Results 1-20 of 37 for garda speaker:Matt Shanahan

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Matt Shanahan: ...that must be looked at in the statistics. We should be able to see where that is occurring. We need to consider whether we can do anything to reach out to people who might take that option. A Garda presence on the roads is absolutely vital. Putting a greater number of gardaí on the roads will have the single biggest impact on speeding and all the other detections required. At...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Apr 2024)

Matt Shanahan: I raise the plight of the Gaeltacht community in Waterford, An Rinn and the whole parish. The GP services have closed recently. The refurbished Garda station is now shuttered and the gardaí have been transferred. There are no gardaí there and now the post office is to close. An existing retailer in An Rinn is looking into a post office contract and was asked to contribute...

Road Traffic Bill 2024: Second Stage (13 Feb 2024)

Matt Shanahan: ...is different. None of this has been spoken about in terms of driving tests in this country. We are talking about more enforcement at the roadside. When was the last time the Minister of State saw a garda checking the tread depth of a tyre of a car stopped at the roadside? One of the very first things that would tell us if a car is fit for the road is the quality of the tyres. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Matt Shanahan: ...crime; and the underage. They are all similar but they are not the same. They obviously need a separate kind of response. The organised gangs is conspiracy, and that is a high-level crime. The Garda probably has detective resources to go after that. In the case of the other two, it is not so. The opportunistic crime and the underage crime is a huge problem and if one goes into the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Matt Shanahan: ...job for Government policy. We need to have the witnesses leave here today with an idea that this committee can do something to support them. Mr. Jennings mentioned bringing his private CCTV to a garda. What is the admissibility of that as evidence? If I am an arresting inspector sent to get CCTV footage, that is fine, I get it. If Mr. Jennings shows the footage to gardaí, do they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Matt Shanahan: I want to go back to the point of the appetite of the Garda to try to give more support to the witnesses vis-à-visthe Belfast initiative, which was discussed earlier. I understand that the PULSE IT system is presently undergoing a major upgrade. I presume this is because it has not been upgraded in more than 20 years. If we are doing this business watch scheme, there is an opportunity...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Matt Shanahan: Musgrave is a large company. Perhaps it should pilot something in a number of stores and try to link in.. A lot of this will have to be proven. The problem is the Garda does not have the resources. It does not even have feet on the ground. That is the big problem. We need to use technology to short-circuit some of this. There should be more discussion on the issue. This committee is...

Policing, Protests and Public Order: Statements (28 Nov 2023)

Matt Shanahan: ...State. No half measures should be considered in the State's response when dealing with these abusers and thugs. On 4 October, Regional Group colleagues and I submitted a motion on deficiencies within An Garda Síochána and highlighted many areas of conflict and difficulty for its members. There are two of these I would like to raise again. The first concerns GSOC, which...

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

Matt Shanahan: I thank the Chair. I want to speak about Garda transfers. Gardaí have been waiting for many years for transfers with not a hope of getting one. This is why we see early retirements. It is something the Minister has to look at. We need radical action and this is what the vote represents. It is frustration among rank-and-file gardaí. It is a communications issue with governance...

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

Matt Shanahan: ...for the entirety of the debate. That does not happen often and, as such, we note the Minister's attendance and thank her for it. As we know, it has been 100 years since the foundation of An Garda Síochána. It is a community police service that serves with the consent of the people. We also know that our front-line gardaí are unarmed and that the Garda is one of the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Jun 2023)

Matt Shanahan: ...and male. One public commentator described them as feral youths running wild on our streets. It is an assault that mirrors so many others occurring across the country every weekend and week. The Garda force now numbers less that 14,000, 1,000 short of the Government recruitment campaign. There are only 300 gardaí in Templemore - 25% of the Government's target - and there is a...

LGBTQI+ Equality: Statements (20 Jun 2023)

Matt Shanahan: ...does not mean that more should not be done to deliver a more tolerable and equal society. Challenges remain and these include harassment and violence against members of the LGBTQI community. An Garda Síochána published figures on reports of hate crimes and hate-related incidents in 2022. Unfortunately, these figures showed a 29% increase in reported hate crimes and...

Organised Crime: Statements (20 Apr 2023)

Matt Shanahan: ...not going to prejudge the outcome of the citizens' assembly but we need to have people who have wide and specialist experience in terms of understanding what drugs are and what they are not. The Garda is the backstop to everything we do in the justice system before people arrive into the courts. I speak to gardaí and know that we have significant resourcing issues. In my own area...

Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Second Stage (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Matt Shanahan: ...of incidents, expedite analysis, enhance situation awareness and sometimes protect police from harm. They could probably do a lot more than that. There is overwhelming support within An Garda Síochána for the introduction of body cameras. If we are going to legislate in this House, the first thing we must do is engage with stakeholders who are on the front line and listen...

Financial Resolutions 2022 - Financial Resolution No. 6: General: Financial Resolution (Resumed) (28 Sep 2022)

Matt Shanahan: With respect to the justice Vote, I welcome the measures introduced. Everyone will welcome additional gardaí on the beat and new recruits passing through Templemore. I wish to make a point about my constituency of Waterford. It may be an issue for the Office of Public Works, OPW, but we are waiting for upgrades to the Garda station there, which is now the headquarters south east Garda...

Garda Síochána (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (14 Jun 2022)

Matt Shanahan: The principle of garda court presenters means that any member of An Garda Síochána can institute and can conduct prosecutions in a court of summary jurisdiction in the name of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. As Members have already said, the system has been well represented, well established and has been working efficiently. For many within the District Court...

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

Matt Shanahan: ...needs to have an independent policing authority, a police force to ensure the security of the population and the upholding of our democratic laws and mandates. In Ireland, we are lucky to have An Garda Síochána. It is a force that is recognised across the world for it close ties to community, its professionalism and the fact that most of its members do not carry arms. This is...

Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021: Motion (16 Nov 2021)

Matt Shanahan: ...society. Little did we know how we were going to arrive there, but here we are. The extension provided for in this Bill is correct in that it is going to help licensing laws. It will also help An Garda Síochána and the local authorities. The Minister is probably aware of some of the problems that arose when these laws were brought in, particularly in some of our rural...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Consumer Rights Bill 2021: Discussion (13 Oct 2021)

Matt Shanahan: ...legislation. Has the Department any particular recommendations for Government around the legislation? Finally, are the Department officials aware of any further resourcing that will be given to the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, and in particular to the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau, to prevent fraud and cybercrime but also this increased amount of scam marketing that is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Consumer Rights Bill 2021: Discussion (13 Oct 2021)

Matt Shanahan: ...made recommendations in this respect? On the provisions of the Bill, are the officials present aware of or supporting any discussions with the Department of Justice in respect to resourcing the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau? I thank our witnesses.