Results 5,361-5,380 of 15,389 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: Yes, sorry, in January. They are being attested next Friday. To the Senator’s last point, we do not want gardaí coming from all over the country and stationed in Dublin on a permanent basis. We need to make sure we have a strong response and presence in our city centre, particularly given what happened. We want people to be confident coming into the Christmas period that they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I have been very clear that the Commissioner engaged-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: That is not a matter for me.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: That is not a matter for me but I have been very clear that the Commissioner engaged with me.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I have already answered that. The Commissioner engaged and I very much supported it. He made that decision and I am very clear on that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: No. I am saying there is no excuse or personal situation that forces a person to put something that is on fire into a Garda car. There is no personal situation that would ever force somebody to do that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: It is not a-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: You are not forced to go out onto the streets and loot, riot and burn.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I think the Senator knows me in that I absolutely believe that people can change. When I was in Cork recently, I met a group of wonderful men in a project who had spent years involved in crime, had addiction problems and other issues. I absolutely believe that people should be able to turn their lives around. Where they have inflicted pain on other people is not to say they cannot change....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I know the Senator is not excusing it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I appreciate that but no matter what happens to someone, those individuals were not forced. We do not know what could have happened. Nobody forced those individuals to attack gardaí.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I said what I said and will not take it back. It is not a term that I would normally use. People know that. It is not language that I would normally use. I said before that I do not think this was a normal situation. It is not something that I have ever seen. I was not targeting a particular group, class, area, or age-group of people. I was referring to the behaviour. Most people...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: No, I do not accept that. It was an appropriate response. Lessons will always be learned but this is not a scene I have ever seen. For many gardaí, this is not something they have ever responded to. Protocols were put in place. As I mentioned earlier, the way in which gardaí were communicated with is the structure they have. That is how it is done. It is done through WhatsApp...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I am not sure how everybody got in. When there are so many people trying to get in, there are not 100 cars sitting in Santry waiting for people to go into the city centre. The logistics of this are pretty significant. The way in which so many gardaí got into the city centre was pretty economical.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: At the weekend, what they have was explained to me. With the roll-out of the new body cameras and any new equipment, it is connected to the inside. That is not there at the moment. I have allocated additional funding in every budget that I have been part of for additional equipment, including body armour. That will continue. Where there is an ask, I have responded with funding, and I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: Gardaí are always exposed to danger. Of course they were.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: They are always exposed to danger. No matter what situation they find themselves in, gardaí put their lives on the line every day. Obviously, I want them to have the most up-to-date, technologically advanced and best equipment they can have. Over time, one needs to improve and update. Gardaí always put themselves at risk, and they did an excellent job.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: They would have faced the same challenges. There were people burning buses, looting and rioting, and gardaí responded in an excellent way.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I have no sight of where gardaí are coming from. I have been given assurances that there will be a high-visibility presence right up until and during Christmas. That will obviously be revised. In the interim, 153 new members of the force will come out of Templemore. Some of them will go to Dublin. If members have come from other areas, that will help to alleviate that. Some of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Helen McEntee: I have no idea where these gardaí are coming from. Obviously, that decision is taken by the Garda Commissioner and his teams. Resources are allocated where they are needed and how they are needed. The way to respond to any question like that is to make sure that we have more gardaí coming out of Templemore. That is a priority for me.