Results 1-20 of 246 for garda speaker:Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Report Stage (24 Apr 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: ...a gambler, you really do think that your next bet is going to solve all your problems. The debt that is being accumulated in people's lives, which is a silent killer, is affecting all facets of Irish life. There are gardaí who are impacted by this, who have debts that they have to pay that affect the way they do their work. I am quite sure there is a politician in here somewhere...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (23 Apr 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: There is no more important garda than the community garda in breaking down antisocial behaviour, fostering relationships, breaking down intergenerational distrust and breaking down the distrust that young people and migrant communities tend to have of An Garda Síochána. The Policing Authority spoke today about cuts in community policing. The Minister of State cannot provide me...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (23 Apr 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: ...published an assessment of policing performance today and indicated cuts to community policing are a matter of genuine concern. It stated: While there is a strong trust and confidence in the Garda Síochána within local communities, negative perceptions persist, particularly among young people and minority communities. Enhancing community policing and addressing visibility...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (23 Apr 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: We did have a motion of no confidence in the Garda Commissioner, which I did not think was a good move by the GRA but it happened. We did have a threat of work to rule, effectively, for the month of October, which did not happen but overhung the whole month until it was resolved. The Garda Commissioner has not been invited to the GRA conference and the Minister has already decided not to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (23 Apr 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: 7. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality what measures have been put in place to address the unprecedented number of members resigning from An Garda Síochána. [17751/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (23 Apr 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I have won the oral questions lottery this week. This question relates to the issue of Garda resignations, which I have raised a number of times. There were 147 resignations from An Garda Síochána last year, which was unprecedented. The Minister decided not to attend the Garda Representative Association, GRA, conference. That was an unsurprising move in the absence of an...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (23 Apr 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: What gardaí are telling me is that it is not the job it used to be and that it is harder to do the job. There are people doing it now who want to leave and clearly the statistics back up what I am saying. There are also people who, in previous generations, would have wanted to enter the profession but do not want to do so now. We can see that in the difficulties we have had with...

Acknowledgement and Apology to the Families and to the Victims of the Stardust Tragedy: Statements (23 Apr 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: ...those second-class lives that are still not worthy of the truth and other cases of injustice affecting those from the wrong side of the tracks. For example, I think of the family of Terence Wheelock, a healthy young man who walked into Store Street Garda station almost 20 years ago but came out in a coffin. These things just do not happen to middle-class men. I also think of the...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: .... This is clear data and we should be seeing impactful solutions in both resourcing and personnel from the Government. For instance, the latest figures state there are 627 members of the Garda road policing unit, which is down from 688 last year and 692 in 2022. In what world is this acceptable? Why is the Government not providing the resources not just to retain the number of members...

Housing Targets and Regulations: Motion [Private Members] (6 Mar 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: ...in Dublin. I have visited schools that are operating on 45% staffing capacity because they just cannot get teachers. Teachers cannot afford to live in Dublin. It is similar in healthcare and An Garda Síochána. We fundamentally cannot get people to live and work in Dublin. We have constantly called on the Government to reflect what has been happening in London for the past...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Arson Attacks: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: .... As I stated earlier, two Members of Parliament in the UK have been murdered in the past ten years. The direction of travel is serious. I am a public representative, but library workers, gardaí and those officiating or stewarding at any sort of protest have to deal with incidents that are in the same vein. Do the witnesses share my assumption that the direction of travel is going...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Arson Attacks: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Where somebody is blocking a road, does the Garda say that if it decides to unblock it, it could make things worse? Surely, nobody has the right to block a public road because a bus of people seeking international protection might be coming down it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Arson Attacks: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I propose we publish the opening statements on the committee's website. Is that agreed? Agreed. On behalf of the committee, I thank the members of An Garda Síochána for taking part in our meeting today on this extremely important matter. I thank them for their evidence and their attendance.

Recent Arson Attacks: Statements (27 Feb 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: ...turning up, or just playing both sides, and then everybody is surprised when the building goes up in flames. Meanwhile, there are completely dispirited, morale-on-the-floor, unprecedented resignations in An Garda Síochána. What we do we get from the Minister this year in the light of all that? Clearly, it has been successful, because these protests, this anger and this...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (22 Feb 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: 15. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if the opening of the new divisional headquarters at Northern Cross will result in the closure of Coolock Garda station; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8219/24]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (13 Feb 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I thank everyone for their presentations. I will make some general comments and then invite the witnesses to respond. We all want to arm gardaí with as much weaponry as possible to enable them to target and effectively prosecute those engaged in very serious crimes. We are all on the same page in that regard. I am reminded of a television miniseries that I watched recently about...

Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (8 Feb 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: .... I am also thinking of the case of Terence Wheelock and of his brother, Larry, who is no longer with us and who was an inspirational campaigner for justice for Terence, who went into Store Street Garda station as a young man and did not come out alive. The report of the Oireachtas justice committee has called for the system to be centred on the bereaved. It is clear that the...

Misuse of Drugs (Cannabis Regulation) Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members] (31 Jan 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: ...a court full of poor, sick people. Poor, sick people do not belong in a courtroom. Some 70% of drug cases in our courts are for possession for personal use. It is a complete and utter waste of Garda time because it is actually about a war on people. It is not a war on drugs; it is a war on people who take drugs. It is a total misunderstanding of the nature of addiction; if we just ban...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (30 Jan 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: 423. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of new recruits to An Garda Síochána in each of the years 2018 to 2023 and to date in 2024; the number of retirements from An Garda Síochána in the corresponding timeframe; and the number of resignations from An Garda Síochána. [4136/24]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (18 Jan 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: 258. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the final numbers for recruitment, resignations and retirements in An Garda Síochána for 2023. [2283/24]