a different perception of the engagement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Oversight and Accountability: Policing Authority (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: I am just trying to figure out what occurred. I am not trying to trip Ms Feehily up.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Oversight and Accountability: Policing Authority (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: She believes the authority's engagement was at all times correct and professional but they obviously has a very different perspective on that. Is there an internal process that the Policing Authority should be examining in regard to how it deals with people who contact it in these kinds of circumstances? Ms Feehily seems to say she did nothing wrong and that the authority does not need to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Oversight and Accountability: Policing Authority (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: In light of that answer, does Ms Feehily believe it was inappropriate for the authority to be contacted?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Oversight and Accountability: Policing Authority (21 Mar 2018)

Colm Brophy: Can I move on to one final area, on which I would like to ask Ms Feehily for an overview? I echo Ms Feehily's sentiments on getting this done as quickly as possible and on circulating the information as quickly as possible because there are victims, families and people with genuine concerns. In the section of her opening remarks that dealt with how the investigation is proceeding, she noted...