Results 341-360 of 375 for garda speaker:Willie O'Dea

Written Answers — Defence Forces Operations: Defence Forces Operations (12 Oct 2004)

Willie O'Dea: The primary responsibility for internal security rests with the Garda Síochána. The Defence Forces, pursuant to their role of rendering aid to the civil power, assist the Garda as required. Defence Forces Border operations are undertaken as aid to civil power, ATCP, requests. The Defence Forces also assist the Garda with prisoner escorts, cash escorts and explosives escorts. The demands on...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Training: Defence Forces Training (12 Oct 2004)

Willie O'Dea: The Garda Síochána has primary responsibility for law and order, including the protection of the internal security of the State. It continuously monitors the potential threats to the State arising from international terrorism in co-operation with the Defence Forces. The advice available to me at this time is that, while the Garda authorities recognise that the terrorist threat to Europe may...

EU Presidency. (12 Oct 2004)

Willie O'Dea: ...Defence Forces as assigned by Government are set out in the White Paper on Defence, which was published in February 2000. To aid the civil power, meaning in practice to assist when requested the Garda Síochána, which has the primary responsibility for law and order, including the protection of the internal security of the State, is among the assigned roles. The Defence Forces, pursuant...

Air Corps Strength. (12 Oct 2004)

Willie O'Dea: The most important defence against terrorist attacks is detection and prevention by the security forces. While the Garda Síochána has the primary responsibility for law and order, one of the roles assigned to the Defence Forces is the provision of aid to the civil power, meaning in practice to assist, when requested, the Garda Síochána. The various components of the Defence Forces are...

Air Corps Strength. (12 Oct 2004)

Willie O'Dea: The primary responsibility in the event of a terrorist attack lies with the Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces would come in response to a request for assistance. We have a limited air defence capacity but the events of 11 September showed that countries that spend a fortune on air defence cannot guarantee protection. Small countries do not spend resources that could be used for other...

Maternity Protection (Amendment) Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Second Stage. (20 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: ...provisions included in section 8, which gives pregnant employees a new entitlement to attend ante-natal classes. A limited exclusion is provided in the case of members of the Defence Forces, the Garda Síochána serving overseas or in other exceptional circumstances. It can sometimes be the case that a pregnancy does not go to full-term, for example, because of premature birth. In such...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Second Stage. (4 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: ...revision of some of the categories of exclusion which are allowed under the Employment Equality Act. As a result, there will no longer be blanket type exclusions in the case of employment in the Garda Síochána and Prison Service. I also propose to deal with certain other exclusions, currently provided for under sections 26 and 37 of the Employment Equality Act and section 6 of the Equal...

Seanad: Services for Victims of Domestic Violence: Statements. (28 Jan 2004)

Willie O'Dea: ...experience tells us that one in five women experience violence in an intimate relationship at some stage of their lives. The position in Ireland is no different. The recently published Garda statistics for 2002 show that 10,248 incidents of domestic violence were reported to the Garda Síochána in that year. In addition to this, I am aware that the various non-governmental organisations...

Seanad: Maternity Protection (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (2 Dec 2003)

Willie O'Dea: ...to time off from work to attend antenatal classes. It is necessary to amend this section by the insertion of a new subsection (3) to provide for exclusions for members of the Defence Forces and the Garda Síochána serving overseas or in other exceptional circumstances. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform was contacted by the Defence Forces and the Garda Síochána stating...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters. - Murder of Councillor. (25 Jun 2003)

Willie O'Dea: ...are aware, responsibility for the murder was claimed by the Ulster Freedom Fighters, which said that Councillor Fullerton was killed because he had passed information to the IRA. The subsequent Garda investigation indicated that there was no evidence to substantiate this claim, not that this is in any way relevant to what was, after all, a cold-blooded murder. I am aware of the report in...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters. - Murder of Councillor. (25 Jun 2003)

Willie O'Dea: I assure the Senator if new information is made available to the Garda, it will be investigated by the force. With regard to the other matters he raised, I will pass on his comments to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. However, we remain convinced the Garda is the proper authority to investigate a case of this nature and new information will be fully investigated and pursued....

Seanad: Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998: Motion. (24 Jun 2003)

Willie O'Dea: ...for their support. I thank Senator Brian Hayes for seconding the motion. I have taken note of various points made during the course of the debate which I will discuss with the Minister and the Garda Síochána. These include: the question of dissident terrorists trying to recruit people in universities and other third level institutions: the fact that the Criminal Assets Bureau should pay...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (20 May 2003)

Willie O'Dea: I thank the Senator for tabling these amendments. The difficulty is that some states will accept communications and requests from the Garda Commissioner while others will not. Section 2 provides that the Commissioner will be the competent authority in Ireland for the purposes of the Bill but that where the competent authority of another member state requires that requests in relation to the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (20 May 2003)

Willie O'Dea: The deployment of gardaí and the assigning of tasks to them are matters for the Garda Commissioner. As the Senator rightly points out, while we are in about third place in Europe in the ratio of gardaí to the population, there is a perception that there is a scarcity of officers. The Government believes we can use more gardaí. I take the Senator's point in that regard. Gardaí constitute a...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (20 May 2003)

Willie O'Dea: Investigating and detecting crime costs money. In this situation, the competent authority, namely the Garda Commissioner, provides the initiative to set up the joint investigation team. We cannot introduce something into domestic law which compels competent authorities in other countries to calculate costs in advance. The Garda Commissioner will calculate costs and ensure taxpayers' money is...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (20 May 2003)

Willie O'Dea: I do not disagree with some of the Senator's sentiments. The question of increasing the number of gardaí is a separate one. I agree that we would benefit from having more gardaí. The Government has certain commitments in that regard, which have been the subject of recent controversy. The commitment in the election manifesto and the programme for Government, as I recall it, was to provide...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (20 May 2003)

Willie O'Dea: This amendment would provide for an additional category of person to be appointed as a member of a joint investigation team, namely, a non-Garda CAB officer. However, having examined the amendment, I am a little lost about the purpose behind it. Section 6(2), as drafted, allows the Minister to appoint to a joint investigation team officers of customs and excise, the Revenue Commissioners, any...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (20 May 2003)

Willie O'Dea: I understand what the Senator is saying. Section 6 deals with membership of a joint team and provides that members of the Garda Síochána, officers of the Customs and Excise, officers of the Revenue Commissioners and officers of any other Minister may be assigned or appointed to a joint team. In addition, section 6(2)(c) allows the Minister to appoint any other person who, in his or her...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (20 May 2003)

Willie O'Dea: ...to put into law not only the letter but the spirit of the agreement. A cursory glance at it would quickly demonstrate that we should not limit ourselves. It is envisaged that members of the Garda Síochána and the customs authorities – persons who are State officials – and officers of various Government Departments will be sufficient in the vast majority of cases. Occasionally,...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (20 May 2003)

Willie O'Dea: Section 10 amends the Garda Síochána Act 1989 by adding joint investigation teams to the list of overseas organisations or units with which a member of the Garda Síochána may serve. The proposed amendment seeks to further amend that Act by providing that it should explicitly state that the Garda disciplinary regulations apply to gardaí referred to in section 3 of the Garda Síochána Act...