Results 641-660 of 1,262 for speaker:Garret Ahearn

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: What Mr. Dunne is essentially saying is a couple of weeks is not long enough to see if this is working.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: What we need is three to six months-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: -----of boots on the ground. If we are seeing a change in the space of two weeks, why not do this for a little longer, and continue to pay overtime for people to come into Dublin on their days off to protect the city as best as possible?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: Is the reduction in shoplifting anything to do with the reduction in numbers coming into the city since what happened three or four weeks ago?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: That is my next question. Irish people are amazing. They support communities, shops and companies when they go through very difficult times. Deputy Stanton would know this well from Midleton. I was down there last week. I spoke to a friend. People have been adamant in their support for Midleton since it was flooded. They want to support their local community and their shops. Is that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: In Tipperary, the concern would be that we might be moving gardaí from Tipperary to Dublin to cover the latter. At the moment, it is only overtime so we are not being affected. However, we need to see the crime figures to make sure they do not just move from one place to another.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: We all agree that gardaí are doing the best they can. Many of them are very deflated. I know gardaí who come to small stores, take someone to the courts and the judge asks if there is a space in a jail for them before they go into court. It is almost as if it is a garda's job to find something before the judge decides whether a person are prosecuted or not. Many gardaí are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: The person gets off free, comes back to a store and robs it again.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: Those six gardaí are not able to be on the street protecting people.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: We have seen an increase in this over the years and all this morning's contributions have referred to the extraordinary levels of crime. Almost all shops have installed security systems at their own expense. Do people feel it has been a waste of money putting in security systems or would things be even worse if these things were not in place?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: Does that happen frequently?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: However, that was deliberately done to try to catch the retailer out.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: The only successful court proceedings the retailers seem to be involved in are the ones against them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: There is something wrong with that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: Gardaí will say they are frustrated with that. There is a greater problem within the courts. Instead of having that many people going to court, the only way to quickly deter it is by having more gardaí on the street.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Facilities (7 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I thank him for taking this important Commencement matter I have tabled. It relates to St. Anne's Secondary School in Tipperary town. I have two questions for the Minister of State. One relates to an application for additional space, essentially for an extension or new building for the students and the school. It is important. They have a...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Facilities (7 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: I thank the Minister of State for his response, much of which related to the capital funding for developments. That is important in the long term. In regard to his response on school meals, he said the Department is going to liaise with the school with respect to its application. I thank him for that. The principal himself is willing to meet with either the Minister for Education or the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: I facilitated a really important meeting with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and representatives from 120 businesses in Clonmel recently. The chairperson was Mr. William Burke, and Mr. Richie Gleeson, Ms Aisling Kilroy and Ms Nuala Hickey came to meet the Minister. The meeting was about Irish Water and water services in Clonmel. It is a huge issue for businesses. Essentially there...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (6 Dec 2023)

Garret Ahearn: There was a welcome auction on Friday and on Monday of about €500,000 worth of goods that have been seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB. Rolex watches, Louis Vuitton bags and other assets were seized from some of the highest criminals in the country. CAB is an organisation set up by Fine Gael to attack criminal organisations and such people as the former Sinn Féin...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Childcare Services (30 Nov 2023)

Garret Ahearn: I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad. I am always delighted when she comes in to respond to commencement matters. She dealt with two of my issues previously and both have been solved. I have said this to the Minister of State privately but I want to put it on the record of the House today. I raised the case previously of a woman who is an amputee but who did not have a medical...