Results 1-20 of 104 for garda speaker:Niall Ó Donnghaile

Seanad: Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009: Motions (27 Jun 2023)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: .... Look at what Fine Gael Ministers have delivered. Serious crime levels are out of control and a serious threat is posed to society by organised crime. There is a retention and recruitment crisis in An Garda Síochána. Courts across the State have a huge backlog and there are lengthy waits for trials. Inquests in coroners courts, similarly, take a long time. Families cannot...

Seanad: Non-Fatal Offences against the Person (Amendment) (Spiking) Bill 2023: Second Stage (31 May 2023)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: ...ag croílar an tSeanaid anocht. We support the intention behind this Bill. There is unanimous support across the House at this Stage, which I hope is no surprise to colleagues across the Chamber. Sinn Féin thinks the current issue is a lack of gardaí, and a lack of resourcing within the DPP and the courts. The DPP has pointed out that it is struggling to cope with the...

Seanad: Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Second Stage (27 Apr 2023)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: ...out further and I hope we will have the opportunity to do so. With a high number of evictions and repossessions, we do not wish to see people evicted from their homes by private security firms under the supervision of An Garda Síochána, as has occurred on several occasions recently. The changes to the Bankruptcy Act 1988, which cover a statement of affairs and distribution of...

Seanad: Report of the Independent Review Group on Dignity and Equality Issues in the Defence Forces: Statements (25 Apr 2023)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: ...report and its authors. I welcome the Tánaiste's announcement and the Government's decision to set up a statutory inquiry, an external independent complaints process, an external oversight body and a legal mechanism for sexual assault allegations to be investigated by An Garda Síochána. However, what possible credible explanation can the Government give to defend the...

Seanad: Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (28 Feb 2023)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: ...the form of a statutory framework, namely, the sex offenders risk assessment and management programme. The provisions of the Bill will manage and monitor sex offenders in the community by enmeshing an offender in a scaffolding of laws and Garda scrutiny designed to restrict the offender's ability to prey on people, especially vulnerable people. The new legal measures, if enacted, will...

Seanad: Protection of Private Residences (Against Targeted Picketing) Bill 2021: Second Stage (26 Jan 2023)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: ...decided to move as a result. That is the outworking of the intimidation and harassment. Ultimately, the attacks on people's homes and intimidatory behaviour outside them are a criminal matter for the Garda to act upon. I am not behind the doors in saying the full rigour of the law needs to be employed to bring anyone involved to justice. These are not matters that fall within the...

Seanad: Transport Police Service: Motion (25 Jan 2023)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: ...up as a matter of urgency. For over two years, transport policing has been a mainstay of our justice policy. Last November in the Dáil, Deputy Kenny called on the Minister for Justice, the Minister for Transport and the Government, to resource the Garda to enable it to set up a transport policing division. The call was prompted by a number of serious concerns such as the criminal...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Passport Services (12 Jul 2022)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: ...work. The Minister of State knows how problematic it can be. A dedicated resource would be welcome. There is a different range of possible witnesses in the North, compared with members of the Garda as witnesses in the South. I am regularly called by the Passport Service to verify that I have witnessed an application, which is fine. I agree that we need to protect the robustness and...

Seanad: Communications (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (11 Jul 2022)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: ...is indicating that this Bill is unlikely to provide the solution that is ultimately required. That message will hardly instil confidence where it is most needed: the justice committee; the justice system; the Garda; and the general population. Indeed, the Data Protection Commission has concerns arising from data protection audits of these proposals. The EU law regarding data protection...

Seanad: Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998: Motion (29 Jun 2022)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: ...Minister of State is very welcome to the House. Sinn Féin will do whatever it takes to get criminal gangs off the streets. We need 21st century laws to tackle 21st century criminals. That means everything: more gardaí on the streets, more resources and, yes, special courts that protect jurors and those giving evidence against these dangerous gangs. Our approach to all of this...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (16 Jun 2022)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: ...save us time when we get to that point. The Bill is designed to protect in principle and in law a very important and long-standing function carried out in District Court sittings by members of the Garda, known as Garda court presenters.When a case comes before the District Court, it is handled by a court presenter — for the most part by a local sergeant. The court presenter will...

Seanad: Northern Ireland: Motion (11 May 2022)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: ...issue has been raised by groups such as the Committee on the Administration of Justice, CAJ, the North West Migrants Forum, NWMF, and End Deportations Belfast. I raised this matter with the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner. This is a live issue of concern and one equally worth mentioning and drawing to the attention of the Government. I welcome the Minister's remarks...

Seanad: Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2022)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: .... It recommended a multinodal accident investigation office to cover air, marine and rail incidents, similar to the Swedish model. It was not acted upon. That has led to a complaint being sent to An Garda Síochána by Mr. Michael Kingston. This could not be more serious. The complaint alleges that these failures have led unnecessarily to lives being lost at sea. In effect,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Engagement with Representatives from the Committee on the Administration of Justice (24 Feb 2022)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: .... Like other colleagues, I have engaged with Ms Boyd and Mr. Holder on the issue of checks on buses before, raised it in the Seanad and, when I was a member of the justice committee, with the Garda Commissioner. I have been on the bus travelling to this institution and have seen examples of some of the concerns expressed by people from ethnic minority backgrounds and by people of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Engagement with Representatives from the Committee on the Administration of Justice (24 Feb 2022)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: I wish to make a brief point of information in response to the Chairman. I raised this matter with the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for Justice at the time. The bigger concern for me and, I believe, for organisations such as the CAJ is that it was not even a matter that this was a decision by individual gardaí. I am not necessarily questioning them. The concern is that it was...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Functions and Operational Areas) Bill 2021: Second Stage (27 Jan 2022)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: ...an Aire. I thank the Minister for outlining the comprehensive, important and far-reaching aspects of the Bill before us. As the Minister said, it is presented as a technical Bill to implement a new Garda operating model. As colleagues in the House have acknowledged, and I am sure others will, it makes sense that an organisation as large and of such importance as An Garda...

Seanad: Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person (Amendment) (Stalking) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (27 Jan 2022)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: ..., someone living in Cavan could be stalking somebody in Fermanagh and vice versa. If a woman or anyone else is being subject to this crime in the other jurisdiction, how should he or she report it? Should it be reported to the Garda or, if the person is in the North, the PSNI? How would that happen? Has the Department looked at that? If not, could it work through the auspices of the...

Seanad: Bille na dTeangacha Oifigiúla (Leasú), 2019: An Tuarascáil agus an Chéim Dheiridh - Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2019: Report and Final Stages (8 Dec 2021)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: ...ú sa Ghaeltacht ar chor ar bith. Faoin am sin beidh os cionn 100 bliain caite ag pobal na Gaeltachta ag fanacht ar a gcuid bunsheirbhísí Stáit a bheith curtha ar fáil dóibh ina dteanga féin. Ní haon ionadh go bhfuil meath tarlaithe ar an nGaeltacht idir an dá linn. Ba chóir do gach Seanadóir agus don Aire Stáit an...

Seanad: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021: Motion (25 Nov 2021)

Niall Ó Donnghaile: ...the owners of licensed premises to maintain good order in the areas identified. Understandably, the special circumstances arising from the pandemic required careful consideration and legal clarity for businesses, local authorities and An Garda Síochána. This motion provides all three parties with the knowledge and authority to act for the common good and, in doing so, assist...