Results 1-20 of 57 for garda speaker:Cathal Berry

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (25 May 2023)

Cathal Berry: I thank the Minister for that useful information. Most people would say that being a garda is not the job that it used to be. It is not as attractive a career as it was in the past. This relates to shift work, work-life balance and perhaps the lack of respect for gardaí among some members of the public. It is a more dangerous job. Post 2013 the paltry pension is a fraction of what...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Sep 2022)

Cathal Berry: I raise with the Tánaiste today the matter of the deliberate and outrageous ramming of a Garda car in Cherry Orchard on Monday evening, which I utterly condemn. Is it a disadvantaged area? Yes, for sure. Is that an excuse? No. There are plenty of disadvantaged areas across all our constituencies where that type of behaviour would not be accepted or tolerated. Of particular concern...

An Garda Síochána: Motion [Private Members] (4 Oct 2023)

Cathal Berry: ...is tábhachtaí faoi láthair, nó in Éirinn ar aon nós. I will begin by endorsing the views already expressed by my good colleagues. I associate myself with their remarks. I acknowledge the very proud history of the Garda. For the past 100 years, its members have watched over the country through times of war and peace, boom and bust and thick and thin. By...

Appointment of Member and Chair of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission: Motion (15 Dec 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...motion and thank the Minister for bringing it before the House. I have just three points to make in the time allowed. First, I very much welcome the appointment of Judge Rory MacCabe to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. Having reviewed his CV, I think he is eminently suitable for the role. Not only is he suitable as an individual, but also, collectively, it makes...

Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2022: Second Stage (Resumed) (23 Feb 2023)

Cathal Berry: .... I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this important debate on policing, security and community safety for a number of reasons. The Bill replaces an important Act, namely the Garda Act 2005, and legislates for the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Policing from about four years ago. This Bill is not before time. Security and safety are important, and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Commemorative Events (10 Dec 2020)

Cathal Berry: I congratulate the Minister on her very good news and offer my very best wishes to her family. My question pertains to An Garda Síochána, an organisation that has played a pivotal role in the life of this State. The centenary of the foundation of An Garda Síochána is coming up in 2022. Can the Minister outline the State's plans to commemorate this historic occasion?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Commemorative Events (10 Dec 2020)

Cathal Berry: I thank the Minister of State for that very detailed and comprehensive reply. I have a few suggestions. The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors is of the view that a commemorative medal could be struck and presented to every serving member of An Garda Síochána. I am of that view myself. A very similar suggestion was made in 2016 for members of the Defence Forces....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Nov 2023)

Cathal Berry: I want to raise a matter of national significance and importance. It has a pensions component as well a national security component. I refer to the impending retirement of the deputy Garda commissioner for policing and security, who will most likely retire in March or April next year. Unfortunately, not a single serving member of An Garda Síochána has applied for promotion to...

Garda Síochána (Compensation) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 May 2022)

Cathal Berry: I thank the Minister her opening statement, which she delivered yesterday. I am delighted to be in the Chamber today to contribute to this important debate on the Garda Síochána (Compensation) Bill. I am very happy with this Bill and welcome it. I recognise it is probably long overdue. I am happy to support its passage through the Oireachtas. I do so for the following...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Commemorative Events (10 Dec 2020)

Cathal Berry: I have another suggestion. The Garda Síochána Retired Members Association is of the view that an oral history project could be considered. A very similar project for Defence Forces personnel is taking place in the Military Archives in Cathal Brugha Barracks. There is a large volume of testimony and eyewitness accounts from Garda Síochána operations over past decades so,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Current Issues Facing Members of the Defence Forces: Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (3 Oct 2023)

Cathal Berry: But that language is not being used for the Garda. It is trying to get back up to 15,000. The language is not being used in the National Cyber Security Centre, which is also seeking to increase its headcount. Therefore, how is it acceptable to speak about stabilisation in the Defence Forces when it is not acceptable in any other sector? How come the Department of the Environment, Climate...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...measure of reassurance to the hundreds of impacted troops and their families. On a more general note, I take the Minister's point that we want to have young soldiers. We also want to have young gardaí, firefighters and prison officers but entrants to those three professions are not subjected to the same types of contracts as military personnel. In that context, we need to overhaul...

Financial Resolutions 2020 - Budget Statement 2021 (13 Oct 2020)

Cathal Berry: ...aspects of Budget 2021. I have only five points to make. Three are quite positive and only two points at the end are areas in need of significant improvement. The first point relates to An Garda Síochána. I welcome the increase in Garda numbers which are planned for next year. An extra 620 trainee gardaí plus a big investment in the vehicle fleet for An Garda...

Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission: Motion (27 Jan 2021)

Cathal Berry: I am conscious that we are a bit behind time this afternoon so I will endeavour to make my comments as brief as possible. I very much welcome the appointment of two new commissioners to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. I do so for three reasons. One, as others have mentioned, it is very good that the competition was run exclusively through the Public Appointments Service,...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) Projects: Motion (30 Jun 2022)

Cathal Berry: I will make my last point, and everyone here might not agree with me on this, but the farm boy inside me is speaking. PESCO to the military is really what Europol is to An Garda Síochána. An Garda Síochána interacts with Europol. It gets excellent information and it gets excellent training. It ploughs that back and makes Ireland a safer place. I see the four...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Commemorative Events (10 Dec 2020)

Cathal Berry: 2. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the plans in place to mark the centenary of the foundation of An Garda Síochána in 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41671/20]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (25 May 2023)

Cathal Berry: 4. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality how he intends to improve recruitment and retention rates in An Garda Síochána; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25403/23]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (25 May 2023)

Cathal Berry: I wish to discuss with the Minister the strength of An Garda Síochána and any measures he intends to introduce to improve recruitment and retention rates.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (29 Jun 2023)

Cathal Berry: 346. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide the breakdown of firearm types (details supplied) seized by An Garda Síochána from 2013 to 2022, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31833/23]

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Jun 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...two organisations in particular have excelled and demonstrated once again that they are critical when it comes to national resilience in the face of the strategic shock we have just been through, that is, An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces. Ironically, these are the two organisations that get very little, if any, funding directly from Brussels. This is an opportunity to...