Results 1-20 of 134 for garda speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Feb 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: ...the same story as Mr. and Mrs. Bloggs six weeks previously. The entire story was told to the second family which was a complete and utter breach of confidentiality. We have heard much about the Garda, but Tusla is a dysfunctional organisation which needs a root and branch examination. With respect to the Garda and Sergeant Maurice McCabe, I will not be lectured about politics and what...

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: Order of Business (13 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Like everybody else here, I add my condolences to the people in Carrickmines, to Garda Golden's family and to the family of the homeless man who died in Dublin over the weekend. The people in Carrickmines live just down the road from me. It was a halting site that was well in off the road. They were people who minded their own business, who went about their daily lives. To see two...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: I rise to discuss the Garda Síochána again. I was disturbed all night last night thinking about the pressure on Commissioner O'Sullivan to resign and step aside. I did a little bit of work on the Garda Síochána, and it is interesting to note that in the history of the State no Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces has been forced out of office. Since the foundation of...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Apr 2023)

Gerard Craughwell: The Garda Commissioner presented in front of the Garda Representative Association, GRA, in Westport yesterday. The issue of rostering of gardaí for both the GRA and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, AGSI, is a major problem and we have known for some time that it is a problem. The Commissioner said he is not the only one who has to compromise. It strikes me that he is...

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: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: ...produce a test to say that he or she is clear of Covid-19 before evening thinking about boarding a plane. A person should not be able to get on a plane without a certificate in his or her hand. A garda said to me the other day that if somebody arriving at an airport is told that he or she has to go into quarantine, as the provisions of this Bill are not yet in place, the person does not...

Seanad: An Garda Síochána: Statements (28 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: ...here. This cannot be an easy time for her. The last paragraph of her speech says a lot about her time in office. She referred to the various organisation that she set up to oversee the running of the Garda Síochána, and I compliment her on doing so. I put on record this evening my deep respect for and express my gratitude to the ordinary gardaí who are on the streets...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Sep 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: ...as students have to queue up for hours, and sometimes overnight, in order to get their visas renewed. This is wrong. I draw attention to the few miserable shillings saved by closing half the Garda stations in the country. In Stepaside, where I live, which is not exactly rural Ireland, we are inundated with burglaries. The loss of that Garda station has been of massive import. I am...

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: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (23 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I share some of Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh's concern about the level of control we are leaving in the Minister's hands under the provisions of the Bill. I understand the Garda Representative Association wrote to the justice committee stressing the need for independence for the Garda authority. I worry when I hear the Attorney General's advice was A, B, C or D. The Office of the...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Functions and Operational Areas) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (3 Feb 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: ...to the vast area that will now come under superintendents and the like. There will have to be a lot of talks with the representative bodies as to how things will be managed. I understand the Garda Representative Association has some issues with the Bill and I will encourage its members to engage with the Minister of State. Nevertheless, we are where we are and the Bill is progressing....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: Most Garda drivers who are in vehicles are fully trained and trained to the highest standard. I am familiar with the fact that every now and then there is a car chase, and especially in cities. Garda drivers are skilled at what they do and they know how to handle a vehicle. Unfortunately, the people they are chasing are not skilled and do not know how to handle a vehicle. Are there any...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Nov 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: I second Senator Boyhan's amendment to the Order of Business seeking the moving of No. 128(5) regarding the naming of the children's hospital. Last night we were treated to a view of two gardaí being beaten in Dublin. Sadly, it is not just Dublin; it is happening everywhere. Members of An Garda Síochána put on their uniforms and go out to work in the evenings expecting to...

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2015: Second Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: The credibility of the Government is now at stake. Let us take, for example, An Garda Síochána. The Garda was promised a review under an appendix to the Lansdowne Road agreement which would cover structural, human resources-industrial relations issues together with remuneration.I am not sure what has happened in regard to the structural review but only one serious meeting has...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Feb 2023)

Gerard Craughwell: That was excellent timing; I thank the Cathaoirleach. This week, we learned again of an assault on gardaí. We are in a situation where the uniformed services are falling apart. Seven or eight years ago, I started talking about the problems in the Defence Forces. It took six years to get a commission in place and we are still waiting to see its output. The strength of the Defence...

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: Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2018: Second Stage (19 Jun 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: ...like to see it go through. The Minister of State will know that in an industrial dispute, we came very close to what was termed a "blue flu". It would be a sad day for Ireland if members of the Garda Síochána pulled their services over any industrial relations issue. It is good that we are now putting a mechanism in place whereby, like any other workers, its members have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Delays Affecting Car Tests and Driver Tests: Discussion (1 Feb 2023)

Gerard Craughwell: ...to me the other day. He is looking for an NCT because his current certificate runs out at the end of February or early March. He was offered an NCT in late September. We are being told that the Garda will take a sympathetic view but the law is the law and one must have a vehicle that has passed a test and that is it. If a particular garda chooses to take a lenient or sympathetic...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Feb 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: ...of the tribunal of inquiry, which I hope can be agreed in this House without politicising the issue. The issue of the presumption of innocence has been brought forward as a reason that the Garda Commissioner should be left in her position. There is absolutely no question from anybody here about the presumption of innocence. Everybody is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty,...