Results 921-940 of 21,514 for speaker:Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: I ask Deputy Fitzpatrick to indicate the nature of his question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: I ask the Commissioner to respond only if he is in a position to offer a reply today.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: I also thank the Commissioner for his response. In regard to the Garda youth diversion programme, the Commissioner's opening statement references 2,492 personal victims and 988 individual organisational victims, which amounts to 3,480 victims. This equates with the number of child offenders. It strikes me as strange that the number of personal and organisational victims equates with the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: They just happen to coincide.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: I accept Mr. Harris's confirmation and assurance. I thank him for that. I would like to ask the Garda Commissioner what the Garda youth diversion programme was preceded by. Perhaps he is not conscious of that himself. What was it previously called? What was its antecedent?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: It was known as the Garda youth diversion scheme. Everything I have read suggests that referrals are young people who have been or are suspected to have been involved in crime or misdemeanour of whatever seriousness. Are other children, who have not come to Garda attention within the specific community setting, incorporated? Have they been brought into this in some way?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: There are different degrees of seriousness. A young person could find himself or herself associated with something unintentionally.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: Bringing someone in under the Garda youth diversion programme at least subliminally suggests diverting people away from a pathway on which they would otherwise find themselves. I wonder just is it properly titled or described? Is it fair? There are levels of seriousness. In some cases that association almost amounts to labelling a young person who might never find himself or herself in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: Do children - I will call them for what they are - who find themselves brought into the programme find that mark remains in future life? Does it arise in any inquiry as to their past? Is it reflected in any way in that young person's life path and prospects?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: It does not present itself? Is it held strictly?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: The report the witnesses gave us at the outset indicated that the Garda has written to almost all of the 3,400 victims.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: The correspondence offered an apology and support. What would the support entail? We can understand the apology. Are there specific supports? The opening address indicated that the helpline received 35 relevant calls and there have been 16 emails.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: I presume that is out of the greater number of victims, however many thousands of people that comprises. There is almost the same number of perpetrators. What is the Garda offering people in those cases? We are talking about 51 out of some thousands of people. Can the Garda Commissioner give us a sense of what they were seeking when they responded? Were they looking for anything in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: What percentage of recidivism is presented among those specific offenders? For instance, in the rape case, have any further incidents of sexual offending presented, to the Commissioner's knowledge? What about some of the other serious cases? Can the Commissioner indicate to us that these most serious cases have been reopened by An Garda Síochána for examination, investigation and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: Into adult life?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: I appreciate the greater number and whatever pathways some of them may have embarked on. I am very particularly concerned about the rape case and other serious physical assault cases. I take it from the Commissioner's reply that there has been a degree of reoffending from within that cohort going on into adult life. I take it that is what the Commissioner is indicating to us.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: As Chair of the committee, I want to take the opportunity to commend the Commissioner on taking the steps that he did in highlighting this. He was not historically responsible in terms of overseeing what happened. The action he took was absolutely correct. The reason I am asking the questions is to underscore just how serious the situation was whereby young offenders were left unchecked,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: Yes. A number of the members' questions prompted one or two of my own thoughts on it. It had been indicated recently that not all members of the Garda were willing to sign or had signed the code of ethics. Can the Commissioner indicate what the situation is in that regard? What progress has been made to ensure that all sworn members are signatories to the code of ethics? It is something...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: The last point I wanted to raise is that when the Commissioner last attended here, he undertook to meet with representatives of Justice for the Forgotten. I understand that meeting took place on 21 November. I want to thank the Commissioner for acting on his undertaking. Is it planned to have a further meeting and how soon might that take place? Can the Commissioner confirm that he has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Interim Report on Review of Youth Referrals: An Garda Síochána (13 Feb 2019)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: That is in terms of the Garda Síochána organisation. I will not continue to raise this matter with the Commissioner and his unique position of having served in two manifestations of policing North of the Border. However, on the previous occasion, he indicated he would consider the matter and perhaps revert to the committee. While he corresponded with the committee after his last...