Results 1,561-1,580 of 3,998 for speaker:Martin Kenny

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: We welcome the Bill, which is long overdue. We will support its main thrust. I understand some quarters put a spin on this, but the reality is that it is about workers' rights and it is a workers' rights issue. Legislators, as Members of the House, are responsible for many things. One of the things for which we are responsible is workers' rights. We have to stand up for the staff we...

Mother and Baby Institutions: Statements (25 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: We have had this debate for years. Even in the last Dáil we had similar debates about mother and baby institutions. I use the word "institutions" because they certainly were not homes for the women who ended up there. This week, I spoke to a woman who told me about her mother who, as a 15-year-old, was bought by her father and the parish priest in a horse and trap to one of these...

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage (25 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: The Deputy and his colleagues supported it for five years.

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage (25 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: In this Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill there is a welcome move to rebalance the situation. We all recognise that. It brings the local authorities back into play, which was one of the big criticisms everyone had of the strategic housing development process, which was the previous arrangement in place. Local communities everywhere want to be...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (25 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: I understand the Minister's reluctance to get involved. It is probably appropriate on one level but, as she said, ordinary members of An Garda Síochána do magnificent work and deserve to be properly represented. We all agree on that. In January 2018, or perhaps before that, the management consultancy firm, Ampersand, made a number of recommendations in respect of a whole range of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (25 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: 119. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the supports or assistance she or her Department gave to the holding of a conference (details supplied). [57838/21]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (25 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: What supports or assistance did the Department give to the holding of the Garda Representative Association, GRA, conference in 2020? As we know, the event took place during the pandemic when practically nothing was happening anywhere in the country. I have a letter to the Minister from Jim Mulligan, the former president of the GRA, in which he expressed concerns that unofficial lobbying had...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (25 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: The issues here go beyond the conference. All of us understand that there are issues with the Garda Representative Association, particularly in its governance. Individual members of An Garda Síochána to whom I have spoken are concerned at the way things are run and operated. We know there were difficulties in the past in that regard. On 15 December 2020, the Minister received a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (25 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: 117. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she has plans to establish a transport police service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58141/21]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (25 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: I ask the Minister for Justice if she or the Government has any plans to establish a transport police service and if she will make a statement on the matter. For many years now, this has been called for by the travelling public, particularly those in urban areas where there is much antisocial behaviour on trains, the DART and the Luas, as well as at depots and stations, and people may feel...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (25 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: I echo that sentiment; we must commend the Garda on the work done in respect of this. However, the reality is that many passengers feel abandoned and unsafe when they travel on our public transport systems. The National Bus and Rail Union has basically stated this type of service must be provided and spoken about taking industrial action if something is not done because it believes that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (25 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: I am disappointed that no consideration is being given to establishing a dedicated transport police service. Most other countries across Europe and many places throughout the world have that in place and it works very well. We also know millions of euro are being spent every year on private security firms doing this kind of work and they only deal with aspects of the issue. They do not...

Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (24 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: At the core of this is the notion that there are decent, genuine, generous people who want to help in these situations. As has been said, some of them are members of various humanitarian organisations but they are also individuals who sometimes risk a great deal to help people. We know that happened recently in Afghanistan when people had to be got out of there and there were individuals...

Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (24 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: As has been said, this legislation, along with the movement towards rectifying the difficulties due to the judgment, is welcome and needs to be progressed as quickly as possible. However, there are other serious issues that we all need to consider. When we think of Ireland as an island nation, the large territorial waters we have around our island and our maritime tradition, and the fact...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport (24 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: 47. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the expenditure by his Department on providing private security for public transport by year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57954/21]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Funding (24 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: 158. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the breakdown of the funding her Department has provided to rape crisis support centres across the country since 2016, in tabular form; if there are plans to provide ring-fenced funding to these organisations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57955/21]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Funding (24 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: 159. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the financial supports her Department offers to an association (details supplied). [57956/21]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Data (24 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: 160. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons in the State who have been arrested under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 since 2016. [57957/21]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Minorities Engaging with the Justice System: Discussion (24 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: Are there examples from other jurisdictions where this type of multifaceted approach has worked?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Minorities Engaging with the Justice System: Discussion (24 Nov 2021)

Martin Kenny: Is it not the case that An Garda Síochána seeks an assessment of an individual by a psychologist before he or she is brought to a facility? Sometimes, there is no space for such individuals in those facilities and they end up being released. The risk the Garda has highlighted can sometimes come to pass because there is nowhere for these people to go.