Results 1-20 of 149 for garda speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Apr 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: ...public service. The 2013 pension was brought in by civil servants who had well-heeled pensions themselves and were well looked after by the State. They destroyed public service in this country. Garda members are leaving in their droves, as are military personnel. We have to get the Minister for public expenditure and reform to appear before the House and drive home the message that the...

Seanad: Community Safety and Investment: Motion [Private Members] (28 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I move amendment No. 1: After the last paragraph under "calls on the Government to:", to insert the following paragraphs: " - restore the pensions of members of An Garda Síochána to what it was pre-2008 and remove the requirement for post-1996 retirees to sign on for jobseekers benefit while awaiting access to full pension; - implement the recommendations listed in multiple...

Seanad: Community Safety and Investment: Motion [Private Members] (28 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I compliment Senator Moynihan on bringing forward the Labour Party motion. As she spoke, I had visions of my youth where there was one garda in Salthill in Galway and that one garda was able to police the entire holiday resort. I remember a row breaking out one night in Salthill and the garda stood in the middle of the road and put the two opposing sides on either side the street and nobody...

Seanad: Community Safety and Investment: Motion [Private Members] (28 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: Limerick is a city today in which we do not have huge crime. It is a pleasurable city to visit. It was done by co-operation across the board between communities, gardaí, and elected representatives in Limerick who had a direct line into the Garda station. Where there was a problem, it was possible to fix it. The Minister must fix the terms and conditions of employment for...

Seanad: Community Safety and Investment: Motion [Private Members] (28 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: ...;- ensure that the important role played by local authority members in policing is protected by granting them equivalent duties and representation in the new Safety Partnerships and by appointing a designated Garda who can act as a contact for councillors.”.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: ...for the implementation of the recommendations of the commission while, at the same time, numbers are falling rapidly. By the way, this is not just in the Defence Forces but is now also in the Garda, where it is not the issue of bullying and harassment but where other pension issues and so on are involved. A number of tasks are ongoing at the same time. The implementation body is looking...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Pension Provisions (14 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: ...and who generally are part of an accelerated pension scheme. The post-1995 and pre-2013 pension is the one I am concerned about today. The pension causes significant problems for members of An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces, prison officers, firefighters, etc. In all, there are 37,000 members who are affected by this. Let us look at the case of a garda who is retiring on...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Pension Provisions (14 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: ...want to work in the public service. The single pension Act is detrimental to them. However, that is for another day. I know the Minister of State and know he does not want former members of the Garda standing out in a dole queue in Dún Laoghaire, lying that they are available for work when they are not. We should kick in the supplementary element straightaway. If somebody says...

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: ...Boyhan's amendment. The Minister of State and I both remember the bad times in Limerick. It is now one of the best cities in the country. A huge amount of work was carried out jointly by the Garda, local and national politicians and the education and training board, formerly the vocational education committee. It is now a model city in so many ways. I love the place and I love to...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: .... That is simply not good enough. Level of Ambition 2 is about two years old and we still see no development in that area. We still see the numbers falling and now we are beginning to see the number of Garda falling. I asked not so long ago for a debate with the Department of public expenditure and reform on the pension scheme. The post-2013 pension scheme is killing the uniformed...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I am wearing my pin today for Lá Fhéile Bhríde. It is fitting that today, one of the strongest women in Irish representation, Antoinette Cunningham of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, is retiring. Antoinette leaves behind some fantastic achievements, including access to the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court for members of An Garda...

Seanad: Defence Forces Tribunal of Inquiry: Motion (30 Jan 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: ...perhaps still are, bad and disgusting people who perpetrate these crimes, and they need to be rooted out and brought to justice. With that in mind, I am happy to see that the Tánaiste has instructed that the Garda be informed of any misconduct. The IRG was set up to scope the issues within the Defence Forces, not to become judge and jury. The report, in the way it was published,...

Seanad: Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Dec 2023)

Gerard Craughwell: It is relevant when we are talking about the Garda. We need to know who is responsible for what because we do not know. My colleague is 100% correct. We have been raising for months the issue of who is in charge of intelligence and security in this country. The bottom line is that there is an opportunity now to open the conversation. If we are not going to change the Bill, there is an...

Seanad: Recent Violence in Dublin City Centre: Motion (29 Nov 2023)

Gerard Craughwell: I stand foursquare behind the Minister. She is doing a fine job and should continue to do it. I also think the Garda Commissioner is doing a fine job and he should continue to do it. On the riot, I am probably the only person in this room was ever actually involved in a riot. I was sergeant in charge of a riot section and we faced 15,000 people on that particular day. I can tell the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Nov 2023)

Gerard Craughwell: ...would be ridiculed by those living around them. I asked them what their ambition was and they said it was to get as far away from that goddamn city as they could. We can call for the heads of the Garda Commissioner and the Minister but, from my perspective, that is just absolute nonsense. What is that going to solve? It is great politics for outside and it is lovely for the media to...

Seanad: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Second Stage (28 Nov 2023)

Gerard Craughwell: ...and reform is soon to go into negotiations with the public service unions. I am afraid the days of one size fitting all no longer work. For example, the terms and conditions of employment of the Garda and the Defence Forces, particularly their pension schemes, are driving their members out the gate in droves. Young officers who we have spent a lot of money training are leaving at the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Nov 2023)

Gerard Craughwell: ...in that institution. It is really important that we would support Councillor Flynn and Dublin City Council. The second issue I wish to raise is the appointment of the head of intelligence in An Garda Síochána. I am delighted that the Leader has taken exactly the same approach to this issue as I have taken. It is outrageous to consider a foreigner being appointed to this...

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

Gerard Craughwell: This weekend, it was once again confirmed to me that, in this country, we do not understand security or intelligence. Under the Irish intelligence system, the Garda is double-hatted – this is unlike the situation in any other state – and is responsible for both intelligence and policing. We find that the head of intelligence is now likely to be hired from abroad. Just think...

Seanad: Budget 2024 (Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform): Statements (10 Oct 2023)

Gerard Craughwell: ...on the table for years. It is time to put it right but unless there is funding to support it, it is going nowhere. On the patrol duty allowance, the recent operation was multiagency, as the Minister of State knows. The Garda, Coast Guard, Naval Service and Revenue Commissioners were involved in it. All of the people involved in that massive drugs bust that we all speak so proudly about...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 Oct 2023)

Gerard Craughwell: There has been much talk about the capture of the drugs vessel off the coast of Cork. We rightly commend the Defence Forces, the Garda, the Revenue and everyone else who was involved on their work. There was fantastic co-operation across the board. However, have we thought about what would have gone wrong if there had been weapons on board that ship and the helicopter involved in the...