Results 1,641-1,660 of 1,997 for speaker:Frances Black

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Ms Deirdre Hargey, Lord Mayor of Belfast (8 Nov 2018)

Frances Black: I welcome the Lord Mayor and thank her sincerely for her historic address. Given my own family background in north Antrim, I am deeply passionate about the North of Ireland and I am happy to see sustained engagement between these Houses and Belfast. I have a huge soft spot for Belfast. It is an amazing city – vibrant, musical and full of life, energy, humour and complexity.To have...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (7 Nov 2018)

Frances Black: May I share my time with my colleague, as I wish to give Senator Ruane two minutes?

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (7 Nov 2018)

Frances Black: I welcome the Minister of State and I am really delighted to speak in support of the Bill. I commend Deputies Shortall and Catherine Murphy for their great work in bringing the Bill to this point. We all know that getting Private Members' legislation passed into law is not easy but it is an excellent example of how Opposition Members can push through real meaningful changes when we work on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Future Direction of An Garda Síochána: Garda Commissioner (24 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: I thank the Commissioner for his presentation. I wish him well in his role. I imagine it is quite a big undertaking. He has a great deal of work ahead of him.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Future Direction of An Garda Síochána: Garda Commissioner (24 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: The Commissioner touched on many issues, including those that I wanted to ask him about. He spoke about police training and development and touched on the human rights aspect of that. Will he expand a little more on that? Could he give us an example of the human rights aspect of training and what that entails?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Future Direction of An Garda Síochána: Garda Commissioner (24 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: A report covering mental health within Garda Síochána was published earlier this year. The reality is that gardaí at the coalface have to deal with major issues. I imagine that have to deal with very traumatic issues.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Future Direction of An Garda Síochána: Garda Commissioner (24 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: Some of the issues they might have to deal with at the coalface could almost trigger a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. Quite a high percentage of gardaí would deal with addiction issues, in particular, an area of which I am very aware and have worked in. I imagine there is a high level of burnout among the members. Addiction issues bring on many difficult situations such...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Future Direction of An Garda Síochána: Garda Commissioner (24 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: Sometimes prevention can be better than cure. It would be a good idea to train up many gardaí to deal with people on a compassionate level, which is not easy to do. I understand it is hard to do but if they learned to treat people in general, whatever crime they may have committed, and some crimes are more serious than others, when it comes to addiction issues with dignity and respect,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Future Direction of An Garda Síochána: Garda Commissioner (24 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Future Direction of An Garda Síochána: Garda Commissioner (24 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: I agree with the Commissioner about overtime and burnout in particular. He said that cultural change comes from behavioural change. When he said that, I had the sense that from his perspective that he will be leading by example. Would I be right in saying that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Future Direction of An Garda Síochána: Garda Commissioner (24 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: From the Commissioner's perspective, what is his biggest challenge ahead?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Future Direction of An Garda Síochána: Garda Commissioner (24 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: Choose the biggest one.

Seanad: Traveller Culture and History in Education Bill 2018: Committee Stage (17 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: I welcome the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy McHugh, to the Chamber. I join my colleagues in wishing him well and the very best of luck in his new role. Education and skills in an enormously important brief and has a significant impact on the shape of our society and the values we hold. I see the Bill as a clear recognition of that fact. I assure the Acting Chairman that as we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Community Policing and Rural Crime: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: I do not have many questions to ask but I thank the witnesses for coming in today. This is a huge problem in rural communities. Elderly people can be terrorised simply by a feeling that someone has committed crime in their area. That fear actually applies to everyone, not just the elderly. It is frightening, and I imagine that even the idea of someone coming onto a person's farm to steal...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Community Policing and Rural Crime: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: The idea of the taskforce is fantastic but it is probably a huge ask. I agree with Deputy Wallace that the witnesses have power and influence here. They are listened to. They should focus on putting pressure on those in power because I believe those people will hear what they have to say when they speak on behalf of people who are living in rural communities to highlight the fear and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Community Policing and Rural Crime: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: I thank the witnesses for their presentation. They have given a very clear and precise picture of what it is like for people who live in rural Ireland. I live in the city myself but my cousins are farmers who live on an island, so they are a little more protected from rural crime than others. Fear is a huge factor. Deputy Wallace spoke about people looking in the window of his mother's...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Community Policing and Rural Crime: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: I want to ask another question about the robberies involving farming equipment, which creates unbelievable chaos within a community. There is obviously a market for the equipment. Who is buying it? Is it other farmers? It is shocking to think that there is so much farming equipment being robbed and, if that is the case, somebody must be buying it. Is there something the ICSA could do...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Community Policing and Rural Crime: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: With regard to the witnesses and the Irish Farmers Association, and I am sure the other organisations are very concerned by this, would it be worth it to have everybody working together possibly to formulate a proposal or strategy that could be given to the Minister for Justice and Equality, for example? It would outline what the groups are seeking, for example. Has that happened and, if...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Community Policing and Rural Crime: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: It is often about partnering with other organisations.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Community Policing and Rural Crime: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Oct 2018)

Frances Black: It is about getting people mobilised. That gives more power and the groups would find it easier to be heard. It is important.