Results 4,881-4,900 of 8,986 for speaker:Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (5 Feb 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I move amendment No. 10:In page 3, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following:“Amendment of section 96(5) of Principal Act 5. Section 96(5) of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (5):“(5) If a person required under subsection (1)(a) or (3)(a) to provide any information, document or thing claims that subsection (4)*...

Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (5 Feb 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I move amendment No. 11:In page 3, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following:“Amendment of section 96(6) of Principal Act 5. Section 96(6) of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (6):“(6) If the Independent Adjudicator determines that the disclosure of all or part of the information, document or thing specified in...

Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (5 Feb 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: This was one of the recommendations of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. I know that the Minister has put protocols in place. However, the amendment would put it on a statutory footing in order that there would be no doubt about GSOC's access. It is a vital component of what it will require.

Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (5 Feb 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I hear the point the Minister is making about PULSE and that the system may change. However, when Bob Olson and his colleagues from the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, as part of their substantial report on the crime investigation carried out over three years, they spoke about the inadequacies of...

Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (5 Feb 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I support the amendment. As we discussed last night, a significant number of citizens do not have confidence that the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission has the capacity or power to fully investigate matters about which they are concerned. While certain aspects of the legislation are encouraging and welcome, the new powers conferred on GSOC are wholly inadequate. The amendment...

Order of Business (5 Feb 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Hear, hear.

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

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Yes.

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

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Whenever we met the ombudsman in the North as part of the Oireachtas justice committee's preparation for putting recommendations and proposals to the Minister, one of the things that became apparent is that the ombudsman in the North has the same powers as the police in terms of the Official Secrets Act and so on. In other words, it has unrestricted access. It smacks as being very arrogant...

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

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I am not pressing.

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

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I move Amendment No. 4:In page 3, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following:“Amendment of section 74 of Principal Act 4. Section 74 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4):“(5) The Ombudsman Commission and the Garda Inspectorate may, for the purposes of an investigation, recruit a pool of independent investigators...

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

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I move Amendment No. 5:In page 3, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following:“Amendment of section 82(1) of Principal Act 4. Section 82(1) of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1): “(1) In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires— ‘admissible complaint’ means a complaint determined by...

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

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: It is a drafting error. The other two amendments are much clearer on that point. The Minister will recall the events organised by the Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Law Society. Conor Brady was one of the speakers, a former Garda Commissioner - sorry, Garda Ombudsman Commissioner. He made the point that, where ever-----

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

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: He made the point that if information or documents requested by the Garda Ombudsman, or indeed other bodies, were withheld on security grounds, there should be an independent adjudication system, for example, as I have defined here, a High Court judge or person of that calibre. It is important because there will be grey areas. There will be matters of importance where the Garda...

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

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: As I acknowledged earlier, there are errors in the drafting of this amendment. Of course, the Garda Inspectorate is not relevant to this debate. I will not be pressing the amendments because they are not worded properly. However, the objective of the amendments is to ensure that the issues Deputy Wallace and Deputy Daly have outlined do not continue. People are having to wait crazy...

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

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: In page 3, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following:“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...

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

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: The Minister would be familiar with the Kieran Boylan affair. GSOC submitted a detailed report on the case and the significant lack of co-operation it received from the then Garda Commissioner on matters of the utmost seriousness. It submitted a 500-page report to the previous Minister and published a seven or eight page summary of its concerns. One of the key issues was the lack of...

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

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I move amendment No. 1:In page 3, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 65(1) of Principal Act 2. Section 65(1) of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):“(1) The Ombudsman Commission is to consist of 1 member, who is to be appointed by the President on—(a) the nomination of the...

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

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I certainly will not withdraw the amendment; I might even consider calling a vote given how strongly I feel about it. We should think about the rationale the Minister of State has just provided. There are ombudsmen in different sectors. Ms Emily O'Reilly was very successful as Ombudsman and is now the European Ombudsman, based on the success of that model and her strong performance in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (4 Feb 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: We will now continue as the Joint Sub-committee on Petitions to record the decisions of the committee. The committee has received a total of 128 petitions to date since the launch of the petitions system. The secretariat has been examining them to establish admissibility of the petitions and how best to progress the petitions for consideration by the joint sub-committee. One hundred and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (4 Feb 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Is that agreed? Agreed. The next petition is No. P00001/14, Legalise Cannabis Ireland, from Mr. David Kelly. We are now in receipt of four petitions on legalising cannabis, three of which have come before the committee. However, petition No. P00003/15 was only received on 29 January 2015. That will be brought before the committee in the near future. The petition being considered today...